Editor’s Miscellany: New Boston Shops, New Boston Locations

By Kyle Hoepner

Given the amount of time I spend chained to my cubicle in the New England Home office, I’m frankly not always immediately on top of what’s going on out in the field. But I have noticed a few changes over the past few months in the topography of Boston’s design-boutique scene. Here are some openings and relocations you might want to check out—as you’ll see from the photos below, that’s just what I did one snowy afternoon earlier this week.

Evolve Residential
This stylish new addition to Boston’s South End neighborhood opened during the fall. Partners Josh Linder, Thomas Henry Egan III, and Rebecca Abrams have adapted their high-ceilinged, corner storefront space to feel like the elegant in-town condo of one of your art-loving friends—should you happen to have a friend who purveys what Linder describes as a “signature mix of custom upholstery, contemporary accent tables, early nineteenth-century antiques and contemporary art.” The trio also carry a selection of hand-made contemporary rugs and are New England’s exclusive source for the Portuguese design brand Brabbu. Evolve Residential, 470 Shawmut Avenue, Boston

Twelve Chairs
Back in September or so, Twelve Chairs migrated from Boston’s Fort Point Channel neighborhood to join the ever-growing trove of high-end design boutiques populating the South End. Their cozy new second-floor space is smack in the middle of a prime block of Tremont Street, so a lack of walk-in traffic is unlikely to be a problem. The architectural setting is quite different from their previous digs, but the mix of furniture, accessories, and other goodies put together by partners Roisin Giese and Miggy Mason will still feel familiar. And make sure to check out the beautifully painted floor and stair risers, courtesy of Patina’s Pauline Curtiss. Twelve Chairs, 581 Tremont Street, Boston

Kate and Theo Home
Brand-new on Charles Street (it just opened this month), this boutique nonetheless feels like a homecoming for Paula and Kate McCusker, who spent much time just up the block as associates of the late Benn Theodore, whose interior design business they carry on. The new space and look, however, are all their own, and the shop a welcome addition to Beacon Hill’s list of design destinations for custom upholstery and lighting, pillows, accessories, candles, jewelry—the list goes on. The mother-daughter team has now also been joined by their brother/son, Douglas—as you’ll see below. Kate & Theo, 96 Charles Street, Boston

Lekker Home
If a real move means actually leaving the building, this one doesn’t quite count. But if the true criterion for a successful relocation is the beauty and fitness of the new space, then Lekker has done it well. Shifting a few doors over in the South End’s Wilkes Passage building has opened up new possibilities for this neighborhood design stalwart. According to owner Curt Carpenter, one of the biggest benefits of the new space has been, well, space—the additional square footage needed for an extensive roster of new product lines and, especially, adequate floor area for a larger variety of upholstered furniture. In a sense it’s the same Lekker you already knew, only more so. Lekker Home, 1313 Washington Street, Boston