Traditional Home – September 2019

chair and a coquettish skirted settee. A silk portiere and a smoky glass

chandelier with crystal notes inject romance and femininity.

A more traditional dining table flanked by scroll-back chairs and a

slipcovered banquette acts as host to large dinner parties and holiday

get-togethers. Streamlined, the corner is sans chandelier—a thoughtful

choice to eliminate unnecessary overhead distractions. Instead,

Booth had wiring installed through the table legs to illuminate low-

slung shaded votives. The result is an experience that hints at low-lit,

whispered dinners at an exclusive club.

In the kitchen, classic elements meld with an industrial aesthetic

to shape a setting where the culinary can also be the theatrical.

Elegant touches such as a black-and-white checkerboard floor, a

solid marble backsplash, and an Irish wake table balance a plenitude

of stainless steel.

The command center of the house, the space is as family-centric

as it is dramatic. A faux-leather-clad banquette defies spills.

Handsome armchairs are slipcovered in outdoor fabric for

practicality. A working pantry nestled behind the range means

messes—and sippy cups—can be easily hidden from view. Polished

and practical, it’s the design gold standard.

There is much to appreciate here. Original architectural details

were restored, providing a stage for an array of cultivated furniture

pieces. A center table with a weighty, animated base and a stone top

becomes a vivacious partner for a curvy wing chair and a tufted sofa.

Scroll-back chairs and ottomans with dressmaker skirts offer

perchable moments in a house that embraces entertaining.

Playing off the entry’s genteel palette, Booth used dollops of

caramel and plum in the living room, creating a light-filled space that

is welcoming with a dash of formality. A streamlined sofa in cream-

color linen pairs beautifully with architectural details that quietly let

the furnishings shine yet are extroverted enough to avoid wallflower

status. A slipper chair upholstered in a patterned velvet and an

armchair with playful lines gambol with a tufted ottoman that invites

guests to kick up their feet. “We chose furniture that was comfortable

and referred back to something a bit more English,” Booth says.

“Rolled arms, tufting, pieces that were more traditional in form yet

weren’t wildly refined.”

The antithesis of the light, bright living room and entry, the dining

room wears a moody caramel-infused palette, an intentional choice

to encourage close conversation in candlelight. Separated into two

distinct seating areas, the large space reconceives the traditional

dining format—reinterpreting it for a family that entertains often.

On one side, an intimate setting lined with bookshelves offers a

casual, club-like approach to dining—ideal for small groups and

cocktail gatherings. Cozied up to a marble fireplace, a low table is

surrounded by myriad seating options including a tufted mohair-clad

Living room A mix of styles and fabrics—velvet on the Soane slipper chair

and linen on the Lucca & Co. sofa—provides a gathered-over-time aesthetic.

Dining room Separate areas—one intimate, the other for large gatherings—let

the dining room multitask. A portiere adds romance. The slipcovered banquette

was designed to be roomy and muted—allowing the large custom table to be

more conspicuous. “You need some things to be backup singers,” designer Ray

Booth says. “Not everything can sing at the top of its voice.”

100 THSeptember/October 2019