One of the loveliest designers in Boston, Dana Arazi of Arazi Levine (she's actually an architectural designer trained in Tel Aviv), re-imagined this historic 1,200-square-foot condo in Back Bay for a young couple. I'll talk about the dining room in this post, but you can read about the rest of the project (and look at the photographs) at Boston Home Magazine.
Both Arazi and the couple adored the original woodwork of the grand dining/living space which overlooks the Charles River. The other driving force was the decision to create a design with art deco flavor which Arazi felt merged the couple's disparate tastes well. "I said to them, 'What if we go a bit art deco?'" Arazi recalls, noting that the look offers a clean geometry for the husband, who likes modern, and rich materials for the wife, who favors vintage. They loved the idea
To keep the shelves from becoming a too busy backdrop, Arazi found Chinoiserie triptych panels that fit within the vertical openings of the woodwork perfectly (once she removed some shelves). She looked at a million options, but felt that the hand-painted scene was in sync with the Esplanade landscape-specifically its stone bridges and cherry trees-and brought the view inside. She also loved the blue tone with the rich wood and knew the romantic vibe would resonate with the wife.
The branch chandelier and CB2 glass dining table (so well-priced at $399) nods to the husband's more modern leanings. "They balance the room so not everything looks old," Arazi says. As for the tables absolutely spare lines she says, the designer points out that the table basically disappears, letting the art and wood be the focus. The CB2 brass and leather dining chairs (the wife loves brass) are comfortable and have an art deco silhouette.
The main ingredients Arazi used in this dining room are available retail (and happen to be StyleCarrot partners). Even if you don't have 100+year old woodwork, or any built-ins at all, you can make this design work in your home. I lined this scheme with freestanding bookshelves for a look as close to the Back Bay dining room as possible, but you could do a grasscloth wallpaper or a textural wood buffet to anchor the wall and artwork.
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