Narragansett Colonial with Simple, Beachy Vibes

Alan and Kait Yick both worked in NYC and lived in New Jersey, but always pictured making their way back to the Ocean State to raise a family. They made good on that promise shortly after the birth of their first child, packing their bags and staying with Kait’s sister and brother-in-law in Narragansett while they searched for a house. It didn’t take long for the couple to fall for the picturesque neighborhood with its close proximity to the water, and despite limited real estate offerings, soon found and purchased a home. However, there was this other house around the corner that caught their eye.

“We always admired this beautiful Colonial on our family walks,” Kait begins, “with gorgeous gardens that looked plenty big enough for our growing family.” The Yicks soon heard through mutual friends that the owners might be interested in selling. “Sure enough, six years later (and hundreds of walks and bike rides of admiring the house from afar), our friends put us in contact, and we toured the home. We knew we loved it immediately and worked out a purchase and sale agreement.”

Once the house was theirs, Alan and Kait wanted to make some modifications to suit their family. Says Kait, “We knew we wanted clean, bright, airy, natural, kinda modern, kinda classic, kinda beachy, kinda farmhouse… and we also have three small kids so we realized that we had to factor that in as well.” Alan explains their decorating style falls in the “we think we know what we like but we don’t know how to do it,” so they called White Slate Studio, a nearby interior design business. “Julie (Sanford) and Rachel (Pappas) really made our vision come to life!”

Sanford and Pappas got to work on a host of both cosmetic updates and custom work, which included installing floating benches and shelves to both sides of the dining room fireplace and the unexpected use of shiplap in a vaulted living room ceiling. “Maybe our favorite custom build is the simple white desk we built for the playroom where the kids can sit and draw, work on art projects, or do homework,” says Sanford.

One year later, dream digs aside, Kait says that the best thing about living here is the community. “The family values are so strong. The people are kind, caring, and loving, and raising their children to be the same. The schools and teachers are amazing. We couldn’t imagine a happier and more wholesome place to be raising our family.”