Awesome that the space where a kitchen table would usually go has been transformed into a play area. I love that some people can throw convention out the window and just do what works for them!

Congratulations Alex and Debra. How exciting. I heard from Jen that this was going to happen, but it's so much cooler now that it's actually here. Your place looks fantastic.

We have light years to go in our house remodel before we reach your beauty and classiness. Hopefully we can get some pointers in May. :-)

The columned room is spectacular. I'm green with envy.

Jeez what a nice place! as usual, though, the vignettes are out of control. I'm sure no one cares what the toilet paper holder looks like.

this is a gorgeous home, and they've really made the layotuwork. Can I ask how wide the house is?

Beautiful home! The columns add a strong architectural sense that defines your spaces well. What wonderful edited use of plants...they bring such an extra sense of life and elegance to your home. A great place to live...Good for you and your family!

This place is amazing. I love every inch of it.

great kitchen layout! and i love all the plants!!

Framed family (?) photos on the stairwall are so well done; they would give me pleasure on every trip up/down!
Your hearty houseplants are like little family members.
And did I miss a description of the wooden "console/table" behind the guest bed? Having it behind a headboard is such a good choice: it's beauty is showcased and it's function is very helpful in raising up the plant and whatever else might find a home on it.
Nice that you have that great yellow chest for the tv ... and that it happens to balance out the great yellow chair. And that the two living rooms are so nicely balanced!
Happy homemakers x5!

Would really be nice to see more of the houses on these tours and less of the little decorative vignettes ... canister sets? ... toilet paper holders? ... etc.? Great house, but more of it would be even better.

One of my favorite tours! It's nice to see that a family of 5 can still have a beautiful and functioning home. You guys rock!!!

Thanks for the tour, looks like a place of fun and comfort. I can see why people want to stay.
Love the skylight bathroom especially.

Very nice but it would be better if it had used a bit of the Greek Revival architecture as a theme for the decorating. Recessed downlights should never be used especially in a historic house. This ceiling acne lighting makes people look terrible.

I as well don't understand why there were so many photos of the "accessories", and not of the home itself????? This is not a photography post, it is HOME TOUR....I see that often in AT's home tours, and it befuddles me why.

Aside from that, the layout is so very homey and comfortable, yet perfectly set up for the kids to play without having to navigate furniture everywhere. Great job! Love the lighting as well, it gives that modern touch nicely. I have done the same in my home, a bit of modern with a bit of the architectural style of the home, and I..and others.. very much enjoy the look.

I love this house, it's gorgeous.

But, what's the deal with the toilet paper holder?

Thank you all for the lovely comments. To see more of our home (before and afters) check out Cocoon's Blog http://cocoonhome.com/blog/?p=1123
http://cocoonhome.com/blog/

I LOVE the picture of you beautiful red-ringletted child against the gray background. Haven't even looked at the house yet, but bet that artful picture is one you'll treasure.

Gorgeous home. I second (or third or fourth) the complaint about the photos. It's like the photographer was focused on pretty pictures but not on giving a sense of this space.

One more thing...

I've never seen Ikea beds look so good!

This is such a great home, very cool Cambridge family. Love it.

There are so many smart uses of space and pretty touches in this home. I love the use of wallpaper, dark colors and the family room/playroom right there by the kitchen. Very family-friendly.

Nice! I love all the plants.

I love the use of different prints on the walls, linens, etc. Such a beautiful home and family.

I'm a recent escapee from the Annoying People's Republic, so I know firsthand that Cantabridgians tend to regard themselves as deep thinking, intellectual, and creative individuals. Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if photos, such as the one of the toilet paper holder, contained some "deeper" meaning, at least in the mind of the photographer. (Maybe it's a metaphor for the wasting of the proletariat.)

By the way, the Flor carpeting leaves much to be desired, and the chrome floor lamp that's in close proximity to the crystal sconces--really bad, man.

The living/dining rooms are great, as is the kids' room. But my favorite feature of all is the TP holder--WOW!

Such a beautiful home. I wish the photography had done it justice. I kept getting frustrated at the vignettes and the fact the I couldn't get a real sense of the rooms. Clearly, the wallpaper has a story to tell and was not adequately shown. The art is also not shown to advantage. The lovely Frida Kahlo painting is cut in half. And the toilet paper shot? Just bad. No one cares.

Please establish the room, and then zone in on accessories, it will make the home tours much more enjoyable.

cute place and wonderfully designed for family and kids...I like the accessories as they were inexpensive yet still decorative, adding a little panache to the home...
maureen
eclectic revisited

I love it ALL even all your accessories. LOL

Well, you know <I>I</I> love it. This is a well deserved honor. The photography is great, too. All around, A+!

I love it all. The home, the design elements, the personal touches, the photography, but most of all, I LOVE the family!!!
Congratulations, Alex and Debra!
Well deserved, indeed.

very stylish and livable

Beautiful!

Where are the sugar, coffee, tea canisters from?

Awesome house tour. Loved every inch of the space.

Love your house! Just wondering what the kids' bunk bed is elevated on. We have the same bad in our boys room and I've struggled to figure out how to safely elevate it a bit so we don't have one boy so close to the floor! (PS, I'll be painting it white now, too. Don't know why I didn't think of that sooner!) Thanks!

A beautiful house. A really great combination of classical and modern styles and such a controlled and sophisticated sense of pattern and color - especially in the kids' room! Love that you've also repurposed the kitchen eating area as a family space and remade it to your own needs. (I use mine as an office.)

As for the comments here complaining about vignettes and details, what the heck are people expecting from a design site? Weird. Though I've gotta say, floorplans always help with these tours, and they are all too rare.

Oh, and @rhodajr: Snark is not wit. It is wit's inbred cousin.

Lovely home. Really well done. I love brown so its nice to see people using it more. Love the painting in the master bedroom too.

Here's an idea for the photographers... Take shots of the overall rooms. Let us see the space as a whole from all angles and THEN go ahead and put in your vignettes if you must. The vignettes are ridiculously annoying when I don't know what the room looks like, but I don't mind them AFTER the overall shots. Seriously though - the toilet paper shot? Come on.

I have to fall in and say love what I can see of the home, and really love the increased shots of the family...loathing the "vignette" shots. Such a missed opportunity to show more of the great design of the rooms. I feel like we only get a tease here.

And, I don't think I should have to visit another site where a home is listed to see more of a house, when that's what I come to an A.T. house tour for. Is this suddenly an advertising vehicle for other blogs?

Gorgeous house - love the decor. And, as a parent of three kids (now grown), the kids end up waking each other up whether they're in the same room or not! When mine were little, we lived in a huge house but everyone was usually in the same room when we were awake (kitchen, family room, play room...). The idea that you have to have LOTS of space and a huge yard when you have kids is a myth -- kids want to be where mom and dad are.

Yeah, so lots of cool touches, but despite the Ikea elements and comments about "inexpensive items," this house screams expensive decor to me. My favorite Apartment Therapy tours are those where people actually made do with less...like the rest of us.

i love your bedroom!

Gorgeous!

Great Home! The decor, the layout, even the wallpaper is so very tasteful. Love it!

Lovely. I don't get the complaints about the photos...there are plenty of full room shots.

love the cream color bedroom!!

@ crayfish our children love being in the same room. At least at this age (twins 5 and a 3 year old) It does make the bedtime ritual smoother and quicker. At some point we'll have to find a larger home or change over our guest room to a bedroom. thanks for checking out the post!

@ darahill thanks for checking out our home. Regarding your question about the width of the house. At the widest part which includes the kitchen area it's 19ft. The area with the table and yellow credenza is 11.5ft. narrow, compact but very functional. we use ever inch of it.

Is it just me or does Alex look like Alec Baldwin in pic #40 :-)

Thanks Apartment Therapy for featuring our home. Below is a link to our roof deck renovation!

http://cocoonhome.com/blog/?p=6844