When it came time to renovate the Brushmill by the Waterfall restaurant, a photograph of the building’s former use as a factory is one of the many connections to the past that served as inspiration. The New England landmark dates to the early 1800s and first became a restaurant in the mid-1970s. Before that, for more than a century, workers—mostly women—made brushes at the factory.
Caryn Paradis, lead designer at her locally based firm, was enlisted by the Chester, Connecticut eatery’s owner Jason L’Italien to create a space with a fresh, modern feel while also preserving its history. The complete gut renovation resulted in the restoration of several of the mill’s original elements, including chestnut beams, a stacked stone fireplace, and an overhead pulley system. “We went over every square inch of the space to make sure no detail was overlooked,” Paradis adds.
Elements that were unable to be restored were often repurposed. Old chestnut floors had to be removed, but the wood was reused for tabletops. An old tool bench from the mill was transformed into a bar top, and holes that previously held tools were kept in place to serve as a reminder of its original purpose.
The client also incorporated forward-thinking amenities to address the comfort and welfare of their guests. For instance, they converted an old coat check into a room for nursing mothers, which features a comfortable lounge chair, changing table, and refrigerator to store milk.
Customized to match the atmosphere of the updated restaurant, touchless hand sanitizing fixtures from Vaask were also installed on each floor of the restaurant to ensure hand sanitization was readily available to guests and staff. For Paradis, it was about more than Vaask’s stylish design. “We needed a permanent solution that looked great and functioned well,” Paradis notes.
With a variety of fixtures across the 10,000-square-foot space, the owners didn’t want to add replacing batteries to their maintenance list. Vaask fixtures are hard-wired, so no batteries are required. Refillable with any sanitizer gel, the large-capacity sanitizer cartridge can also go longer between refills.
Paradis and Brushmill’s owners are happy with the results of the yearlong project, as are the guests. “Everything from the food, ambiance, setting, staff, and presentation was incredible. [We] highly recommend!” one patron wrote in a review soon after its reopening.
This sponsored content was created collaboratively by Vaask and HD.
