COGnitions

6 November
2018
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Interior Designers: Rachel Reider | By Jim Kutchin

So, you’ve landed the condominium of your dreams in Boston after searching for months and months and outbidding others. It’s a beautiful, clean, white
box replete with white sterile bathrooms, marble counters and great views… but, alas, it lacks the requisite soul and character. It’s a home, but
not Your home. Not Yet.

Building relationships with the vendors and experts that work on the home is an important part of our work in selling homes. We want our clients to have
all the connections they need to make their housing dreams come true. We use our blog to introduce clients to some of the top home specialists working
in and around Boston.

Today, we’ll profile a top interior designer. Real estate and interior design go hand in hand, and often we get the chance to work together on projects.
During a sales transaction we will routinely reference the difference between “designer quality” and “developer quality” to our clients. In what has
been a hot real estate market for many years, we see many developers who avoid using a designer when they sell out their condominiums. However, for
resale of units, a designer can make all the difference!

 

Over time, we’ll examine contemporary work, transitional work and specialty work such as universal access design.


 

This morning we had the wonderful opportunity to meet the enormously talented Rachel Reider of Rachel Reider Interiors. Located in a brick loft building
in theSoWa area of the South End, her studio is filled with gorgeous fabrics and paper samples and creativity. Rachel’s warm personality immediately
puts you at ease; you can imagine it would be a pleasure to work with her. She has received numerous accolades for her work, including New England Homes 5 under 40 feature, Conde Nast Hot List for her boutique hotel work, and recognition from Coastal Living Magazine.

Rachel’s work is sophisticated and warm, with just a tiny bit of whimsy to bring it to life. Part of her practice concentrates on boutique hotels,
where she is able to inject a bit of homey warmth to the otherwise straightforward hospitality world. Her sophisticated style in boutique hotels
can be seen at many of the Lark Hotel properties, where Rachel previously was director
of design and today heads up many of the current new interior designs under her own company. The Field Guide Inn in Stowe, VT is a good example of her sophisticated work that carefully balances a sense of place
for Vermont and the luxuries of a first class hotel.

Rachel’s residential work spans from modern to traditional to transitional, but always mirrors the clients tastes, desires and budget. Warmth and timelessness
could describe the downtown high-rise condominium work she has recently completed for a family living near the Boston Common. The warm and welcoming
home has earth tones accented with jewel tones, and pops of color to enliven the space. Originally a blank white canvas, Rachel has given the home
personality and life, reflective of the family that lives there.

Another recent project is a Back Bay brownstone and reflects the globetrotting family living there. Rachel gave the home lux fabrics and highly textured
materials that reflected the clients’ personal taste and mixed these with more traditional pieces that respected the historical architecture of
the building and neighborhood as well as the couple’s abundant collection of art and antiques from their adventures abroad. The result was an interior
that is highly functional for a growing family but also well suited for frequent entertaining.

More recent projects include a full scale renovation of an urban home for empty nesters. The home had great bones, but after years of use, the home
needed a complete overhaul and update. The scope of the work included a kitchen remodel, bathrooms, wall coverings, space planning and furniture/fabric
selection. Coming from a suburban setting with a subdued color palette and transitional style, the clients looked to Rachel to push the design
envelope with this project. She introduced sophisticated materials such as metals, rich wood tones, mother of pearl wall coverings, and shagreen
leather to serve as the sleek foundation. Plush fabrics like velvet, mohair, and silk were then added to create textural and luxurious layers.
Together, all facets of the design create an inviting home that radiates warmth amidst the cool urban vibe.

We had a great time meeting with Rachel and learning more about her sophisticated warm style, and we look forward to seeing more of her work over the
next few months.