The Best of Boston Design Week
- Interior designer Steven Favreau speaking at Boston Design Week 2015.
Over the last three years, Boston Design Week has made strides in helping to establish Boston as a city of interest for leading design professionals. Held from March 30 to April 10 at various locations throughout the city, the twelve-day event is jam-packed with lectures, exhibitions and open houses (among myriad other happenings) aimed at fostering public interest in architecture, interior design, industrial design, and studio design, including furniture, decorative arts, sculpture, textiles, jewelry and more. With over eighty events on the schedule, a well-thought-out plan is necessary in order to experience all that Boston Design Week has to offer. Luckily for you, we’ve selected a few of the must-see events happening this year.
1. American Society of Interior Designers, New England Chapter: 11th Annual Awards Gala
Thursday, March 31, 7PM
The Edward M. Kennedy Institute
This yearly Awards Gala celebrates the achievements of the New England design community and honors those who work to advance the professional while championing the importance of interior design. Honorees include Genella MacDonald, President of interior design firm Stibler Associates; Jean Verbridge, Principal of Siemasko + Verbridge, a full-service architecture, interior design, decorating, and landscape design firm; interior design photographer Michael J. Lee; and Rose Mary Botti-Salitsky, professor of Interior Design at Mount Ida School of Design.
2. Boston Design Center’s Showroom Stroll and Sample Sale
Friday, April 1, 10AM-5PM; Saturday, April 2, 10AM-5PM
Boston Design Center
Home to over 1,200 luxury product lines of lighting, antiques, art, fabric, and much more, the Boston Design Center (BDC) offers the most extensive selection of furnishings for bespoke interiors. During Boston Design Week, guests are invited to walk the Center, which spans over 350,000 square feet, and enjoy discounted prices on a range of high-end products. This event gives the general public a chance to browse and acquire pieces from the BDC, which typically only sells to trade professionals. The center will also be hosting Vintage Vignettes, a building-wide display of antiques mixed with new decor. Opening on April 1, the vignettes will remain on view through April 29.
3. B/A/D Talks: Building a House? Get the Best from Your B/A/D Team
Tuesday, April 5, 5:30-8:30PM
Samuel Adams Brewery
Part of a series of talks aimed at encouraging engagement and conversation among New England's builders, architects, and designers, this panel explores best practices for homeowners when it comes to assembling, managing, and participating with a team of professionals to produce a new home or remodel an existing one. Panelists include homeowner Christina Van Houten; Boston-based interior designer Andrea Birkerts; John Meyer, Principal Architect and co-founder of Boston’s Meyer & Meyer, Inc.; and builder Bob Ernst. The discussion will be guided by moderator Kyle Hoepner, Editor of New England Home.
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4. The Art of the Approach with Miles Redd
Wednesday, April 6, 11AM-1PM
Boston Design Center
Miles Redd, the New York-based interior designer who has been garnering praise since he opened his firm in 1998, is one of the biggest names involved in this year’s Design Week. A perennial on Architectural Digest’s AD100 list of top designers, Redd is known for glamorous style, which is a skillful mix of high drama and ultimate livability. In this not-to-be-missed presentation, Redd will share his approach to using colors, textures, and fabrics to craft rooms that are opulent, inviting and exuberant.
5. Andrew Sidford Architects: A Client’s View on Home Renovation
Wednesday, April 6, 6:30-8:30PM
The Atrium
- An interior by Jill Litner Kaplan.
Newburyport’s Andrew Sidford Architects will host this client-moderated panel discussion aimed at answering a variety of home renovation questions while providing insights from all perspectives involved. Homeowner Julia Farwell-Clay will lead the panel of experts, which includes architect Andrew Sidford; home technology specialist Joseph Kolchinsky of OneVision Resources; custom builder Allison Iantosca of F.H. Perry; interior designer Jill Litner Kaplan of Boston’s Jill Litner Kaplan Interiors; and landscape designer, Roger Cook of PBS’ This Old House.
6. American Modern Design from the 1920s to 1940s
Wednesday, April 6, 6-7PM
Museum of Fine Arts
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Curator Nonie Gadsden, Katharine Lane Weems Senior Curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the MFA, will lead a tour exploring American modern design in the museum’s galleries. Visitors will start in the John Axelrod gallery, where American Modern design from the 1920s and ‘30s, including an array of Art Deco objects, is on view. From there, the tour will move to the 1940s and ‘50s gallery, highlighting mid century modern American decorative arts. This latter gallery explores themes such as geometric or biomorphic abstraction in a variety of media, juxtaposing unique, studio works of art with manufactured designs. Visitors will learn about some of the leading designers of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, including Art Deco furniture maker Paul T. Frankl, industrial designer Donald Deskey, “Streamline” pioneer Kem Weber, leading Herman Miller designer Gilbert Rohde, and mid century furniture makers Charles and Ray Eames.
7. An Evening with ELLE DECOR Editor-in-Chief Michael Boodro
Thursday, April 7, 5:30-7:30 PM
Room & Board
Michael Boodro, Editor-in-Chief of the incredibly chic shelter magazine ELLE DECOR, will participate in a lively conversation with fellow design enthusiasts at Room & Board, a five-floor furniture store located in Back Bay’s historic Sherman Building. Boodro will discuss American craftsmanship in the artisan design industry and the recent spike in interest in handcrafted products. Room & Board, which specializes in bespoke, American-made furniture, will serve as the ideal venue for the event.
8.AD 20/21: Art & Design of the 20th and 21st Centuries and the Boston Print Fair
Thursday, April 7-Sunday, April 10, Gala Preview: April 7, 5:30-9PM
The Cyclorama, The Boston Center for the Arts
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AD20/21, the only show of its kind in New England, features fifty exhibitors offering modern to contemporary fine art, mid century and contemporary studio furniture, jewelry, decorative arts, and sculpture. Among the must-see dealers at AD20/21 are Glen Leroux Antiques, Habatat Galleries, and Moderne Gallery. The show will be complemented by the Boston Print Fair (also held at The Cyclorama), which features fine print galleries, contemporary print publishers, photography, drawings, and other works on paper. AD20/21 will open with a gala preview on April 7, during which the Boston Globe’s retired antiques columnist, Virginia Bohlin, will receive a lifetime achievement award.
9. Junior League of Boston 45th Anniversary Show House’s Closing Program of Boston Design Week 2016
Sunday, April 10, 2-3PM
The Cyclorama, The Boston Center for the Arts
- Interior by Vani Sayeed Studios.
When one door closes, another opens . . . in this case, literally. In addition to closing Boston Design Week, this event celebrates the opening of the 45th Junior League of Boston Show House. Guests will get a sneak peek of the home, which opens to the public May 7, while getting to know the designers who have been chosen to transform the Nathaniel Allen House in West Newton. On the National Register of Historic Places since 1978, the 1854 Greek Revival home served as the earliest co-educational school in the country and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Owned by the Newton Cultural Alliance (NCA) since 2012, the property is being renovated to support small and medium sized performances and cultural events. Among the participating designers are Steven Favreau, Theo & Isabella Design Group, Mally Skok Design, Cecilia Walker Design, Gerald Pomeroy Interiors, Vani Sayeed Studios, and Theodore & Company.
For more information about Boston Design Week, click HERE. Stay tuned to InCollect for more information about the 45th Junior League of Boston Show House.
