Redesign Blends Old and New for a Collector and Antiques Lover
Neotraditional style makes a livable look for the owner of a condo in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood
Armed with her favorite antiques and collections, this empty nester was ready to move across the country, downsize and embrace a whole new look for her new city life. After living in Colorado for years, she’d bought a condo in Boston’s historic Back Bay neighborhood. Interior designer Nikki Dalrymple helped her curate and place her most meaningful pieces while mixing them in with found pieces both new and vintage. They chose paint and wallpaper, added new lighting and installed useful built-ins. Here’s how they honored the old and created a fresh neotraditional look.
Dining room: The homeowner’s existing large pieces worked really well in here. “This curio cabinet she had was perfect because it’s gorgeous and it had this incredible ivory faux bois paper on the back that brought in a modern touch. It was a good place to show off a lot of her favorite china pieces that had been passed down through her family,” Dalrymple says.
A new chandelier and window treatments also help give the space an updated look. The designer added a silk chain cover.
Roman shade fabric: Duralee; find crystal chandeliers
Roman shade fabric: Duralee; find crystal chandeliers
The dining table and chairs were also the homeowner’s, but Dalrymple freshened them up by re-covering the chair seats in a Peter Fasano fabric. The new rug grounds the room in a more contemporary charcoal-and-ivory pattern and is durable and stain resistant. Here you catch a glimpse of the kitchen, one area that was not touched in the design. “It already had beautiful countertops and white cabinets and was just right as is,” Dalrymple says.
Living room: The apartment is open concept; the kitchen is between the dining room and living room (shown here). This cabinet is across the apartment from the dining room’s curio cabinet and provides another spot to display favorite collections. “These darker pieces anchored the rooms with warm wood,” the designer says.
This wall color continues through all of the public areas for continuity in the open plan. The elegant fireplace surround and hearth are original to the historic brownstone building.
Wall paint: Cornforth White, Farrow & Ball
Wall paint: Cornforth White, Farrow & Ball
The craft room-study: Because her client loves to sew, the designer turned this third bedroom into a multipurpose craft space, study and library. She designed beautiful built-ins to conceal her client’s electronic equipment, such as a printer, as well as her sewing machine. Outlets installed along the baseboards let the client easily plug in the sewing machine and pull it over to the table. A narrow walnut counter allowed the upper built-ins to be set back, creating depth, and brass hardware plays beautifully off the green paint.
Cabinet color: Calke Green, Farrow & Ball
Cabinet color: Calke Green, Farrow & Ball
The mirror collection was the homeowner’s; Dalrymple helped her find the right place and arrangement. “The antique glass reflects the built-ins beautifully without being too glaring,” she says. The sewing table-desk is custom and a faux painter matched the top to the walnut wood on the built-ins.
The homeowner already owned the tall antique cabinet. “I saw it and knew it was the perfect piece for this awkward corner,” Dalrymple says. She found the portrait and vintage typewriter she knew her client would love — awkward no more.
The homeowner already owned the tall antique cabinet. “I saw it and knew it was the perfect piece for this awkward corner,” Dalrymple says. She found the portrait and vintage typewriter she knew her client would love — awkward no more.
The custom-made drum shade, special ordered from Japan, is made from gray string.
The master bedroom: A bold wallpaper catches the eye in the master bedroom, and everything else in here was inspired by it and the homeowner’s favorite blues and greens.
“I love pattern play,” Dalrymple says. “The key is to vary the scales and to stick to a pretty specific color palette.” Velvet, a chunky knit, and plaid and botanical patterns mix well together. The lamp’s mercury glass brings in a touch of the old, while its shade adds a lighter pop of green.
Wallpaper: Tanglewood, Thibaut
“I love pattern play,” Dalrymple says. “The key is to vary the scales and to stick to a pretty specific color palette.” Velvet, a chunky knit, and plaid and botanical patterns mix well together. The lamp’s mercury glass brings in a touch of the old, while its shade adds a lighter pop of green.
Wallpaper: Tanglewood, Thibaut
These two figure studies face the bed and have a secret — they slide open to reveal a TV. The components are also hidden in here. The dresser adds a modern element, while the caning on the chair provides a vintage look.
The rug has a contemporary abstract pattern and pulls in the blues and greens her client loves.
Wall paint (in both the master and guest bedrooms): Ammonite, Farrow & Ball; chair: Currey and Company; chair cushion fabric: Fermoie
The rug has a contemporary abstract pattern and pulls in the blues and greens her client loves.
Wall paint (in both the master and guest bedrooms): Ammonite, Farrow & Ball; chair: Currey and Company; chair cushion fabric: Fermoie
Guest room: Two nautical landscapes the homeowner had inspired the gallery wall in the guest room. To tie them all together, Dalrymple kept the art pieces “loosely nautical” with the subject matter, like the sailor girl and tropical bird. She also stuck to antique gold and dark wood on all of the frames.
She had noticed that a lot of the inspiration photos her client shared included skirted furniture. “The skirted nightstands were a way of giving her that, but I made them more modern and unfussy with the casual cotton ticking fabric, fun little button detail and lack of pleats and ruffles,” she says. The caning on the bed and lampshade throw in a little bit of English cottage. “By mixing her most meaningful pieces with more modern ones, she’s got good energy, a more downtown feel and a happy vibe in her home,” she says.
Takeaways:
More
So Your Style Is: Traditional
How to Mix Patterns Like a Pro
She had noticed that a lot of the inspiration photos her client shared included skirted furniture. “The skirted nightstands were a way of giving her that, but I made them more modern and unfussy with the casual cotton ticking fabric, fun little button detail and lack of pleats and ruffles,” she says. The caning on the bed and lampshade throw in a little bit of English cottage. “By mixing her most meaningful pieces with more modern ones, she’s got good energy, a more downtown feel and a happy vibe in her home,” she says.
Takeaways:
- Set the tone for your place by showing off your style in the entry. It gives visitors a preview of what’s to come.
- You can hang on to your antiques and traditional pieces and still have a fresh look. Some ways to do this include wallpapering the back of a display piece and reupholstering chair cushions.
- A good way to solve the TV-in-the-bedroom controversy is to hide it behind artwork.
- Tie a gallery wall together with a theme and stick to a particular material palette on the frames.
More
So Your Style Is: Traditional
How to Mix Patterns Like a Pro
Condo at a Glance
Who lives here: An empty nester
Location: Back Bay neighborhood of Boston
Size: 1,650 square feet (153 square meters); three bedrooms, three bathrooms
Designer: Nikki Dalrymple of Acquire
The plan: Dalrymple worked to highlight her client’s existing favorite pieces and collections, added to them, and brought in fresh color and pattern to a previous “white box” renovation. The designer discovered early on that her client was ready to break free from strictly traditional style, that her favorite colors were blues and greens and assessed that she was a good candidate for wallpaper.
Entry: This entry sets the tone for the home’s style. A beautiful handblocked wallpaper greets those who enter. The antique desk was her client’s, as was the chair; Dalrymple helped her choose a new fabric for the seat cushion. On the left, a vintage flour bin now serves as an umbrella stand. “The rug is a fun departure from traditional style. It brings in the blues and greens and is dhurrie inspired,” the designer says.
Wallpaper: Lotus, Galbraith and Paul; chair fabric: Stark; browse botanical wallpaper