Name: Drew and Mindy and their beloved dog, Winnie Cooper
Location: Melrose, Massachusetts
Size: 1,700 square feet
Years lived in: almost 2 — owned
After I walked up the steep-ish, ample stairs to the front door of Drew and Mindy's house (greeted along the way by Winnie Cooper!), I walked in and remembered why it's so much fun to be a house tour blogger. I was instantly smitten with their delightful, beautifully curated home (and their dog, but that's another story).
Drew, a creative consultant, and Mindy, a wedding planner for Altieri Events, make a dynamic home design team. Here are some of my favorite elements of their space: the incredible use of blues and grays with red accents (I'm not typically a blue person but their space made me want to rush home and repaint my house); their amazing art collection (Drew owned and operated his own gallery in the South End up until 2006); the gleaming orange-toned hardwood floors; the cozy overall scale of the home; the beautiful balance of masculine and feminine elements (this is hard to achieve!); the clever layout in the living room with the floating desk (it's never easy to arrange these long, narrow living spaces); and even though Drew and Mindy are chomping at the bit to renovate the old school kitchen, I happen to love it.
Winnie Cooper is very lucky to live and play here. Well done, Drew and Mindy!
Apartment Therapy Survey:
Our Style: Mid-Century and Contemporary, but still warm and comfortable.
Inspiration: Drew's Arts and Crafts fascination started with Frank Lloyd Wright and the mid-century influence comes from his education as an Industrial Designer. Mindy is inspired by color and texture - but the fairly neutral wall colors are good for the art! (plus design*sponge, Elle Décor & apartment therapy).
Favorite Element: Wall Color Choices (with minor exceptions), all of the light from the windows, and the art.
Biggest Challenge: Keeping the house clean and not obsessing over the condition of the more pricey furniture items. And, finding 4-6 used Cab Chairs by Mario Bellini for our dining room. Call us!
What Friends Say: Like they're honest with us about the house! - but seriously, most of them say it feels very calm and inviting - especially being up high and looking out at treetops... and everyone loves that pencil point grey color in the dining room (below the chair rail).
Biggest Embarrassment: The bathroom and kitchen still need work, they are relatively untouched since we moved in. And the lighting...It's tough to find good stuff that you can live with, we have yet to invest in new fixtures. Also, Mindy said she'd paint all the trim - we've been here over a year... ahem.
Proudest DIY: Drew took off from work and spent a week straight painting every square inch of the interior prior to moving in. The schedule was 8 am to about 3 am for six days. He lived off of Melrose's Liberty Bell cheeseburgers and Mountain Dew (if you call that living).
Biggest Indulgence: Sadly, some new plumbing in the basement! But for fun, it's usually art related.
Best Advice: Figure out which pieces of furniture are worth spending good money on. Also, remember that you can get value out of things like furniture and art. For example, when you buy something at Ikea, it's like a car leaving a lot, it's worth a lot less when it leaves the showroom. Mid-century and antique furniture, even if used, can retain its value should you wish to sell it in the future for whatever reason, including trading it in for something new and different. And as far as choosing colors - it's only paint. If you don't like it, you can change it!
Dream Sources: High Brow Furniture, Room and Board, Machine Age (Boston), Herman Miller, Knoll, Cassina
Resources of Note:
PAINT & COLORS
- • Main Hall, Upper Dining Room, Living Room, Upper Hallway: Behr Silver Sateen
• Lower Dining Room & Den: Behr Pencil Point
• Kitchen: not quite the blue I wanted...
• Stairway Accent Wall: Behr Chianti
• Master Bedroom: Benjamin Moore Charlotte Slate
• Guest Room: Behr Verdigris
• Drew's Office: Behr - messed up color mix, so "happy accident forest green"
• All Trim: Behr Ultra White
ENTRY
- • table: Eileen Gray (Knoll)
• chair: Eames LCW (Herman Miller)
• antique rug: Ebay
• "Bank in the form of a Pig": Harry Allen
• Art: blue painting by David Moore, Print by Shepard Fairey
LIVING ROOM
- • Sectional Sofa: Boston Inteiors
• Noguchi table: Herman Miller
• TV Stand: Nelson Bench by Herman Miller
• Blue Saarinen Chairs: purchased by Drew's father in Kansas City (
• Teak Desk: Abodeon in Cambridge
• Rug in sofa area: Chiasso
• Rug under desk: Ikea
• Art:Nixon and Mao prints by Faile, Bird print by Jungil Hong, Painting over the mantel by Peter Opheim
DINING ROOM
- • Marble Saarinen table: Knoll
• Plastic Chairs: Design Within Reach
• Rug: Antique
• Vintage Chairs: Brimfield
• Red Wing Pottery: Prismatique is the line of that particular design, designed by Belle Kogan
• Art: Drawing by Ben Peterson, Photograph by Lori Nix, Screenprint/Drawing by Alex Lukas
KITCHEN
- • Butcher Block: Ikea
• Cabinets and Tile same as when we moved in and in desperate need of a makeover
STAIRWELL
- • Red Chandelier (came with the house - probably from Home Depot, we painted it red)
• Prints: Shepard Fairey
MASTER BEDROOM
- • Copenhagen Bed: Room and Board
• Print: Shepard Fairey
GUEST BEDROOM
- • Bed and Comforter: Ikea
• Rug: Ann & Hope
DREW'S OFFICE
- • Eames Lounge: Herman Miller
• Flat File: Secondhand
• Desk: Ikea
• Office Chair: Costco
• Antique Mission Barrister Bookcase
• Art:Horizon Paintings by Judy Maloney, Explosion Painting by Mark Schoening, Blotch Painting by Chris Teasley, Bench in Snow Photograph by Remi Thornton, Dog print by Faile, Somerville Gate (in case) by Geoff Hargadon
Thanks, Drew and Mindy!
Images: Kyle Freeman
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Looks sick you guys!!!
BTW: FIRST!
Gorgeous! I really like the use of cool/warm colors against each other. I've tried and its tricky to get just right.
The space looks really inviting and sophisticated (a killer art collection always helps on that end)
I really love this home. I don't usually love all the pics in a home tour, but the wall colors (and the two toned rooms) are fantastic. I'd love to live in this space!
Wow! This house is beautiful. Good paint choices and the art collection is to die for. I do have to ding you for putting the TV in front of a window, though! There has to be another way!
this is the kind of house i would love to see even MORE artwork on the wall. these folks have great taste. :)
I also have a chihuahua with an underbite. Winnie's snaggle tooth slays me. Wonderfully goofy and cute.
House is nice too :)
Gorgeous! What did you do for window coverings? Hard to tell as some of them seem to just be glowing - is there something in front of them?
So the dog is the last picture, hmmm? #ICWUDT
The prints and floor are awesome, but keeping that floor clean would be a pain.
Thanks for the early (and kind) comments! The TV is a challenge. We have to invest in a solution considering the older construction and electricity. Mounting is a pain. Framing artwork is a constant project, so more will be up as time goes on, but we have to pace ourselves. We only have coverings on the upstairs windows. Given our proximity to the street and neighbors, none are necessary for the lower levels. But, upstairs we just have cheap shades (I believe they are Redi Shades from Lowes).
This home is beautiful ! I really like the dark blue color on the walls & all the bright accents.
This isn't really my style, but I STILL find myself attracted to it which is a sure sign that the owners know what they are doing.
In spite of some of the furniture and artwork not being my style, the color palettes win me over. I love the rich grays and the green upstairs. Nicely done !!
Ok I took a second look and I do like a lot of the artwork! I just really don't like the monkey thing over the mantle and I feel like it gets centre stage when it should not.
Your paint color choices are fantastic. I liked the teal in the kitchen--looks really sharp with the white cabinets and checkerboard tile.
But that said, Winnie takes the cake.
Winnie!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love the whole house, including the kitchen. And the dog is darling.
I live in Melrose! Great to see what others have done with similar homes. I think I have the same trim around my doors, same chair railing in the dinning room, and same china built in.
The wall colors are amazing and everything looks fresh and crisp. Your red banister coupled with the red chandy are especially interesting. You've both done a great job!
I love everything about this, especially the choice of paint and the wonderful artwork...oh, and of course Winnie!
I also love the color choices, unexpected combinations that I would never have thought to use, as I don't like blue much either. Especially like the "accidental" green, lovely, and the red chandelier.
I too like the kitchen and have a suggestion from my own to "modern" it up and provide more utility, assuming the fridge is on the far side of the wooden table at the window:
1) IKEA makes an all metal chef's table with 2 storage shelves that is a WHOLE lot less expensive than an industrial one and has one more shelf than the industrial one too. It's just the right size and though it scratches, I decided to consider that "patina" a la a David Smith sculpture, and am quite happy with it. Clean w/ Pledge, no fingerprints. All kinds of stuff looks decorative yet practical on the shelves. Place it in the center of the room instead of at the window and eliminate the wooden one, which doesn't seem to go with the rest of your stuff nor with your lovely wooden floors. You will find that you can place the stuff from the fridge on the table (island), then walk to the stove and have it within easy reach of counters and sink. And having it in the middle of the room will make the room look bigger, I think.
2) If you don't like the look of your wooden stool w/ the metal table, either paint it a great color or replace it with the relatively inexpensive metal knock-off of the classic French one. (Tolle ?) Or WTH, get the classic from DWR if you gots the money. I find placing the stool at the end of the counter gives me a place to rest my purse when I walk in from the store w/out setting it where food will be, and the stool is easily moved from there to the stove or wherever else you need it to be....and it looks cool at the end, kind of like a punctuation mark.
3) Yeah, that kitchen blue is awful :- \
Thanks for sharing !
Lovely, really well done. Where is the white cabinet in the front entry hall from?
Actually that is a radiator cover that was here when we moved in.
Slammin’ space!! Love Winnie (grrrr)! Love the office! Where did you get that desk?
I have those orange floors and have not been crazy about them; now I see that with cool-toned wall colors, they can look really good. Great job.
That dog is adorable.
@Nef4tt: Desk in the office from Ikea.
Great use of furniture and art pieces. There's a really comfortable flow through the house. Love it!
Well done Drew & Mindy! Love the colors, furniture, & art. Very exciting to see your house here:)
Looks nice, but silly question about the first thing I noticed in the overall space... lack of any lamps or lighting, especially in the main living area. Do they live in the dark at night with the exception of the glow of the TV?
That pottery! In those colors!
Wow! Hello neighbour! Melrose is a pretty small city (town). I'm so happy to see such style and grace in our fair hamlet. :)
I love your floors! I'm refinishing my entire house and we have fir wood flooring. Do you know what kind of wood your floor is and/or what stain/finish you used. thx!
The understated colors echoed in vibrant versions throughout is beautiful!
Pleasure to see:)
Lovely home. Just lovely.
I'd also like to say that I think the photography on Kyle Freeman's posts is just terrific. Really well done.
Cute. The rug under table is too small. When u push chairs back they should still be on rug.
Charming and thoughtful. I really enjoyed this one!
such a great house. and i LOVE that pottery collection.
Beautiful house.
I live in Melrose too! Maybe we should start some kind of design meetup group! Love these big old houses. Fun to see what others do with similar spaces!
Love the black and white kitchen!
Love the colors, furniture, & art. I am particularly partial to the blue used on the chairs and rug.
This is completely *not* my style but I still am in with love it.
Winnie has cast her spell on me.
Where did you guys get the wire basket with the firewood in it in your living room? I have been looking for one like it. Love you place.
Winnie, you have the most beautiful smile!
I'd love to hear more about the pottery.
@melrosemodern - Duh! You'd think I’d read the resources! I was just so taken with your space! Thank you!
wonderful - would just urge a more interesting/complex/larger graphic over fireplace.
Love your space....I especially like the red wall upstairs and the shandalier ( hope I spelled that word correctly ). Nicely done :)
What a lovely home - feels clean, bright and full of character.
First of all, this is an amazing house. You guys clearly have excellent taste, but more importantly, know when to back off to not over do it. Fantastic job! Second, I'm delighted to see such a great space coming from my own town! Melrose has an abundance of beautiful houses with potential for eclectic interior design. Your home is an excellent example of that.
btw: Winnie Cooper is a great name for a dog.