I’ve been meaning to highlight interior designer Jeff Osborne’s South End condo for a while now. I originally wrote about it, “Living With Less, for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. Why now? I have just hired Jeff and his partner, interior designer Amanda Hark, to renovate the main floor of our Boston condo. Their newly created firm is called Hark + Osborne ). I am so excited.
Jeff’s Boston loft isn’t large, but he makes great use of the space. And he has an amazing eye, mixing old and new, high and low. He had to do some serious editing to make it work. He gave all his old furniture to his brother in order to be able to get the look he wanted. The overall aesthetic is clean and modern and very tailored, but there are plenty of vintage pieces for character and texture.
Photo by Josh Kuchinsky
In the main living space, the television blends right in with the art. The ebony, bamboo-topped coffee table by Gervasoni from Showroom in Boston has simple lines, with an Asian feel. The rug is Italian, made from linen and wool. The sofa, upholstered in linen, is Flexform, from Showroom. Showoroom owner Doug Gates is his close friend.
Photo by Josh Kuchinsky
The vintage Louis Vuitton trunk was a gift from Osborne’s parents. The painting of man on left is a self-portrait by Cyrille Conan from a local Boston art gallery. The smaller piece on the right was painted by his grandfather. It’s a cottage on Ballston Beach on Cape Cod, that has since washed away. Underneath, on the white lacquer Poliform shelf, is a whaling-ship propeller that he found at a Boston antiques show.
The smaller ceramic bowl on the far left is by Tim Christiansen, purchased from The Society of Arts & Crafts on Newbury Street. (Christiansen and Osoborne went to boarding school together.) The larger one is from Norway from his parents, who collect ceramics and art. “They have fantastic taste,” he says, “They downplay it, but it’s been a huge influence on my work.” Both bowls sit on wood blocks from West Elm.
The artwork is hard to see here. The vertical is a drawing of a nose that he bought when he studied abroad in Florence; it’s a local contemporary artist but in an antique French frame that he bought it from a store called Flair. Next to it is a print from Paris of hats flying off people’s heads by Charlotte Reine.
On the bottom shelf are Chinese bronze animal bells from Intarwut in Cambridge.
Two aluminum frame full-length mirrors from IKEA are propped up behind the Flexform stainless steel and rope folding chairs.
Photo by Josh Kuchinsky
The bed is beyond the main living space, in a south-facing, floor-ceiling-windowed nook. The bed (high) is upholstered in white leather and covered in gray houndstooth linens. The nightstands (low) are from West Elm. The industrial-style lamps are from Casa Design in SoWa. The chair in the foreground, upholstered in striped chenille, is Flexform.
A trio of postcards depicting Greek ruins were discovered in a junk shop in Provincetown.
Photo by Josh Kuchinsky
The kitchen is standard issue from the building. The wrapped countertop is bisque-colored speckled Caesarstone, the appliances are Viking, and the cabinetry Wenge wood. Osborne added the three silvery pendant light fixtures from Casa Design over the bar. And note the Alessi juicer next to the bowl of oranges.
The entry is lined with family photos and artwork.
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