A Tale of Two Homes 

On March 27th, David Boronkay presented “A Tale of Two Homes” via Zoom to the BSA. The presentation highlighted the exploration into the process of designing for the luxury market, taking a close look at comparably sized projects with similar budgets, and vastly different goals. 

The two projects he explored were the Residence on Bellevue, an award-winning historic home that underwent a major restoration, renovation and addition, and the award-winning new construction Weston Modern Prairie, a re-invention of the Prairie style made famous by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. 

The Residence on Bellevue was originally built in 1896 by textile industrialist Charles Riley to pay homage to his wife’s Newport childhood. The Riley Mansion remained in the family until the couple’s only daughter, Mable, passed away in 1971. The goal for this 13,000 sq. ft. home, located on a two-acre property in Newton, Massachusetts, was to thoughtfully preserve the home’s historic merits and rich character while providing its owners modern functionality and convenience. Period details, like the original African mahogany woodwork, were painstakingly preserved, and those that could not be saved were replicated to ensure the home’s historic integrity. The major renovation consisted of the kitchen, bathrooms, and basement spaces, while the addition consisted of adding an attached three-bay garage with a bonus space above. 

The Weston Modern Prairie is a new construction designed to re-invent the Prairie style, creating a modern space that incorporates the architectural details of the Prairie style with an exaggerated hip roof and large windows that marry the indoors to the outdoors. The home, which sits on a heavily sloped site, maximizes multi-level living and features a walkout basement level. On the main floor, the corridor axis runs from the primary bedroom at one end, through the dramatic entry foyer, to the opposite side of the house. Carefully curated vignettes were designed to balance the area, including the formal dining room and the stone-and-copper-clad fireplace which bisects the Foyer and the Great Room. A stand-out moment in the home is an exceptional entertaining and spa space on the lower level that holds an in-ground oversized hot tub positioned to take full advantage of the breathtaking property views. 

The presentation, along with the Q&A that followed, is an informative and unique look at the process that goes into working on homes on this scale. Below is the full presentation to view.

If you have any questions about these projects or design elements within one of these extraordinary homes, please connect with us, one of the premier Boston architectural firms. 

You can find it here as well –   https://www.architects.org/knowledge-communities/residential-design-committee