A Family's Love of Dungeons & Dragons Inspired This Home's New Look
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There is no open floor plan in this house. “There is just one beautiful, elegant room that flows into the next so nicely you feel like you’re in a new place and never get bored,” Cecilia Casagrande of Casagrande Studio says. And boring is definitely not her style. A self-proclaimed maximalist, she asks herself regularly, Will adding one more pattern or color bring me to the circus?—and if the answer is no, she moves forward, full steam ahead.
Not surprisingly then, this project started with Dungeons & Dragons. The homeowners originally called Casagrande to help overhaul five bathrooms in their newly purchased 1919 Brookline, Massachusetts, home, but as she got to know the family of four, she observed two things: “They love to play fantasy boardgames together,...and they are all naturally curious and very imaginative,” she says.
Armed with this intel, she started working on the rest of the house, creating a landscape where each room would tell its own unique story—and where all of the walls stayed intact. In every space, there’s a tongue-in-cheek play on pattern. The hallway wallpaper looks like Moorish tile but is actually covered in cicadas, and the upstairs bathroom wall covering has fantastic illustrations ranging from sea urchins to monkeys to “let the mind wander.” Throughout the house, even traditional fabric patterns like chinoiserie and damask are modernized and set on rich velvets.
For Casagrande, one of the “calmest” rooms is the kitchen. She used vanilla-hued, crackled tile up to the ceiling, painted window trim a chocolate brown, and finished new custom cabinetry in Benjamin Moore Hannah Banana (yellow being one of the homeowners’ favorite colors). “The kitchen is basically an ice cream sundae,” she says. A corner leather banquette made room for the supersized curved island to prioritize storage and workspace over seating. Don’t be fooled, though: Both the cushions and shades feature mythical creatures roaming in surreal vegetation. You didn’t really think she could leave a room without a touch of whimsy, did you?
Entryway
A high-gloss orange door opens into a blue-tiled vestibule. Paint: Charlotte’s Locks, Farrow & Ball.
Entrance Hall
“This wallpaper install was the only moment my client panicked. Once it was all up, she loved it,” Casagrande says of the cicada print by Grow House Grow. Pendant: Soane Britain.
Living Room
“My client knits while her daughter practices karate in this space—it’s lush but livable,” Casagrande says. Paint: Hague Blue, Farrow & Ball. Sofa: Lee Industries, in House of Hackney fabric. Chairs: Cisco Home, in Timorous Beasties fabric.
Den
This soft lilac-gray paint, Peignoir by Farrow & Ball, is Casagrande’s go-to neutral. Rug: Solo Rugs. Sofa and floor pillows: Look & Cushion. Ottoman: Cisco Home. Pendant: Contardi.
Kitchen
Casagrande worked with architectural firm Helios Design Group to maximize efficiency in this long room. The narrow space left no room for counter stools, so Casagrande rounded off the corners and built in ample storage. The custom range hood matches the cabinetry’s pewter hardware.
The lineup of unique pendants from Rothschild & Bickers adds an unexpected element. Range: Lacanche. Range hood: Vogler Metalwork & Design. Hardware: Water Street Brass.
Breakfast Nook
For seating, Casagrande carved out space in a corner for a built-in banquette. Chairs: Nickey Kehoe. Table: Dunes and Duchess. Pendant: Allied Maker.
Dining Room
The hand-applied gold leaf finish on the Pelle bubble chandelier picks up the gold of the velvet armchairs in the connecting living room.
Primary Bedroom
Roman shades in Ferrick Mason fabric, with motifs ranging from herons to red lanterns, frame the Anthropologie four-poster bed. Rug: Solo Rugs. Nightstand: Serena & Lily.
Primary Bathroom
Casagrande’s client wanted a fun and really interesting bathroom with lots of layers for herself and her husband. “She said, ‘Go crazy,’ so I got to go crazy,” the designer says.
Girl‘s Room
A $50 chair found on Facebook Marketplace got a stylish makeover in Moon fabric. Bed: Lee Industries. Paint: Nancy’s Blushes, Farrow & Ball. Wallpaper: House of Hackney.
Upstairs Bathroom
The homeowner picked out chartreuse tile by Clé to accent the cabinet-of-curiosities–inspired Pierre Frey wallpaper. “She was so brave, going for anything that brought joy,” Casagrande says.
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