This “Modern Victorian Maximalist” 135-Year-Old Attic Apartment Has over 200 Pieces of Art
This “Modern Victorian Maximalist” 135-Year-Old Attic Apartment Has over 200 Pieces of Art
Katherine, a nurse practitioner, had been working in inpatient medicine and oncology until last year, when her mother, Esther, was diagnosed with cancer. Since then, Katherine’s taken time off of work to help mom out, renovate an old house in Chestnut Hill, and figure out what her next work chapter might be.

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For the past five years, Katherine’s rented the third floor and attic of a large subdivided Victorian house built in 1890. “The apartment was lovely and historic if a little bit run-down; it had a spiral staircase and light-filled attic (these details clinched it for me), and is in a neighborhood I love,” Katherine begins.
“Before I moved in, I was living with my then-boyfriend in a part of the city that didn’t feel like home to me. That breakup was seismic — it made me reconsider who I was and what I wanted, and then COVID happened. COVID intensified and concentrated my natural homebody tendencies, and the apartment became a way for me to channel, articulate, and experiment with my sense of self. The space is a sort of modern Victorian maximalism — moody, exuberant, colorful, often messy.”
Along with Katherine, her mom, Esther, and Katherine’s partner, Igor, who lives in the space part-time, the apartment is also home to Gremlin and Raisin, two cute cats, and Persy, Esther’s dog.
And to create this home for everyone, Katherine repainted all of the downstairs rooms, added peel-and-stick wallpaper, installed peel-and-stick tiles in the kitchen to cover up a beige backsplash, and used fabric on unfinished walls in the bedroom.
“Over the five-plus years I’ve lived here, I’ve learned a lot about how to create a comfortable and vibrant home that feels alive and can accommodate my own various interests as well as be an easy place for friends, family, babies, and animals to ebb and flow through,” Katherine writes.
“My next home (in Chestnut Hill) will likely be a little less saturated and hyperactive, since I’m feeling more settled in myself and won’t need to cover up imperfections in the physical space in quite the same way, but it will still be layered, vibrant, and adaptable for the people and animals who come through.”
RESOURCES
PAINT & COLORS
- Living room — Farrow and Ball “Green Blue; Farrow and Ball “Dix Blue” (balcony door); Farrow and Ball “Fruit Fool”
- Dining room — Sherwin-Williams resounding rose
- Hallway and kitchen — Farrow and Ball “Teresa’s Green,” “Rangwali,” and a blue they don’t make anymore. “I don’t remember the paints I used for the downstairs bedroom door.”
- Wallpaper — All from Spoonflower
LIVING ROOM
- Harmony sofa — West Elm
- Narrow console — West Elm
- Chairs — Joybird
- Lane coffee table — Found at an auction
- Bookshelves, armoires, other furniture, and rugs — From thrift stores/auctions
DINING ROOM
Thanks, Katherine!
- All furniture in the dining room is from my family (rug and hutch) or secondhand from Craigslist/thrift stores/auctions.
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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