A Bold Move
November 20, 2018
A dad with a sense of adventure and a designer unafraid to make a splash team up on a Boston condo that even the kids think is pretty cool.
Text by Debra Judge Silber   Photography by Michael J. Lee   Produced by Kyle Hoepner
âYouâve got to break a lot of eggs to make an omeletâ isnât something you hear a lot in conversations about interior design. But it seems oddly fitting when Dee Elmsâs client uses it to describe the creative collaboration that transformed a bland Back Bay apartment into a boldly beautiful home that reflects himâand his familyâto a T.
Cracking the mold wasnât necessarily the aim when the recently divorced dad purchased the single-floor unit overlooking the Charles River. His goal was a comfortable, stylish, but not stuffy home base for himself and his three teenage children, two of whom would be living with him. âI didnât want it to be a traditional âBostonâ place,â he explains. âI didnât want it to be boring.â
âHe said, âI want a place thatâs super comfortable, that I love, and thatâs cool enough that my kidsâ friends will want to visit,â â recalls Elms. She had met the client previously in consultation on another project, and he asked her to walk through the 2,800-square-foot condominium before he purchased it. She remembers its rooms as blandly traditional, monochromatic, with tray ceilings and pilastered fireplaces. âIt was white, white, white, and white,â Elms says. Still, she told her client, âThis could be amazing.â
That Elms succeeded in her prediction is clear the moment one steps off the elevator into the entry hall, where the fluid brushstrokes of hand-painted Porter Teleo wallpaper draw immediate attention to the nearby dining room. A playful chandelier from Apparatus Studio hovers like a fistful of balloons over the dining table, around which chartreuse velvet dining chairs pop against the graphic backdrop. âI wanted it to make a splash,â Elms says. âThe dining room became a kind of statement that weâre not too serious in this home. Weâre having fun.â
Having fun with the design process seemed a natural consequence of the designer-client relationship, which both say was marked by a lively give-and-take that balanced the homeownerâs ideas and expectations with the designerâs experience. âWeâd have these debates on what would work,â the client says, referring to conversations with Elms and project manager Carolyn Kotowski. âI think I surprised them with the things I was willing to do, and they surprised me with the things they came up with.â
Elms concurs. âWeâd talk about what he liked and what he didnât like. I knew he had a cool, hip vibe and we could play that up. But I also had to understand how far he would go.â
This was tested in the dining room, where Elmsâs choice of the chandelier led to a slew of agonizing phone calls. âI kept thinking, this will look ridiculous,â he says, âand then it goes up and . . . she was right.â
Other conversations were easier, such as the one about the kitchen, where Elms proposed painting the existing cabinets. âI said, âI want to paint your cabinets black,â â she says. âAnd he was like, âIâm cool with that.â â
Nor did he flinch when she suggested carrying the black into the wall treatment. âHe just had so much trust,â Elms says. Threaded with silver, the paper actually appears much lighter than one would expect.
âIt was really a great marriage of client to designer and designer to contractor, with outstanding results,â says Chris Rapczynski, president of Sleeping Dog Properties, which managed the construction. He praises Elmsâs ability to communicate as well as her understanding of the choices required to achieve high-end results. âIn the end, what you see is a glossy paint finish that looks great,â he says, pointing to the shine on the living-room woodwork. âBut beneath that is so many layers of decision-making. Those are the discussions we have with Dee.â
The high-gloss shine Rapczynski refers to belongs to a storage wall Elms designed for the living room that pumps up the roomâs sophistication while providing closet space for the clientâs son when he visits. She also ditched the formal fireplace, putting in its place a gas unit trimmed with riveted brass and framed in marble. On the opposite end of the entry hall, the fireplace in the family room got a modern makeover as well. In both rooms, Elms had deep window seats built into the curve of the existing bay windows. âHe loved that idea,â she says of her client. âItâs another place for people to crash.â
Crashingâor letâs say recumbent relaxationâis further encouraged by the family roomâs cushiony sectional. âAll three of my kids said, can we please get a couch we can all sit on?â the homeowner says. âIt was the very first piece we picked out.â
Throughout the project, Elms consulted with the children, the daughters particularly, to make sure the space would reflect their tastes as much as their fatherâs. Despite this, the client says, some people describe the home as âmasculine.â But heâs fine with that. âIf it comes off masculine, Iâd say, mission accomplished.â He also adds, âWhen my daughtersâ friends come over, they absolutely love the place.â
Elms has her own take. âI would never call it overly masculine,â she says. âIf youâre in a dude zone, youâre not going to be using pale lavender drapery fabric. I think we balanced him, his kids, and his life really well.â
Even, it turns out, when her client returned from a trip to New Orleans with a new purchase: a large painting by artist Ashley Longshore depicting an oversize hundred-dollar bill stamped with the words: Grow a Pair. âI have to be honest. I hoped it wasnât going in the dining room,â Elms says.
Their compromise (which the client good-naturedly describes as a four-to-one vote) landed the artwork in the master bedroomâs walk-in closet, where it stands out against the flannel pinstriped wallpaper.
âIt fits perfectly there,â Elms says. And, she adds. âItâs so him.â
Project Team
Interior design: Dee Elms, Elms Interior Design
Builder: Chris Rapczynski, Sleeping Dog Properties
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