Ballet, Jasmine and Boston Architecture

Hi Everyone,

I’m back from Boston which is always such a treat for me because I adore the Boston Architecture which is always a feast for the eyes! I had a fabulous time with my older son Cale and his lovely girlfriend, Maureen. Cale and Maureen were both students at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and are now professional free-lance musicians.

I got there Friday and that evening we went to see the Boston Ballet do George Balanchine‘s Jewels and they did a wonderful job! Cale also works for the Boston ballet.

Boston Opera House where the Boston Ballet performs

While there, Cale played in three Memorial Day parades. One of them, Maureen, and I went to go see him in, and here is a not-very-good photo of him. He’s the tall trombone-playing guy looking down, right in the middle. This parade was in Somerville, MA, a suburb of Boston.

Cale and Maureen live in a section of Boston called Jamaica Plain.  While there, I did manage to snap a few shots of some fabulous homes in their neighborhood. The homes in their neighborhood are largely Queen Anne Victorian built from about 1860-1890. I love the Queen Anne style because the homes have less of the more common gingerbread and are more classic in their detailing.

Literally a couple hundred feet from their flat lays this historic beauty. I first saw it last fall and my jaw dropped down to the ground.

I love the colors they chose. The Victorians did love color, but so often I see these really garish awful combinations that are not historically accurate! I love how they subtly accented the mouldings with cream, a darker cream and a pale gold. Really lovely!

Yesterday, after buying my morning coffee, I was walking back and the owners just happened to be outside doing some gardening. Of course, I stopped and introduced myself and we chatted for a while, about window treatments, [she likes less, he likes more. I hope that she wins!] how some people manage to muck up gorgeous architecture and how middle age and waning eyesight sucks. [ I will spare you the photo of me wearing two pairs of eyeglasses! ] ;]

Around the corner from the first gem is yet another gem.

and some gorgeous gardens

Cale and Maureen really picked a fabulous neighborhood. Here is yet another beauty. I love this fence and the wonderful gothic-inspired window design

Maureen and Cale were also dog-sitting for Jasmine this week. The home is about a 15 minute walk from them. The house is being renovated I didn’t take any photos of the outside, but I had to show you the four-story turret! Wowza! Maureen has told me that she’s spent many an hour this week practicing her viola up in the very top room. (which BTW, she plays like an angel]. We have both decided that if this were our home, we would spend a lot of time in that room. Sorry, the image is not better. I found it online.

 The family had just moved in and the place isn’t really photo-ready.

However, I did get in one shot of Jasmine on the second floor AND the amazing inlay floor with a GREEK KEY pattern!

In the downstairs family room the door casings have a gorgeous leaf corner block carving similar to this. I wish I had taken a shot of it, but the corner blocks looked something like this.

I was thinking about taking more photos, but I was having too good a time visiting with the kids. However, this is inspiring me to talk more about mouldings. [or moldings if you prefer.] So, stay tuned for a series of posts on ways to give style and architectural beauty to your home with mouldings!

xo,