Behold This Exquisitely Reunited Five-Story South End Townhouse

A CB2 chest with a black marble top provides extra storage for the dining room and matches the original staircase, painted Farrow & Ball “Off Black.” / Photo by Sean Litchfield

Designer Samantha Pratt first met the owners of this brick Victorian row house back in 2013 at the then brand-new Restoration Hardware on Berkeley Street. The recently engaged couple had just purchased the five-story South End home and needed furniture, along with some guidance.

Five years and two children later, the couple, who had been renting out the bottom two floors while living on the upper three, were working with architect Timothy Burke to merge the two units into one. As luck would have it, they ran into their former designer, who had since teamed up with Hannah Deutsch to launch Pratt & Deutsch Interiors. A quick peek at the website, and the couple knew they’d found their match.

Of course, combining two units is never easy. After some debate about whether to locate the kitchen on the lower level, the couple decided that a kitchen on the entry level made the most sense. “My husband and I toured the space after the demolition was completed, and the open, main floor was so breathtaking that I emailed the designers, the architect, and the contractor with the subject line ‘Emergency,’” the owner says now with a laugh. “It was the day before they were to start framing!”

The team collaborated with Coastal Art Glass in Norwell to create new stained-glass windows for the home’s original mahogany doors. / Photo by Sean Litchfield

The entry into the open, front-to-back first floor sets the tone for the rehabilitated 1867 home. Double mahogany doors with stained glass in pastel hues open to an art deco–inspired vestibule with a fan-patterned wallcovering and marble checkerboard floor. A vintage Oushak runner unfurls past an ornate vintage mirror toward the home’s crown jewel: an original sweeping stair. “Sam and Hannah created a beautiful fusion of old and new,” the owner says.

Expertly navigating the challenges of furnishing a narrow 15-foot-wide home, Pratt and Deutsch outfitted the adjacent living room with a perfectly sized curved sofa. They also tucked a window seat into the empty bay overlooking the street. The efficient design continues in the elegant dining area running alongside the stair, where a live-edge table rests close to the channel-tufted banquette. As in the living room, the upholstery is family friendly. “We have small, energetic children who jump on all the furniture, but we do everything here—paint, puzzles, hide-and-seek,” the owner says.

Statement stone in the kitchen was a musta-have for the couple, so the South Enders opted for Imperial Danby marble from Vermont. / Photo by Sean Litchfield

The U-shaped kitchen anchoring the back of the house also embodies form and function. Bewitched by the kitchen in designer Athena Calderone’s Insta-famous Brooklyn brownstone, the couple sought out statement stone. Although Calderone’s home features Italian marble, the South Enders opted for Imperial Danby marble from Vermont. “We looked and looked to find marble with the perfect veining and coloration,” the owner says. “That it’s local made me even more excited about it.”

The bold stone is more than an artistic backdrop and hearty work surface; it provided inspiration for other parts of the home. “It has notes of lavender, peach, and chartreuse,” Pratt says. “We pulled the living and dining room palettes from it.” The stone’s subtle colorations work their way down to the lower-level family room, too. The vintage Tibetan rug, for example, is a shade of celadon that echoes the veining above the kitchen sink.

The painting above the sofa, meanwhile, has a special meaning. The designers spotted the abstract work by artist Jennifer Christy at a Vineyard restaurant, where they knew the couple vacationed regularly. “Hannah said to us, ‘If it makes you feel good, then it’s the perfect piece,’” the homeowner recalls. “It’s like a very fancy souvenir; we’re so happy to have that connection.”

First published in the print edition of the March 2023 issue, with the headline “Making a Case.”

The carpet, pillows, and vintage marble-topped coffee table in the lower level hail from the designers’ Brookline shop, the Green Interior Collections. / Photo by Sean Litchfield