We Welcome Payne|Bouchier into the New England Design Hall of Fame

Portrait by Bruce Rogovin

Photograph by Michael Fein

Photograph by Michael J. Lee

Photograph by Eric Roth

Photograph by Eric Roth

Success was not overnight for Payne|Bouchier. The firm has been building, restoring, and renovating homes in the Greater Boston area since 1981.

It started with three men who had woodworking skills, a passion forhistoric renovation—and some vague idea about how to start/run a business.

“It was the early ’80s, and we were doing fancy millwork out of our woodshop in Boston,” says Steve Payne, who was in business with his brother, Tom Payne, and their friend, Oliver Bouchier. Working on big Back Bay jobs with lots of players, they learned that not everyone was as exacting as they were.

“We felt that we were good at our craft and well organized, and that we were being buffeted by chaos wrought by others,” says Payne, “so we decided to undertake the project management side of things. To our chagrin, we discovered that we were growing too fast, had too much work, and hadn’t established the requisite internal hierarchy.”

During the 1990s, the firm developed that hierarchy and the attendant protocols that allowed for crisp project management and the management of client expectations.
In 2003, they hired Lee Reid (who was named CEO in 2019). “At that time, we had a lot of employees, but we’d established a good company culture,” says Reid, “and we were tracking projects from concept to completion.” Payne adds, “We learned how to manage expectations, something that’s central to everyone’s continued happiness.”

Today, Payne|Bouchier is known for far more than historic renovation and restoration projects; its custom homes have earned the firm numerous awards. “Whether the design aesthetic is Greek Revival or uber-modern, what we most enjoy is universal design,” says Payne. “If we can develop solutions and access for someone who needs it, or might one day need it, that’s the sweet spot for me.”