Fall 2008 Issue

Designer Frank Roop draws on a fashion sensibility to dress up his Back Bay home in rich fabrics and textures. View the slide show!

A touch of suede trim, reams of turquoise velvet, glimmers of mother-of-pearl. No, we’re not inside a style maven’s closet—we’re in an apartment in an […]

Feature

Designer Frank Roop draws on a fashion sensibility to dress up his Back Bay home in rich fabrics and textures. View the slide show!

A touch of suede trim, reams of turquoise velvet, glimmers of mother-of-pearl. No, we’re not inside a style maven’s closet—we’re in an apartment in an […]

Covet: A $3,000 Östen Kristiansson hunting chair

Before landing her curatorial gig at the Museum of Fine Arts in textile and fashion arts, Pamela Parmal was a budding pharmacist. But she just […]

Covet: A $3,000 Östen Kristiansson hunting chair

Before landing her curatorial gig at the Museum of Fine Arts in textile and fashion arts, Pamela Parmal was a budding pharmacist. But she just […]

Recycling cardboard and swapping out light bulbs are but baby steps in the fight to save the planet. Meet local eco-pioneers who tricked out their homes to cut their bills and conserve resources—and what it took to get there. Check out our slide show.

Click here to see the flash presentation.

Our seven favorite excuses for a shopping spree this fall.

1. In the Hot Seat Nothing beats the athletic comfort of a round-bottomed fiberglass chair upholstered in Argentinean leather. Sit, lie, rock, or fold, and […]

Former technology analyst Rob Haimes loved architecture so much, he studied up and tried it himself. Check out our slide show!

There’s a story told about Edgar Kaufmann, the owner of the most famous house in America, Pennsylvania’s Fallingwater, and his architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. Worried […]

This carefully crafted Lincoln home is breathtaking proof that slow and steady wins the race. View the slide show!

It started almost two decades ago. Eileen McDonagh, Bob Davoli, and their two sons had been living in a mid-19th-century Belmont farmhouse since the 1970s. […]

This carefully crafted Lincoln home is breathtaking proof that slow and steady wins the race. View the slide show!

It started almost two decades ago. Eileen McDonagh, Bob Davoli, and their two sons had been living in a mid-19th-century Belmont farmhouse since the 1970s. […]

A stodgy Tudor in West Newton gets a vibrant facelift, courtesy of a spirited new owner. Check out the slide show!

“I’m not a Tudor person,” says Liz Charm. In spite of that, after years of living in a West Newton Victorian, she and her family […]

Grand views and glorious amenities make Trinity Place a bit of urban paradise. Here, three sets of condo owners open the doors to their ultraluxe hideaways.

Trinity Place One Huntington Ave.,Boston 1: Mitchell and Alison Robbins2: Donna Bubash and Doug Dorfman3: Haya and Joseph Linde#1WHO THEY ARE Mitchell and Alison Robbins […]

Once considered cheap and unoriginal, prefab homes are making a well-deserved comeback—thanks in part to one very eco-savvy local business.

I’m driving along the back roads of Acton, trying to reassure myself I’ve read the directions right. I mean, this is Acton, land of exclusive […]

Hectic schedules leave precious few hours for decompressing, much less sorting the mail. Boston’s Fini Concierge gives writer Carmen D. Nobel time for a soak while running her errands, cleaning her car, and organizing her domestic chaos.

Until recently, I had a job that required me to fly around the country. A lot. No matter where I went, I knew I could […]

Unimpressed with their Back Bay townhouse’s renovation, a design-minded couple start from scratch.

Becky Kidder-Smith and Tom Smith, the owners of Newbury Street’s Kidder Smith Gallery, didn’t mean to renovate their new townhouse quite this extensively. “But it […]

Midcentury accents and a playful design attitude turn a South End brownstone into a family’s cozy refuge. Photos by Christian Kozowyk.

When you’re living within city limits, space comes at a premium. So it goes without saying that architects Monica Ponce de Leon and Gregory Saldana, […]

A simple garage gets a high-flying, lighthearted design.

“This is the most fun project we’ve ever worked on,” says Cambridge-based Gleysteen Design’s Marcus Gleysteen of the tented structure perched atop a windy ridge […]

With an automated seat lifter, formidable water pressure, and a germ-repelling finish, this high-tech toilet may be the best seat in the house.

Avid cooks go nuts for Viking ranges; cinemaphiles trick out their home theaters. But who, exactly, buys a big-ticket toilet? Turns out, Toto’s new Neorest […]

Tacky isn’t always bad—especially when it means a quick peel-and-paste update.

The Nuisance: A collection of boring-backed chairs creates an undue drag on home décor.The Remedy: Not every piece of furniture needs sprucing up, but too […]

Designers Mark Bombara, Polly Lewis, and Maribeth Brostowski take on one Arclinea kitchen—with two budgets.

    More1. Frank Gehry for Alessi teakettle, $360, Bliss Home.2. Raku planters, $50 each, Winston Flowers.3. Rhipsali succulents, $12 each, Winston Flowers.4. Iittala 3-liter […]

Modern fireplaces that will make your living room both toasty and oh-so-cool.

1. Napoleon Tureen, $4,509, Chelmsford Fireplace Center, 7 Summer St., Chelmsford, 978-256-6328, chelmsfordfireplace.com. 2. Bloch Design glass fireplace, prices vary for custom work, Bloch Design, […]

New solutions for hearing, peering, and soaking.

Sound Judgment Unlike ordinary speakers, these pieces double as modular sculpture. Link four end-to-end in a ring, or combine two to create a semicircular conversation […]

New boutiques offer quirky gifts, contemporary furniture, and a little taste of Italy.

Front 25 Channel Center St., Boston, 857-362-7289, bobsyouruncle.com.The British designers behind the Bob’s Your Uncle stationery line stock their shop with their own wares alongside […]

New boutiques offer quirky gifts, contemporary furniture, and a little taste of Italy.

Front 25 Channel Center St., Boston, 857-362-7289, bobsyouruncle.com.The British designers behind the Bob’s Your Uncle stationery line stock their shop with their own wares alongside […]

A Northeastern grad honors his famous grandmother’s oeuvre by bringing her business into the 21st century.

It was Adam Zeisel’s father who originally proposed that the then–college student find a manufacturer and a market for six glass goblets designed by his […]