Galleries

A chair upholstered in a plush Barnwell Velvet is a cozy spot for enjoying a good read; the pillow is covered in Java Jungle Linen in Maize.

Blue-and-white pillows in the Kerman and Willow Lake patterns add a pop of color to a classic English-arm sofa.

Lee Jofa’s Elisabeth Chairs covered in Chinese Brocade have the gravitas to pair perfectly with the library’s Renaissance Revival architecture.

Lee Jofa’s Whippets Cotton Pillow sits atop an Aurora Chair upholstered in Triana Weave at the Boston Athenæum.

Yellow Light (2019), 48″H x 36″W x 2.5″D, ink on wood panel.

Artist Tayo Heuser.

Spinning Time (2020), 18″H x 14”W x 1.5″D, ink on wood panel.

Gleam (2023), 48″H x 36″W x 2.5″D, ink and oil on wood panel.

Gemels (2022), 48″H x 36″W x 2.5″D, ink and gouache on wood panel.

Elpis Calling Pistis (2023), 48″H x 36″W x 2.5″D, ink and gouache on wood panel. Spinning Time (2020),

Blue River (2020), 24″H x 18″W x 1.5″D, ink and gouache on wood panel.

A niche highlights a painting by the owner’s daughter. The staircase has an exposed steel riser and thick oak treads, while the bookcase lighting was designed with the help of Cheryl Boghosian of Gilberte Interiors.

091622 Christakis

The galley-style kitchen was renovated as part of the library project. Light wood cabinets create clean lines that draw the eye to the entry of the library’s mezzanine level.

The main entrance to the house opens to the great room and dining area, which have unencumbered views of the Vermont mountains.

From the street, the house appears as one story. The library is a low-key presence marked by a row of clerestory windows to the far right.

Wood paneling on the ceiling reflects the grid pattern of the bookcases. The back wall includes niches to hold windows and art. Thanks to three-foot-wide catwalks, users can step back and view everything, including book titles

The rear view of the house highlights the library’s two-story window. The exterior entrance to the new space is on the lower left, marked by a step and a sconce.

White-painted bookcases frame the double-height window grid that has a view of woods and mountains. The library floor is polished concrete with radiant heat. The catwalks have oak floors and steel railings painted black with stainless-steel wire balustrades.

A long dining table in the center of the shop displays block-print table linens from India and enticingly glossy spherical candles from Italy.

The sisters searched high and low for these hand-painted platters from a 100-year-old Talavera workshop in Puebla, Mexico. The silk-velvet embroidered lion is handcrafted from Germany-based Anke Drechsel.

Sisters and third-generation New Yorkers Ellen and Karen Deutsch both raised their children, who went to high school together, in Providence.

Self-professed devotees to white tableware, the Deutsches have an affinity for Pillivuyt French porcelain.

It’s truly a family affair at Stewart House: the antique buffet table that displays, among other things, ceramic lamps from Boston’s Jill Rosenwald, came from Karen Deutsch’s husband’s office.

“We thought the building had a European feel,” says Ellen Deutsch. “For us, the outside was as important as the inside.”

A Vermont Soapstone Co. sink anchors the bathroom, while birds, branches, flora, and fauna dot the walls in a classic nature-inspired William Morris paper.

The diminutive kitchen is well stocked with an icemaker, beverage fridge, microwave, and dishwasher (all discreetly tucked away); art-glass doors open to reveal a bar.

The architects opted for a Kynar-coated standing-seam steel roof both for its crisp look and durability given the region’s snowy conditions.

A cozy inglenook just off the pool is primed for fireside chats. Smith and Branchflower took every design detail into consideration, from the custom mosaics and sconces that reflect the late-summer meadow just outside to the heating and ventilation grates that are cleverly hidden in the art glass and windowsills.

An emphasis on views, light, symmetry, and a sense of place were top of mind for the architects. “The sun plays off the water so nicely,” says Smith. “The water reflects the landscape and the sky, blurring what’s up and what’s down, what’s out and what’s in. It sort of magnifies the landscape.

The warm red tones of the wood are balanced by the cool yellowy-greens of the art glass, the blue that’s reflected in the pool, and the gray quartzite flooring; the latter is easy on the feet as it’s both heated and slip-resistant.

The Shingle-style building blends seamlessly into its mountainside location, but it also sports a few subtle nautical touches to play up its function as a pool house: note the wavy blue-green shingles and the weathervane inspired by a sketch of the owner’s daughter swimming.

The natatorium’s walls, ceiling, and trusses are all Douglas fir to create an encompassing feeling, says architect Pi Smith. Smith and project architect Stephen J. Branchflower designed the surrounding walls to be especially tall to give a sense of height over the pool.

Designer Paula Daher at home in Boston’s South End neighborhood.

After an extensive search, Daher found the bedroom’s white-oak French doors in Atlanta. The doors were too tall for the loft, so she hired a local craftsman to renovate them to fit her space.

Next to a chair accented with trim that reminds Daher of caterpillars, perches Mariella, a bust Daher and her husband found on their honeymoon in Paris. “She’s not for everybody, but she makes us happy,” says the designer.

In the loft’s only bedroom, Grecian-themed fabric-backed paper and a powder-coated metal bed with brass fittings make an impact without overwhelming the room.

Daher re-covered a pair of antique French chairs that she first used years ago in a Neiman Marcus showhouse with Casamance upholstery. The sconce on the left is backed with pink Carrara marble, which gives it an ethereal glow.

When the kitchen cabinets first arrived, they were painted Sherwin-Williams Baked Clay instead of Benjamin Moore Baked Clay. “They were Barbie pink,” says Daher, laughing. “They had to go back.” All of the floors in the loft are polished concrete.

A luxe blue velvet lining the foyer’s niche acts as a conversation starter. “Everyone wants to touch it,” says Daher.

Daher inherited the 1970s Roche Bobois marble table in the dining area from her former Back Bay neighbors. She surrounded it with chairs from CB2. “I love the femininity of the chair backs,” she says. An Iatesta Studio chandelier adds a touch of glam.

In designer Paula Daher’s South End living room, an art deco-inspired glass lamp gifted to her and her husband on their first wedding anniversary by her mother-in-law found a home on a charcoal-gray console.

After a day on the slopes, everyone vies for time in the ground-level tile-floored sauna.

The back of the 5,400-square-foot home has an impressive array of expansive windows and a second-story porch that take full advantage of the distant mountain and forest views. Landscape architect Kris Horiuchi devised sophisticated outdoor “rooms,” including one with a firepit and one with a spa, for varying opportunities to enjoy the scenery.

The designer’s penchant for cluster lighting can be seen in the primary bedroom, where Lee Broom pendants hang over the nightstands and a Blanche Field fixture is suspended above the bed.

The homeowners can hit pause on their morning routine and enjoy a cup of coffee in the room’s cozy sitting area.

Weatherproof chairs and couches from Dedon’s Sealine collection offer plenty of places for the homeowners and their guests to relax around a cozy firepit.

Ceiling heaters make this partially enclosed patio a three-season outdoor dining room complete with a grill, outdoor-rated vinyl shades, a stone-and-teak table, and woven-vinyl-and-teak wicker-style chairs.

Nothing in the living room, from the twin midcentury modern textured-velvet chairs to the Arturo Álvarez-designed chandelier to the low-backed Flexform sectional, detracts from the spectacular mountain views.

Palumbo designed the shelving nestled between the kitchen’s refrigerator and a pantry that includes a coffee-and-tea prep station. Jonathan Browning Studios pendants hang above the quartz-topped white-oak island.

For casual dining in the kitchen, a banquette by Partners in Design and chairs by Maxalto surround a Clubcu dining table.

Interior designer Jennifer Palumbo used warm grays on the fireplace wall to balance the abundance of sunshine that comes from the adjacent window wall.

The home’s contemporary exterior is clad in Eastern white-pine siding stained Benjamin Moore Black.

The light-filled entryway, with its Arturo Álvarez-designed light fixture and a hair-on-hide rug, offers a striking contrast to the exterior.

A garden elegantly planted with river birch trees and native greenery takes center stage outside the dining room’s floor-to-ceiling windows. Ochre’s Moonlight Murmuration chandelier, a J.D. Staron rug, a Robert James Collection dining table, and chairs covered in a Romo charcoal-velvet upholstery complement the views.

The primary bath’s black-resin tub makes for a striking contrast against the honed-marble tile floor.

Summer, 24″H x 48″W, acrylic on canvas.

Old Tree, 60″H x 46″W, acrylic on canvas.

Hannah, 36″H x 24″W, acrylic on canvas.

Along the Path, 18″H x 24″W, acrylic on canvas.

Riverside, 24″H x 18″ W, pastel on paper.

A Farrow & Ball paper brightens this guest bath, which connects to a rear space with a shower, water closet, and bench.

To be closer to their grandchildren when they visit, homeowners Bill and Janet move into this second-floor suite, which was designed to look like a room in an old New England inn.

The retired CEO of an IT firm, Bill channels his inner pitmaster in the backyard grill house, which includes a firepit, grill, smoker, refrigerator, dishwasher, and Aga range.

Designer Kathy Marshall wanted the living room to feel formal, but not predictable, so she hung the gilded French pendant off-center (and away from passing heads). The fireplace is framed with the same salvaged Chicago bricks used in the mudroom; linen armchairs flank a table lamp fashioned from an old family oil lamp.

Marshall cooked with the homeowner during planning meetings. “It really informed me on how to design her kitchen,” Marshall says. Reclaimed beams add farmhouse character, as does an old candy counter lined with handmade stools. Retractable dish towel holders flank the farmhouse sink.

A custom hood crowns the La Cornue range; Vaughan pendant lights were customized with a fabric used in the neighboring breakfast room.

The owners wanted the house to serve as a resort for their large extended family—and even included a skating rink, visible behind the grill house.

Seen from the outside, the entry’s Shingle-style details and Alaskan yellow cedar siding link the home to the New England farmhouses beloved by the owners.

The second floor is tucked under the roofline and the perimeter is ringed with porches to help diminish the home’s scale.

Stairstep windows brighten the family entry of this Andover, Massachusetts, home, illuminating the character-grade oak floors and a staircase that embraces a vintage church pew and cranberry basket.

The dining table expands to seat twelve and is paired with cane-back chairs and walls covered in a paper-backed fabric from Raoul Textiles. Architect Rob Bramhall kept the base and crown molding consistent throughout the house, then layered on other elements like the wainscoting and coffered ceiling to distinguish each room.

A demilune table in the dining room is one of a pair that Marshall found at a New Hampshire antiques store.

Mason Paul Tucci worked on this project for six years, fitting together each piece of New England fieldstone on buildings like this barn, then gifted Bill his hammer when the project was finished.

In order to integrate the massive tufted-leather bed from the clients’ previous home into the more tailored modern environment of the primary suite, Arnold grounded it with a dark traditional carpet from Loloi but enveloped the room in soothing neutral shades.

The play of dark and light continues in the husband’s office with its midnight-blue Phillip Jeffries grasscloth wall and custom black cubby storage by TJ’s Fine Woodworking. The antiqued-glass iron-frame mirror reflects the seascape outside.

Arnold and Kitchen Cove Design Studio collaborated on the kitchen, which features an island painted a blue-tinted shade of gray and topped with quartz. Brass details show up throughout, including on the knobs of the two-tone Wolf range.

Down a hallway, past an Arteriors sconce and the solid mahogany front door, is Wild Rose, a photograph by artist Michael Kahn. Though Kahn is a lifelong Pennsylvania resident, he has deep ties to Maine.

To keep the great room all about the view, designer Janeen Arnold chose a quiet palette of ivories, which also provides a timeless neutral backdrop for the wife to decorate in different colors for various holidays. The steel-framed sliders recede into pockets, allowing complete communion between indoors and out. Tables in the living and dining areas allude to driftwood.

In the great room’s casual dining area, a translucent light fixture that subtly alludes to beach glass illuminates a white-oak table surrounded by Bernhardt’s fully upholstered Casey chairs.

French-style chairs and an arts and crafts-style chest impart historical touches that give the room greater visual depth, Arnold believes, than if you’d simply “popped in all modern forms.” Floral fabric connects the fauteuils to the landscape. A cowhide rug keeps things contemporary, as does the mirror, which evokes a porthole while complementing the curves of the table and Hinkley pendant.

The Rutt Cabinetry bar in the great room echoes the bluish-gray kitchen island, while its metal mesh fronts suggest fishing nets and lobster pots.

Maine Cabinet Company outfitted the butler’s pantry, and Light + Form Studio deployed adjustable task lighting concealed in a cove.

The primary suite’s bath is all about the movement of water; the tub’s form recalls the trough of a wave between two crests.

The textured tile on the wall Arnold devised to give the tub privacy refers equally to waves and water and to beach sand ridged by the wind.

Arnold engaged Maine craftsman Tim Hill to build the primary bath’s custom his-and-her vanities that evoke waves and water in the subtle inward curve on the fronts. The dark wall highlights the cabinetry finish, which is meant to continue the driftwood theme.

Pocket doors join the husband’s office and the guest room, which features a custom bed nook sheathed in a Phillip Jeffries wallcovering.

In the primary bedroom, a Boyd Lighting fixture and Vaughan sconces complement a bed and end tables from Century.

The new rear facade brings an abundance of natural light to the formerly dark townhouse; the family often uses the new back entrance, which directly accesses the den.

Two Ellsworth Kelly works flank a piece by Donald Sultan that hangs above the fireplace in the living room. A light fixture by Aerin for Visual Comfort & Co. illuminates a custom sofa and chairs from McLaughlin upholstery, a cocktail table from Dennis & Leen, and a side table from Rose Tarlow Melrose House.

Upper cabinets were kept to a minimum in the kitchen, the clients opting instead for more natural light and views down to the garden below.

Commissioned to renovate this landmarked townhouse in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, Hickox Williams Architects had to adhere to regulations preventing design changes that are visible from the street.

A Visual Comfort & Co. sconce allows the couple’s daughter to stay up late reading from her custom-designed bed.

A new leaded-glass window in the closet borrows additional natural light from the adjacent interior stairwell.

In the primary closet, a Hickory Chair ottoman provides a place to perch.

Shades of blue crop up throughout the home, including in the primary bath; the artwork is by Ken Sloan and the light fixture is from Oly.

The garden level serves as a den, complete with a bar area containing original elements such as wood paneling, brick flooring, and ceiling beams. A runner from Landry & Arcari Rugs and Carpeting softens the hard surfaces.

Original bird-motif stained-glass found throughout the residence inspired the decor; antique pieces include the table, artwork, and rug, while the chairs are from Bernhardt and the light fixture is from Arhaus.

The dining room is located off a central gallery space, which features a center-hall table. The flooring and beams are original to the historic home, which was built as an artist’s studio.

A light fixture by Terzani hangs above a Thos. Moser table and chairs; the room is painted Benjamin Moore Platinum Gray.

In addition to the table and chairs, the homeowners also had a pair of antique Murano-glass sconces and a painting by Henri Le Sidaner; the custom rug is from Cabernet Carpets.

The adjacent butler’s pantry is outfitted with a Caesarstone countertop, a metallic hexagon tile backsplash from Porcelanosa, and burnished-brass hardware from RH.

An enchanting lighting design by UK designer Trent O’Connor, controlled with smart home technology from InnerSpace Electronics, gives the home its magical nighttime glow.

An outdoor shower is one of the joys of a waterfront home.

LED lighting above the vanity and shower and around the mirrors eliminates the need for ceiling- or wall-mounted lights in the primary bathroom; a bottom-up shade affords privacy for the tub.