This is from our Boston finalists, Wes & Kayla. Comment away!
Name: Rita & Morgan
Occupation: Graphic Designers
Location: Brookline, MA
Size: 3 Bed, 1.5 Bath House, 2000 sq/ft (does not include 3rd floor apartment)
Years Lived: 24
Own/Rent: Own
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Our dear friends, Rita and Morgan, allowed us to photograph their beautiful home in Brookline, a steep 10 minute walk up the hill from Washington Square, for our first house tour here on AT. Living in small apartments and moving every year or two can sometimes be discouraging - everything seems temporary. Because of this, we draw a lot of inspiration from our friends and family who own their homes...
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This is a tour of a life-long home, a space designed over 24 years and overflowing with history and personality. Every nook and cranny is designed, painted, and filled with decades of travel souvenirs and family art (mostly paintings and ceramics). We know this is larger than many homes shown on AT but the scale and creativity of space has inspired us and we hope it does the same for you readers.
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SURVEY
What was your first renovation to the house?
At first the kitchen had two rooms between it and the yard - a bathroom and a laundry room. We took the entire space apart, removing walls and hundreds of pounds of 1895 plaster (this was the most difficult part ). We did most of the carpentry and all the sheet rock and trim work ourselves.
How did you go about re-designing the new kitchen?
We set up a table in the middle of the room, fitting the table legs into pvc pipe to make the counter height we thought we wanted. Then we took a piece of homasote and made a top, placing it over the table, as big as we thought the space could handle, cutting it back until the size and height that functioned properly in the space (and the female cook in the family could work comfortably).
What is your favorite thing about the house?
The light and the spaciousness of the first floor.
What is your decorating advice?
Take a renovation slowly and seriously. When painting a room look through magazines and, without thinking, tear our pages representing color that you like - then see where you end up and determine the colors through them. Also, paint a good size piece of cardboard the color you have selected and leave it in the room for a few days - waiting for cloudy, sunny, evening and morning - so that you can test how you feel in every living situation. Realize that dark walls require an adjustment to the quantity of light you will have to introduce to the space - always have lighting on dimmers.
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- Kayla & Wes
(Thanks, Kayla & Wes!)
Reader Vote:
wes and kayla - great job and once you combine homes (after one of you wins the contest of course!) you can save money and buy something small and cool :)
view Joan in SB's profile
It seems like we're seeing a preponderance of House Tours at the exact same time as the Smallest..... Contest. It's hard to tell them apart sometimes since the info below each opening photo is the same. Why run so many House Tours at the same time?
view anne's profile
the house itself is wonderful, but too many nooks and crannies filled with too much stuff for my taste.
view BB's profile
Is it just me, or is that a giant rug-hooked piece of meat above your sofa?
view Deeliscious's profile
Why are there two votes for this?
view Pixie's profile
Pixie, at first glance I thought it was a giant hooked rug oyster ... but maybe it's a giant hooked rug piece of meat?
view birdie_dc's profile
What's that cheerful, airy greeny yellow paint color you've got in the living room? Reminds me of the the Benjamin Moore Golden Delicous tester swatch I've got painted in my own living room awaiting a decision!
view ljbmonkey's profile
Whoops I meant to Deeliscious -- no offense Pixie. :)
view birdie_dc's profile
Yes, that is a giant piece of meat (a ham, to be exact, made by one of their daughters). Its actually made of shredded paper and its the one thing people always seem to remember vividly after coming to the house.
I don't know why the voting is messed up... ?
view bostonkayla's profile
that huge thing is scary...like a giant dust bunny (made from a red/purple ikea rug). I bet its mega expensive. I cant get over it, its like a cancer in that pretty painted room. I love the wall color and the sofa looks comfy!
view Keyse's profile
The fenestration in the kitchen is lovely. The upper tier windows are like a modern day clerestory. (Architects, am I right?) The artwork really makes this home special. While the giant ham is dustbunny-esque, as Keyse mentioned, at least it's not expected and is definitely a conversation piece.
view SMM's profile
A bit cluttered for my taste, but it has that "storied" look that only comes with time and a good eye for what belongs and what doesn't. I'm looking forward to my own place achieving this over time. Love the rug in the living room and the gorgeous soapstone slab in the kitchen.
view farmhousemoderne's profile
Maybe it took 24 years to make that fuzzy monstrosity out of dryer lint.
view hejiranyc's profile
love all the art! however, i was hoping for a closeup of what's on the living room wall!! for reals!
view kdkaboom's profile
Are those storage cubbies throughout the house custom? They look a bit like expedit bookcases with some modifications.
view mschwartz's profile
It seems like there should be more than one post per potential blogger for blogger tryouts - otherwise votes end up reflecting the looks of the home fetaured instead of the skills of the blogger!
view JG's profile
i love it. can you tell us all of the paint colors!!!? including the red paint color used for the built in bookshelves? thanks!
view bmorebent's profile
I love the giant ham! It takes the most fantastic kind of guts to make that a centerpiece of your living room. Anyone with a giant shredded paper ham is bound to be an awesome person to take with you for a night out.
view Deeliscious's profile
This reminds me of my favourite aunt and uncle's house - warm, relaxed and full of art and family photos and books and flowers and all the other good things in life!
Kudos for the ham.
view El Jinx's profile
Good post. Great house, very personal. I don't think it is cluttered at all, it just contains items acquired over many years.
view Downeast Suzy's profile
i love that kitchen. it gets me in the mood for grilled cheese sandwiches!
view SD913's profile
I love that wall of red bookcases! Strong post Wes and Kayla- great choice of house and excellent presentation.
view oldmanbl's profile
the light fixtures on the kitchen walls are supercool. were they sold as ceiling fixtures? i love them!
view fibsci's profile
The house has great bones and there are some interesting art pieces. But I don't see any great design elements here.
view Lori's profile
This is wonderful! I especially love the clerestory windows in the kitchen! I've been trying to describe these for our kitchen and no one quite knows what I mean. Did you have them custom made? or just find small fixed windows that worked?
view iresboston's profile