NRPS Kitchens Tour Offered A Rare Look Inside Six Homes

By Shannon Hicks

More than 150 people traveled around Newtown last Sunday during a four-hour window of opportunity to see six kitchens of varying styles. The kitchens were the featured stops on Newtown Residential Preservation Society’s Second Annual Kitchen Tour. The selection committee for NRPS must be applauded for finding a perfect variety of styles.

Featured this year were kitchens on Main Street, Kent Road, Castle Hill Road, Ashford Lane, Greenleaf Farms Road, and Hundred Acres Road. The September 19 tour was to be held rain or shine, and ticket holders were lucky in that following torrential downpours on Saturday, Sunday dawned sunny and brilliant.

Tickets were in the form of booklets containing a clear map and driving directions to each house, along with brief descriptions of what participants could look forward to seeing in each kitchen. The homes themselves ranged in age from a 175-year-old Colonial to some of the newest homes in town.

Ironically, the Colonial may have been the oldest home on the tour but it boasted probably the newest kitchen. While low ceilings and original beams hold on to the home’s past, a completely updated kitchen says Hello to the present. Hannah and Rob Cox moved into Newtown, along with son Sam, in April, and spent the next several months tackling major projects.

The kitchen cabinets are all new, a skylight was added, and walls were eliminated between the kitchen’s stove-sink area and a dining area. The kitchen is bright thanks to off-white walls and a large pane of windows that opens to the home’s backyard.

A Shaw’s original farmhouse sink recalls the home’s early days, while a honed black granite counter and speakers up near the skylight merge well with the room’s updated look.

In addition to admiring the styles of the kitchens, participants were welcomed by special guests in some of the homes and offered light refreshments in most of the homes. Newtown Florist and Petal Pushers created bouquets for the homes, and Andrea’s Bakery and Dunkin’ Donuts provided baked goods.

Rudy Sorrentino and a few members of his staff were stationed at 29 Ashford Lane. Mr Sorrento is the owner of Rudy’s Gourmet, a new restaurant with an extensive catering menu and complete meals to go, which is located in Mt Laurel Plaza, 68 Stony Hill Road in Bethel, in the space formerly occupied by The Bountiful Board.

While they were admiring the copper pots and pans hanging from a rustic rack hanging over an island, guests were treated to samples of a few of the treats Mr Sorrentino usually presents during his weekly happy hour buffets. The kitchen’s dining room table was a presentation of some of the dinners Mr Sorrentino’s restaurant and catering menu features.

If guests weren’t admiring the kitchen’s island or the warm cranberry and green hues of the kitchen’s walls, they were noticing the molding that had been done by hand by the home’s owner. The French country style of the kitchen was warm and welcoming, and many ticket holders were overheard speaking in admiring tones of the room.

Pat Barkman, the president of The Al’s Trail Committee, was stationed at 17 Kent Road. The committee was slated to benefit from part of the proceeds of ticket sales from Sunday’s event, which will help in the ongoing efforts of creating a nine-mile continuous hiking trail in Newtown that will run from Upper Paugussett State Forest to Reed Intermediate School.

Newtown resident and author Kathy Farrell-Kingsley was in one of the kitchens at 7 Main Street. The former one-family dwelling was built during the late 18th Century and was originally located further up Main Street (closer to the flagpole), where it was an annex to the former Newtown Inn.

When the inn was torn down in 1931, the house was moved to its present location. The house was divided into a duplex at some point in its history. One half of the dwelling is now home to Doug McDonald, the owner of the building, and the other side is home to the McManus family. The McManuses moved into 7 Main Street just over a year ago, shortly after the kitchen had been completely renovated by Mr McDonald.

Today the kitchen features a center island and a small eating area, and is adjacent to a sitting area.

“It’s surprisingly spacious,” Tracy McManus told visitors. “We can fit quite a few people in here.”

While Mrs McManus answered questions about her kitchen, Mrs Farrell-Kingsley continued baking Apple-Oat Squares and serving up a salad, both of which are featured in her book The Complete Vegetarian Handbook.

 (A seventh kitchen was originally announced but was pulled at the last minute after renovations could not be completed in time for the tour.)

NRPS has created a self-guided tour that focuses on the rooms in most homes that become the focal points. Steady visitors on Sunday agreed with the idea that kitchens can even be a focal point of an afternoon tour.