Kenneth Vona and Son Construction embrace beauty in the details.
A custom home by Kenneth Vona and Son Construction PHOTO BY: NICOLE CONNOLLY, COURTESY OF THE BRAND
A custom home by Kenneth Vona and Son Construction

For over four decades, Kenneth Vona (kennethvona.com) has built some of the area’s most breathtaking homes and meticulously restored historic houses. These are the kind of structures that make one slow down and pause to take it all in. And although there is celebration in the grandeur, for Vona, there is also pride in the details.

Examples of pieces of woodwork from Vona’s workroom. PHOTO BY: NICOLE CONNOLLY, COURTESY OF THE BRAND
Examples of pieces of woodwork from Vona’s workroom.

In 2003, Vona opened the workroom at Kenneth Vona Millwork in Waltham. He transformed the building to resemble a train station, inspired by an old train stop in Weston. On the roof, he installed a weathervane created in memory of one of his beloved dogs. Inside, the team creates tailor-made pieces of woodwork for high-end, architectural-grade cabinetry, trim, curved joinery and intricate crown molding. The atmosphere is equal parts wood shop and art studio. It’s because of these intricately made pieces that Vona is able to deliver the same wow factor in one room as in the grand homes that stop traffic on the street.

Ari, the director of millwork PHOTO BY: CHERYL CLEGG, MICHAEL J. LEE
Ari, the director of millwork

They may be small, but they aren’t minor. Vona and his team will renovate a kitchen, build new cabinets, add a mudroom, create a vaulted ceiling, construct a pool house or expand a deck with the same craftsmanship and work ethic as they bring to a many-square-foot custom house. A 1980s kitchen recently entered the 2000s thanks to a new configuration and cosmetic upgrades.

Beauty in the details. PHOTO BY: CHERYL CLEGG, MICHAEL J. LEE
Beauty in the details.

Vona removed a wall to open up the space and added custom cabinets creating a space that easily welcomed cooking and gathering and helped enhance the rest of the home. Removing a basic ceiling fan and adding an underframe of decorative timber hand-hewed into a rustic frame truss took a ceiling from bland to beautiful. A stair railing was brought up to code and given new, unique carved spindles. A porch was taken from summer into all four seasons thanks to three lift-and-slide doors, rich Mahogany decking, radiant heat, fans and skylights. And a basic Colonial was elevated with the addition of three, perfectly symmetrical A-frame dormers that added curb appeal and additional space.

A kitchen with custom cabinets and millwork PHOTO BY: CHERYL CLEGG, MICHAEL J. LEE
A kitchen with custom cabinets and millwork

What a client might feel is a job too small, Vona and his team see it as an excuse to flex their creative muscles. It’s still a blank canvas, no matter the size.