ProjectIsabella Stewart Gardner’s Charming Summer Home Is Revived for a Young Boston FamilyThe former getaway for one of Boston’s leading ladies gets a contemporary update at the hand of Dee Elms

By Danna Lorch

November 16, 2021

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Now the home of a family of five, the former pastoral retreat for Isabella Stewart Gardner has been brought into the 21st century thanks to an enlivening renovation by Dee Elms and Dell Mitchell.Photo: Michael J. Lee

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Isabella Stewart Gardner was the original Boston patron of the arts. Occupying a Venetian Gothic Revival building defined by its dramatic palazzo courtyard, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is still the beating heart of the city’s art scene, even nearly a century after its founder’s death.

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In 1884, Gardner and her husband, Jack, inherited their country home, Green Hill, in Brookline, Massachusetts, and began using it as a pastoral summer retreat. The home’s construction in 1806 had bankrupted its original owner, Captain Nathaniel Ingersoll, who sought to build a residence inspired by the architecture he saw during his voyages to the Caribbean. Mrs. Gardner filled Green Hill’s public rooms with musical performances and devoted herself to the Italianate grounds, once writing in a letter, “My garden is riotous, unholy, deliriously glorious!”

The home remained in the hands of the Gardner family from Mrs. Gardner’s death in 1924 until it was sold directly to a young Boston family of five in 2011. By then it was deeply in need of a comprehensive renovation. Determined to revive the architecture and interiors while sensitively bringing the house into the 21st century, they turned to Dell Mitchell of Dell Mitchell Architects, who took pains to preserve the frail original window muntins and shutters, as well as the unique cherublike banister finials and decades-old grapevines that wind up the home’s front columns.

“I love classic design; it’s just not where I naturally go,” says Elms. “Being able to mix in existing pieces but also bring a new feeling to the space was something I had a great time doing.”

Photo: Michael J. Lee

The homeowners then approached Dee Elms of Boston’s Elms Interior Design with the unusual ask of redesigning the parlor and the husband’s office in a more modern style while retaining historic features. Some favorite family furnishings also had to be incorporated, including the heavyset desk, antique Chinese chests, a piano, and the original mirrors and sconces installed over the fireplace mantles.

For Elms, who is well-known for her clean, contemporary lines and European influence, the project was a departure and an exciting challenge. “It’s good to have projects that push you a little bit further,” she says. “I love classic design; it’s just not where I naturally go. Being able to mix in existing pieces but also bring a new feeling to the space was something I had a great time doing.”

The first thing she noticed was that spatially, the rooms felt symmetrical and traditional. “Being too balanced is not where I want to be because it can make a space feel static. Whenever we can create a little comfortable imbalance, it’s a good thing,” she explains.

The office retains much of the character of the former house but incorporates modern elements as well.

Photo: Michael J. Lee

To achieve the effect, Elms first pulled bushels of fabric and carpet samples—more than she normally would for a more straightforward two-room project. “It took a while to put it all together because we needed what was new to blend well with what was already there.” Her first move was to switch out the existing smaller carpets for large rugs in both rooms, lending a cohesive look.

In the husband’s office, she added an edgy, sculptural light fixture and flat Roman shades in a tonal pattern, and swathed the walls in a Pollack heathered flannel. Four angular purple chairs accompany a bespoke backgammon table by Linley (the husband and son are both big table gamers), while an untitled work by Austrian artist Svenja Deininger riffs off the home’s exterior columns.

A detail of the Gracie Designs wallpaper in the parlor.

Photo: Michael J. Lee

The parlor walls were already papered in a delicate hand-painted Gracie design that channels the centuries-old vines climbing the home’s exterior. “I wanted to keep the light, ethereal feel but bring in a little contemporary as well,” Elms explains. The family piano was moved across the room to create two distinct seating areas.

While designing, Elms pictured the wife and friends lounging around the pale pink alpaca-wool banquette after dinner, sinking into its soft, tufted seats. A chandelier, discovered at the Chahan Gallery in Paris, adds an industrial twist and ties the room together with more mint green.

“These days, it’s an open home,” Elms says. The kids are doing their homework or practicing piano, and the family plays backgammon together in the office. Would Mrs. Gardner, who valued classical antiques and notoriously requested her museum be preserved exactly as is, cringe to see these changes to Green Hill? Elms thinks not. “She was into everything that was new and interesting. I’d like to believe she’d even be into contemporary art.”

The serene parlor embraces muted, pastel tones and soft textures.

Photo: Michael J. Lee