T H E L A T E S T
December 8th, 2022
New Beginnings!
New chapters are on the horizon for Kristin Paton Interiors this holiday season. Not only did Kristin’s family say farewell to their home just outside of Harvard Square this past fall, after 13 years in Cambridge, KPI is relocating their design office to Boston’s Back Bay. When Kristin first relocated from London to Cambridge Massachusetts, the design office was on Huron Ave for several years, with a second location on Mount Auburn Street for Kristin Paton Home, a home furnishings boutique that later became the KPI design office.
We are especially excited for our new views over the Boston Public Garden, the offices
close proximity to Newbury Street, and overall a new space for more creativity and
innovations to blossom. We look forward to this next chapter… New office, New Year
and new beginnings!
Aside from all the moves, back in work mode we will be installing our
Chestnut Hill Manor project later this winter. We completed the install of the basement
portion of the project already which includes a billiards room, poker room, full wet bar,
and custom wine cellar.
Chestnut Hill Manor
In the beginning of December KPI participated in the Nantucket Historic Associations "Festival of Wreaths." It has become a popular community event on the island featuring an array of wreaths beautifully crafted by local businesses, non-profits, schools, and organizations. This year we made two wreaths for the festival, our two were "On Golden Perch" and "Shuck The Halls". It was such a fun and creative way to get us all into the holiday spirit!
Once again, and all too quickly, we are finding ourselves closing the book on another year. Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season and New Year! Best wishes for 2023.
-
Team KPI
September 6th, 2022
Goodbye Summer...
KPI has seen another summer come and go before our eyes… We always think the summer months will allow for a slower pace in the office but that never seems to ring true. This season has been filled with trips to Nantucket, meetings, events, and photoshoots. After several trips to the island, we completed and shot our Nantucket Captain’s House project with photographer Read McKendree. We also began a new renovation and design project on the island as well.
Kristin attended Nantucket by Design back in the beginning of August. It’s always nice to catch up and see industry friends, new and old, outside of the work environment! Gary McBournie and Bill Richards created such a magical and memorable evening under the stars in their own backyard with delicious food prepared by Lulu Powers.
Kristin enjoyed a wonderful leisure trip to Paris and Provence, France with her husband and some long time friends. A highlight was visiting the Chateau de Coste which has an incredible outdoor sculpture park and art installations scattered throughout the property. A highlight was revisiting Galifet for lunch and bike riding through the Epernay region.
Back in the city the team completed two installations, the "Heart of Boston" and our "Contemporary Boston Penthouse" project. We hope to have at least one of them photographed next Spring - stay tuned!
Although we will miss the scorching hot summer days, we can’t help but get a little excited for fall. We are excited to see what it has in store for us! We hope everyone had an eventful summer and thank you for following and supporting our work…
Cheers, Team KPI
April 13th, 2022
KPI Spring Has Sprung
Spring has sprung in New England and KPI is in project installation mode… Now that it’s staying lighter, later - we feel like there is more daylight to burn! We have several new projects in the works as well as many installations in the next few weeks that are close to completion.
At the end of March we packed up and headed down south to Charleston, SC for the install on our Charleston Single Family Home project. We have also made great progress with our Contemporary Boston Penthouse project located downtown in the city. Just in time for the nice weather, the KPI team will also be making several trips over to Nantucket as we have two island projects currently underway. More to come, so stay tuned!
As always the KPI team is extremely grateful to be working amongst so many talented craftsmen and vendors in the industry. We wish all of our clients, vendors and friends a happy spring!
-
Team KPI
January 4th, 2022
KPI Carpe Annum
As we begin the new year, it's only natural to feel the need to hit the reset button. The holidays were full of year-end deadlines, late nights, celebratory sipping and eating, and broken exercise routines...
Before we closed the KPI studio for a much-needed Christmas break, we outlined what the KPI 2022 year would look like with places we want to visit, new events to participate in, and new ideas that we want to implement. We of course rounded out our weekly project to-do list so we could hit the ground running upon the new year's return.
Having hit the reset button on Monday, we returned by welcoming Brianna Nelson to Team KPI as our Social Media Manager. We are in planning mode for three installations taking place in the Spring of 2022 - all of which have seen multiple year-long delays due to Covid. We have new projects on the boards to look forward to on Nantucket, in Cambridge, Woods Hole, and two projects in Brookline, MA.
.jpg)
November 12th, 2021
While the pandemic is still causing chaos in daily life, it has taught us the importance of time and how quickly it passes. I hope you feel refreshed and ready to make 2022 your best year yet. So plan that trip with friends and loved ones, take that class you never made time for, start that side hustle you keep putting off...
You are the "director of your movie", " the author of your book "...so seize the year and make it memorable!
Wishing all of our clients, vendors, and industry partners a prosperous and healthy 2022.
KPI Autumn Greetings
Well, after a super-fast summer, the New England chill is back in the air with Halloween being celebrated in person once again. There seems to be a decor competition in my Cambridge neighborhood for the spookiest house - it’s nice to see this back on! It’s such a fun holiday for adults and kids...I'm even working on my own costume for Halloween in Provincetown (need to be on my game!)
We usually measure our KPI fall schedule by all the upcoming installations we have before the end of the year, but this seems to be “the year of The Delay” - much to our and our client's chagrin. As we all know, the supply chain is seriously compromised and lead times continue to falter. It's a frustrating time to work in the home improvement industry, but a "quality problem" as I say.
From Decor to Demolition...
The original scope of our Charleston project was intended to be primarily decorative, with the addition of a simple kitchen, a newly configured master suite, and a fresh coat of paint throughout. Unfortunately, our clients detected mold behind the plaster and the project has turned into a full-blown construction site. During the unexpected demolition, the builders found the original kitchen house exterior wall (dated to the 1790s) that was attached to the living section of the house but hidden behind plaster. These kitchen houses were typical in homes of that period as they separated the heat and smells from the rest of the house. We are now working on how to incorporate this exposed brick wall into the already schemed design. As of now, our plan is to bring in a local decorative painter to create a moment on this stairwell with a nod to the historical significance of Charleston.
Capturing the Coast...
A few weeks ago we joined photographer Anton Grassl and Dewing Schmid Kearns Architects + Planners to photograph the interior and exterior details of our Coastal Home project. Anton focused on capturing the beautiful architecture, as well as the exterior landscape. Looking forward to sharing these images!
KPI Community Contributions...
Team KPI is also looking forward to creating a holiday wreath for the Nantucket Historical Association this year. Christmas Stroll is back on for 2021 and the Whaling Museum is so wonderful at Christmas time, we're thrilled! Val Oliver's 2019 "VW Bug Christmas Tree" shows just how creative people get! The wreaths and trees will be on display at the museum starting at the end of November.
Scalloping the Day Away...
During my spare moments of free time, I am still fitting in a few of my newly acquired COVID hobbies, including scalloping! Nantucket bay scallops served six ways and a new shell wreath… Who knew!
October 15h, 2021
Charleston Historical - Decor to Demolition
Our Charleston project - a charming 17th century home in the heart of the historic district - was meant to be a quick turnaround. A "quick ship" ready-made type kitchen and refresh of the bathrooms, combined with a bit of recovering some of the client's existing furniture with a few new finds. If all went according to plan, they would have been in before Christmas - but, as we know all too well, plans often go awry.
During discovery, the builders found damp materials and rot in the walls, which led to them having to strip back the plaster and lath. In doing so, they happened upon the original brick exterior wall that was most likely the original kitchen house.
Antique homes in Charleston of that period typically had a kitchen house that was used to separate the heat and humidity from the laundry and cooking from the main house. We decided to keep this piece of history and add it as a feature wall in our client's stair hallway.
With the help of a local decorative painter, we plan to enhance the brick wall's natural state by. Sometimes unforeseen circumstances can lead to even better outcomes!
October 5th, 2021
Boston Common Maisonette - Before and After
Reveling at the difference from our Boston Common Maisonette project back in 2016. We strove to remain true to the traditional bones and details of our clients home, but add contemporary twists that spoke to their 21st century style.
September 7th, 2021
Architectural Digest Feature - Watts of Love
In 2018, senior designer Becky Bratt and project coordinator Augusta Mayer participated in the Vaughan Designs exhibition to help raise awareness for Watts of Love - a global solar nonprofit that provides power to impoverished communities. 15 designers across the nation were selected to create a custom lampshade to adorn a Vaughan lamp of their choosing.
Becky and Augusta chose the Montana Sculptural table lamp for its abstract nature. From there, they selected a soft gray and white silky zig zag patterned fabric to cover a simple tapered drum shade. They liked the contrast of having a bold and somewhat masculine lamp juxtaposed with a subtly feminine yet equally striking fabric. As a finishing touch, they added a beaded tape trim around the base of the shade.
Their lamp, along with the 14 other designers' creations, were put on display at each Vaughan showroom across the country for the month of November. At the beginning of December, the lamps were auctioned off to raise money for the organization. Additionally, throughout the time these lamps were showcased, Vaughan donated $1 to Watt of Love each time the hashtags #vaughanXwattsoflove and #madeintheshade was used on social media. Along with getting recognition for the campaign through social media, Architectural Digest online also published an article highlighting the designers unique approaches as well as raising awareness for the cause.
August 16th, 2021
Kristin Paton Interiors - Signature Candle
We have had our signature candle for over eight years now, time flies! One of our goals for 2017 was to give the candle a bit of a revamp. We knew our signature scent, based on the perfume Shalimar (one of Kristin's favorite scents), would remain the same. Our priorities were to produce it locally, upgrade the quality of the wax, and give the container a new and improved look.
We connected with a local vendor in Western Massachusetts back in January who helped us achieve exactly what we were looking for. We worked with them to choose the correct wax, perfect the scent and re-design the glass container. Instead of our original clear glass container with a gray label, we opted for completely spraying the glass container solid gray and then stamping the logo in gold.
After a bit of trial and error to get the colors just right, the containers went into production and just last week we got to make another site visit and be part of the filling process. We learned so much and it was such a treat to be so personally involved and hands-on.
August 4th, 2021
Beacon Hill Townhouse - Before and After
The bones of this early 19th century five-story brownstone were exquisite. Back in 2014 we had the pleasure of getting to restore and revive the interiors of this home. As pictured above, new life was brought to this entry hall and winding staircase by adding hand painted faux marquetry flooring and de Gournay wallpaper.
July 20th, 2021
Bow Wow Blitz at the BDC
KPI loved participating in the Boston Design Center's "Bow Wow Blitz". The purpose of the event was to raise money for Second Chance Animal Shelter - a no-kill shelter located in the Boston area.
Fundraising was accomplished by auctioning off bespoke dog beds crafted by top interior designers throughout Massachusetts. We decided to take a fun and different approach by creating a tee-pee tent. To start, we sourced a (dog sized) canvas tent. From there, Kristin hand drew cheeky sketches of various dogs, dog toys and - of course- a fire hydrant.
Once all of the sketches were completed, we scanned and printed them on iron-on paper so we could apply them directly to the canvas. For the dog bed itself, Kristin found a fun and cozy zebra print fabric, perfect for afternoon napping. Finally, to top it all off, we added a red Kong tassel detail from the top of the tee-pee. This is truly such a fun project and definitely had us all thinking outside of the box!
July 8th, 2021
Windows for Design - Farrow & Ball for DIFFA
Back in 2016, KPI was presented with the opportunity to participate in the first-ever Windows by Design: Farrow & Ball for DIFFA where one designer from each of the 14 markets nationwide designs a window vignette for their local Farrow & Ball showroom. We gladly accepted and began brainstorming!
The theme given was "Cure & Comfort", with cure relating to DIFFA and the cause behind it and comfort relating to the upcoming holiday season, filled with warmth, friends, family and love. DIFFA is Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. It raises awareness and grants funds to organizations that provide treatment, direct care services, preventive education programs and advocacy for individuals impacted by HIV/AIDS. We were also required to use and highlight Farrow & Ball products.
We were also limited by space at the Boston Farrow & Ball showroom, only being able to make our vignette within a 30" depth. Our goal was to make an eye-catching, bold statement on a vertical, flat surface.
We began by having the talented team at Furniture Design Services create a sturdy wood backdrop, spanning the width and height of the showroom window as a blank canvas to create our design on. We then used painters tape to create graphic black and white stripes.
We completed our design by hand-making 100 paper cranes out of various red colored Farrow & Ball wallpapers and floating them at staggering heights in front of the neon words. We focused on the red colored patterns as it relates to the red ribbon, which is the universal symbol of awareness and support for those living with HIV/AIDS. The Japanese refer to the crane as the "bird of happiness" and it has become a symbol of hope and healing during challenging times.
Our completed window design was unveiled on December 1st, which was World AIDS day. In addition, Farrow & Ball will donate $1 to DIFFA for every social media post tagged #FaBforDIFFA. We were so honored to have been asked to participate and hope our window can help raise awareness for an amazing cause, as well as spread some love during this holiday season!
