Melting Pot

Photograph by Jared Kuzia

The challenge in designing chef Jay Hajj’s home office was juggling two disparate aesthetics. The Mike’s City Diner owner wanted his space to pay tribute to his Lebanese heritage, but he also wanted to respect the history of his 200-year-old Medfield home. Husband-and-wife duo Brad and Kendra Dufton of ColorTheory Boston were happy to accommodate Hajj’s eclectic demands: “We like to create a layered atmosphere where you can’t really pinpoint the exact feeling of the room,” Kendra says. As a nod to the spices Hajj uses in his cooking, they had his West Elm settee upholstered in saffron velvet. An Eastern-inspired Cole & Son wallcovering and a geometric Indian rug from West Elm add Asian flair. A portrait of George Washington sourced from Pioneer Goods and a faux steer mount accent a black leather buckle chair and reproduction 19th-century postal desk and hutch, all from Restoration Hardware. Hajj’s extensive collection of cookbooks—his “guilty pleasure,” Kendra says—lines Restoration Hardware oak-and-iron cross-brace shelving.

Designer ColorTheory Boston
Millwork First to Finish
Architect/Contractor Choo & Company