Now, the only room that's essentially the same is the dining room. The view there is as it has always been. Here, Bensley built in a buffet for the room, with a mirrored wall and glass shelves above, and extended the wraparound windows. Now the front entry leads into an oak-floored hall about 20 feet high with a sweeping staircase, its banisters mahogany and the balusters painted black. The upstairs is more informally decorated than the main floor.
Windows offer another view of the Boston skyline.
The wife purchased antique bedposts and then had a custom king-size bed constructed around them. On the floor is a needlepoint rug commissioned at a factory in Portugal. The wife wanted it to be a healthy house, so the couple built with toxic-free materials and installed air and water purification systems.