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Summer 2008 Issue

Two of the city’s top hosts transform their Brookline Victorian into an inviting showcase.

It’s easy to see how Jim and Alina Apteker have built their company, Longwood Events, into one of the area’s premier private-function groups. Ever the […]

Feature

A cheerful tablecloth sets the stage for two different ways to host a festive al fresco affair. Styling by Tui Stark/Ennis

  1. Middle Kingdom bud vases, $15 each, Michelle Willey 2. Dibbern cut-crystal highball, $65, Lekker3. LSA International Geo square bowl, $65, Lekker4. Grand Lieu […]

Minibar meets medicine cabinet in this new fixture that keeps pricey (and preservative-free) cosmetics cool.

  The Nuisance: An un-airconditioned home may be good for the environment (and utility bill), but it depreciates some beauty investments. And when you shelled […]

Covet: A $15,740 Cimbali Dosatron espresso machine

Julian Kuerti follows his passions. The 31-year-old Boston Symphony Orchestra assistant conductor ditched his physics degree to study music in Europe, where he found another […]

Can a personal organizer reform a lifelong domestic travesty? Sarah Buckwalter and Kate Altieri of Organizing Boston take on our writer’s cluttered space.

My desk is buried and my living room looks like a mailroom. I need help! Step 1: ConsolidateWe separate things into piles. Apparently shoving bills […]

Two art school friends reunite to design cutting-edge furniture.

New graduates, take comfort: Your future may be way ahead of you. Lisa DeLucia and J. Foley followed independent paths after graduating from Massachusetts College […]

Graham Gund converted a 19th-century Beaux-Arts pumping station at the Chestnut Hill reservoir into 20 luxury residences as part of the ongoing Waterworks condominium development. Here’s how three owners made a design splash with their units.

#1 Who They Are: Stephen and Donna Dreier What They’re Doing Now: Stephen is the chief administrative officer for Bright Horizons; Donna is a retired […]

An anything-but-typical dream home on Martha’s Vineyard takes green design to new heights.

Every summer, Phoenix-based architect Darren Petrucci, 42, his wife—art and architectural historian Renata Hejduk, 43—and their Labrador retriever, Angus, make the 2,300-mile exodus from the […]

An explosion of textures, colors, and no-holds-barred expression captivates us this season—especially in these six things we’ve just put on our own wish lists.

A Beautiful Lamp…or One Very Expensive Cat Toy Parisian artist Herve Matejewski dabbled in couture, design, and food before finding his calling in industrial-but-whimsical practical […]

For Boston restaurateur Gary Sullivan, water views, a spacious deck, and a simple, homegrown menu do a party make.

When it comes to second homes, there’s the fantasy (sunsets! weekend guests!) and then there’s the reality (another house to clean! weekend guests!). For restaurateur […]

A South End family takes their lives, their work, and their footprint upward.

The purple wisteria crawling up the side of an 1850s, four-story row house on Rutland Street was the first thing to catch Susan Battista’s eye. […]

Two of the city’s top hosts transform their Brookline Victorian into an inviting showcase.

It’s easy to see how Jim and Alina Apteker have built their company, Longwood Events, into one of the area’s premier private-function groups. Ever the […]

A BU professor describes her lengthy love affair with a sturdy, handmade bed.

My bed is not beautiful. Handsome, maybe, with poster corners and a carved cherry wood headboard, but not lovely. Were it a man, it might […]

Patience and ingenuity coax a 1950s Lexington house into the 21st century.

Like many of the other wide, low-slung homes that sprouted across suburbia after World War II, Mark and Melba Chin’s 2,000-square-foot Lexington ranch had a […]

Reunited after a quarter-century, two college sweethearts begin their shared story in a breezy Barnstable home.

When college sweethearts Steve Nill and Marie Woolf reunited 23 years after graduation, it was kismet. [sidebar] The same fateful week he picked up the […]

Avant-garde artists Tyler Evans and Alessandra Mondolfi assert their quirky aesthetic on a Roxbury Victorian.

“Every room is an installation,” says Alessandra Mondolfi, as she touches an antique steel surgical lamp in the purple kitchen of the rambling 19th-century Roxbury […]

In conceiving this elegant but pragmatic Winchester room, architect Claudia Noury-Ello and interior designer Christine Lane set out to redefine the kitchen as the new hub of the house.

1. Task and ambient light While recessed lights provide a general glow, hanging pendants give the eye a place to focus. Under-cabinet lighting adds to […]

New freestanding showers deliver spa-quality pampering straight out of the box.

Used to be, custom sink faucets and showy shower tiling were as lavish as bathrooms got. Not so today, when bringing the spa experience home […]

Your 1-2-3 home guide to a planet-friendly summer.

Shop: Green Life and Common Crow“We believe that small, regional connections are the underpinnings of a healthy and sustainable economy,” says Pat Towler, who co-owns […]

How does your garden grow? In pint-size planters, sparkling glass vases, and funky terra cotta pots.

Show Your Roots The clean, simple lines of Dutz’s Rhine mouth-blown glass vases are ideal showcases for slender plants. Imported from the Netherlands, the sophisticated […]

Built for little ones, these furniture lines are all grown up.

Changing Shape: Hipster nurseries sport pieces like this birch-faced plywood, six-drawer cabinet with tray top (for diaper changing) by Los Angeles-based Not Neutral. It has […]

New solutions for laundry day, movie night, and family hour.

Pollen-Busting Clothes Washer is Smarter than Your Fifth-GraderNothing cleans like steam. At least, that’s what the infomercials say. If you’ve got bona fide allergies or […]

Fresh spots to get your flower fix, furnishings, home accents, and design inspiration.

Mimosa 81 Pembroke St., Boston, 617-751-0855, mimosastyle.com.Want to indulge in a sleek-but-lush bouquet while also saving the world? Head to this recently opened South End […]

Fresh spots to get your flower fix, furnishings, home accents, and design inspiration.

Mimosa 81 Pembroke St., Boston, 617-751-0855, mimosastyle.com.Want to indulge in a sleek-but-lush bouquet while also saving the world? Head to this recently opened South End […]