My Houzz: Inviting Transitional Style in a Boston Brownstone
An interior designer helps homeowners create a family-friendly layout in their two-story home
Faith Towers
April 3, 2019
Houzz Contributor. Faith Towers is a designer, writer and crafter with a passion for all things creative. She received her art degree from Skidmore College, and her work has been featured in Forbes and Yahoo. She writes her blog called Design Fixation and also spends her days designing wedding invitations and stationery.
Houzz Contributor. Faith Towers is a designer, writer and crafter with a passion... More
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Kristen and Derek Vicino and their two children
Location: South End neighborhood of Boston
Size: 1,600 square feet (149 square meters); two bedrooms, two bathrooms
Kristen and Derek Vicino have loved living in the South End area of Boston for more than a decade, having grown accustomed to its charming cobblestone streets, walkability and incredible restaurant scene. The homeowners, who are also the parents of two young children, own a two-story brownstone. “We always thought we would have moved to the suburbs by now, but we both have busy jobs, and by living in the city we are able to minimize our commute time, thereby maximizing time with our kids,” Kristen says.
Who lives here: Kristen and Derek Vicino and their two children
Location: South End neighborhood of Boston
Size: 1,600 square feet (149 square meters); two bedrooms, two bathrooms
Kristen and Derek Vicino have loved living in the South End area of Boston for more than a decade, having grown accustomed to its charming cobblestone streets, walkability and incredible restaurant scene. The homeowners, who are also the parents of two young children, own a two-story brownstone. “We always thought we would have moved to the suburbs by now, but we both have busy jobs, and by living in the city we are able to minimize our commute time, thereby maximizing time with our kids,” Kristen says.
To make their home more family-friendly, Kristen, pictured, and Derek made changes to its layout and renovated the kitchen and a bathroom. They worked with interior designer Misty Gray of Grayscale Design and general contractors from Brite Builders.
Find an interior designer near you
Find an interior designer near you
“Overall, one of our biggest challenges is the nontraditional layout of the home,” Derek says. “Practically, this means that our kitchen is right next to the bedrooms, so we have to be quiet when the kids are sleeping. Our living space is on a different floor than our kitchen and dining space.”
The family spends the most time in this ground-floor family room and playroom space. Even though the living space is on a different level than the kitchen, “the sacrifice was worth it to have a big family room and playroom, which is a luxury in a city home,” Derek says. With the open layout, the couple enjoy being able to watch their kids playing while sitting in the family room.
For their main seating, they chose a sleeper sofa with performance fabric in case of spills. Its pullout bed can accommodate overnight guests. The wooden trunk used as a coffee table also serves as storage for linens.
Kashmir storage trunk: Boston Interiors
The family spends the most time in this ground-floor family room and playroom space. Even though the living space is on a different level than the kitchen, “the sacrifice was worth it to have a big family room and playroom, which is a luxury in a city home,” Derek says. With the open layout, the couple enjoy being able to watch their kids playing while sitting in the family room.
For their main seating, they chose a sleeper sofa with performance fabric in case of spills. Its pullout bed can accommodate overnight guests. The wooden trunk used as a coffee table also serves as storage for linens.
Kashmir storage trunk: Boston Interiors
The playroom area was originally used as a bar, which the homeowners removed to open up the space. The walls are painted in a neutral color — Sail Cloth by Benjamin Moore. Kristen and Derek tend to not keep breakable items on this level of the home as their young kids spend most of their play time here, including playing hide-and-seek, building forts and working on art projects.
Toys to Inspire Budding Architects and Designers
Toys to Inspire Budding Architects and Designers
The living room is on the second floor. The couple prioritized adding storage to their home, especially to have places to organize the kids’ toys, books and other gear. The couple had custom built-ins added next to the fireplace. The one on the right holds dining-room-related items and the one on the left hides kids’ items such as coloring books. Baskets tucked behind the gray tufted love seat hold more kids’ things.
Since this room is small, the couple chose furniture that could easily be moved around for parties. The framed photos on the wall are from the family’s travels in Europe.
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Since this room is small, the couple chose furniture that could easily be moved around for parties. The framed photos on the wall are from the family’s travels in Europe.
Find a local cabinetmaker
The home’s original architectural details were a big selling point for the couple, including this fireplace surround.
Before: The existing kitchen felt outdated and lacked personality. Before moving in, the couple did a complete renovation of it. They knew they wanted to replace the backsplash tile, stove and countertops.
Kristen used Houzz for inspiration throughout the renovation of the home. She had an ideabook for each room and often searched by feature — for example, “white cabinets with black countertops.” She also searched for regional inspiration by looking at Boston-area brownstones to see how other people had decorated similar spaces.
The couple also worked closely with their interior designer. “She really helped us with a lot of the more technical aspects of designing our home, like the kitchen configuration and built-in cabinet specs,” Kristen says. Gray recommended that the couple remove the drop ceilings, allowing them to increase storage. General contractors Brite Builders helped with the renovation.
Kristen used Houzz for inspiration throughout the renovation of the home. She had an ideabook for each room and often searched by feature — for example, “white cabinets with black countertops.” She also searched for regional inspiration by looking at Boston-area brownstones to see how other people had decorated similar spaces.
The couple also worked closely with their interior designer. “She really helped us with a lot of the more technical aspects of designing our home, like the kitchen configuration and built-in cabinet specs,” Kristen says. Gray recommended that the couple remove the drop ceilings, allowing them to increase storage. General contractors Brite Builders helped with the renovation.
After: The refrigerator and the dishwasher are the only things remaining from the previous kitchen. The homeowners had the builder-grade backsplash tile replaced with a herringbone tile from Ann Sacks. They installed a stove by Jenn-Air. For the countertops, they loved the look of soapstone but didn’t want the upkeep, so they opted for American Black granite for a similar look.
The couple went with drawers instead of cabinets for the lowers, and they extended the uppers all the way to the newly heightened ceiling. All of the kids’ bowls, plates and cups are in a bottom drawer so they can get out their own dishes for meals. A hook-on-style high chair for the younger child allows him to eat at the extended countertop when the rest of the family does.
“On weekend mornings, we usually make pancakes together and eat at the kitchen counter,” Derek says. “Both kids like to help by stirring the batter.”
Wall paint: Revere Pewter, Benjamin Moore
“On weekend mornings, we usually make pancakes together and eat at the kitchen counter,” Derek says. “Both kids like to help by stirring the batter.”
Wall paint: Revere Pewter, Benjamin Moore
The dining room is next to the living room and has beautiful bay windows, a quintessentially Boston architectural detail. The couple purchased a custom curtain rod and added ready-made curtain panels; they had the middle ones sewn together to make them look fuller.
Shop for a crystal chandelier
Shop for a crystal chandelier
The Vicinos love spending time with family and have started celebrating every Christmas with Kristen’s family now that they live in a space more conducive to entertaining. “My family has spent Christmas morning together my whole life. Since having our second child, my family very graciously moved that tradition to our house so that our kids could wake up here,” she says. “I love having a reason to break out the china, and my brother, who is a chef, makes Christmas dinner with me.”
These crystal candleholders were a wedding gift from a close friend.
These crystal candleholders were a wedding gift from a close friend.
The front entryway has a compact space for the kids’ jackets, boots and winter gear. The family loves walking around their neighborhood, playing at the local playgrounds and visiting the nearby Boston Children’s Museum. “I expect that we will enjoy the city even more as the kids get older,” Kristen says.
Shop for wall hooks
Shop for wall hooks
“One of our biggest challenges was the tiny master bedroom,” Kristen says. “We had to select furniture very carefully to fit in the space, while also maximizing storage.”
The couple designed and had these wood nightstands made to match their dressers, creating additional storage in the room.
Find a carpenter near you
The couple designed and had these wood nightstands made to match their dressers, creating additional storage in the room.
Find a carpenter near you
The children share a bedroom that’s on the same floor as the main living space. On one side of the room is a crib and on the other a twin bed. A glider chair fits perfectly in the corner next to the crib.
Before: The previous main bathroom featured dark tile floors, and the couple wanted something lighter. They decided to keep the vanity, which was in great condition.
After: They installed new polished marble floor tile in a hexagon pattern. The walls are painted a bold navy blue for contrast.
Wall paint: Hale Navy, Benjamin Moore; Nova Lynx marble tile: TileBar
Wall paint: Hale Navy, Benjamin Moore; Nova Lynx marble tile: TileBar
Since the bathroom functioned well before they moved in, they were able to keep the layout the same and didn’t need to replace any major elements other than the flooring.
The couple mounted a small storage cabinet above the toilet to hold extra shower items and cleaning supplies. The other full bathroom is downstairs and includes a bathtub for the kids.
See more of this home
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More on Houzz
Find a local interior designer
Hire a bathroom contractor
Shop for floor tile
See more of this home
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More on Houzz
Find a local interior designer
Hire a bathroom contractor
Shop for floor tile
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I, too, think it's smart to raise kids in the city. They learn to navigate early on and tend to be less intimidated by the wider world than someone who was raised in the suburbs and ends up in a major city when they get their first job.
nice!