Inside Amanda Reid’s Colorful Dorchester Greek Revival

Designer Amanda Reid’s living room walls are painted Inchyra Blue by Farrow & Ball. The Italian midcentury chairs are upholstered in a Schumacher moiré; the glass and Lucite cocktail table is from the 1970s. The aqua and pink artwork is by Karine Léger.

Homeowner Amanda Reid, founder of Mandarina Interior Design Studio, by the original marble fireplace surround.

The stairway’s porcelain wall pieces were hand thrown by Mexican artist Lucrecia Waggoner and acquired through Lanoue Gallery in Boston.

New shutters from New England Shutter Mills and an exterior paint color—Sherwin-Williams Greek Villa—gave the Greek Revival a glow up for the Insta era. The front door is painted Farrow & Ball Nancy’s Blushes.

The branch-inspired chandelier from Corbett in the dining room echoes the wallcovering by Isidore Leroy.

“I really wanted the kitchen to also be formal and not feel so much like a kitchen, so I didn’t include any upper cabinets,” Reid says.

In the primary bedroom, silk window treatments with tassel trim and a canopy bed exude glamour.

Glass blocks and pink laminate counters were evicted from this bathroom in favor of a deep soaking tub and marble mosaic flooring.

Reid’s Bengal cat, Mika, perches in the dressing room where the fabric on the window treatments is by Schumacher.

A botanical wallcovering by Isidore Leroy visually expands the walls of this guest room. Reid purchased the antique Chinese rosewood chairs for her first New York apartment and has found a happy home for them ever since.

Preserving the Character of a Historic Greek Revival

Some centenarians might try to look younger, but this 150-year-old Greek Revival is only getting better with age. When she bought the place, designer Amanda Reid knew its character was well worth retaining. “I fell in love with it from the moment I pulled up and walked up to the house,” she says. “It just has such beautiful curb appeal, the architecture and the scale, the high ceilings, the staircase. I love old homes, and I just thought it was really perfect.”

Built in 1875, the Dorchester, Massachusetts, home still gave the founder of Mandarina Interior Design Studio plenty of design challenges. Last renovated in the 1980s, the house came complete with what she cheerfully describes as “a terrible kitchen, terrible bathrooms, you name it.” To Reid, that was part of the appeal. “This way I could make it my own.” Over the ensuing years, she transformed the house room by room, layering in silk cornices, moody paint colors, botanical wallpapers, and glitzy light fixtures. One thing appears in abundance: pink and more pink.

Bold Color Transforms the Historic Interiors

“Pink is a neutral in this house,” Reid says. The blush grasscloth in the entry sets the tone, while varying shades reappear throughout the residence in artwork, textiles, ceramics, and furnishings.

Those rosy tones are balanced by richer hues, particularly in the living room, where walls are painted a deep teal-gray. Reid selected the dramatic shade because it made her artwork stand out. Like the furnishings, the artwork represents decades of collecting. “The whole house is a collection of pieces that I’ve acquired over time,” she says, describing an eclectic mix spanning eras, styles, and countries.

Yet despite its diversity, the rooms feel remarkably cohesive. Reid attributes that to what she calls a visual dialogue
between objects. “They create tension, but they’re having a conversation,” she says.

Perhaps most telling is her desire for the house to resist perfection. “A lot of people tell me that the house just feels very welcoming and comfortable. A goal of mine was to make the rooms feel alive as opposed to finished,” she says.
Maybe that approach—truly living and pursuing your passions instead of simply looking polished and ‘done’—is the real secret to aging well.

Project Team
Interior design: Mandarina Interior Design Studio
Builder: Boat Meadow Builders