It’s easy to get swept up in history while wandering the brick sidewalks and narrow streets of Beacon Hill. “This neighborhood, which is less than one square mile, is filled with history,” says host Parker Kelley. “It is a place where poets, politicians and philanthropists alike have all called home.”
While many of the brick townhouses seem uniform, small details in iron fences marking small gardens and tiny differences carved into wooden doorways and windows set each structure apart.
Homeowner Cynthia raised her family in the suburbs of the city, but she was born and raised in Boston and yearned to return as soon as she could. When the five-story Beacon Hill townhouse came on the market, she was ready to make the move.
Her home was designed by interior designer Jean Verbridge, principal at Siesmasko + Verbridge. The panes of purple-tinted glass in the windows were a mistake in the 1800s: Glass shipped from Europe was installed in a number of row houses in Beacon Hill and after sun exposure, the glass turned purple. In Cynthia’s home, the color informs the design of some rooms, which have traces of soft plums throughout.
“There are a bunch of houses on Beacon Hill that have this glass,” says Cynthia. “It was a mistake but it’s beautiful.”
Watch the entire show of Episode 8 of Season 1.
New England Living TV is sponsored by Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, Clarke Appliance Showrooms, Kohler, 7 Tide and Supply New England.
