Inside a Pattern-Rich Design Studio in Newton Centre

This article is from the spring 2026 issue of Boston Home. Sign up here to receive a subscription.

Visitors know they’ve stepped into Liz Caan’s world the moment they cross the threshold. A sweeping spiral stair rises beside walls wrapped in Gucci’s exuberant pink heron wallpaper—a true “wow” moment that signals exactly what this newly reimagined Newton Centre studio is about: bold pattern, refined craft, and an unabashed sense of joy.

Caan has occupied the building on Centre Street since 2009, gradually expanding into adjoining suites and an upper-level room that once required exiting the building to access. Over time, Caan felt a growing dissatisfaction with the warren of offices—patched together, outfitted with drop ceilings, and burdened by inefficient storage—because they weren’t reflective of the elevated living spaces her firm designs. “We do these really beautiful projects, and our office should represent that,” she says. So last year, she committed to a top-to-bottom renovation that would unify the spaces physically and aesthetically.

The result, completed in September, is a studio that feels more like a home—warm, layered, and deeply considered. The largest reconfigured area is the conference room, where clients gather around a vintage French table surrounded by soaring built-in bookcases. Here, Caan encourages a new kind of collaboration: pulling monographs, unfolding textiles, and allowing clients to linger and learn. “Our meetings are different now,” she says. “Clients get to play a bit. They start developing their eye toward better-quality design.”

There’s a design book library in the conference room where a Thomas Strahan wallcovering wraps the walls. The light fixture is the “Verso” chandelier by Blueprint Lighting. / Photo by William Geddes

In the shared workspace, the gold floral wallpaper is by Soane, the sconces are from Urban Electric, and the desk chairs are from Design Within Reach. / Photo by William Geddes

Throughout, Caan mixes pieces that speak to design lovers fluent in form and history. Her studio manager works at a sculptural 1970s pine desk sourced from a Los Angeles dealer; a travertine midcentury lamp glows beside it. French urns anchor the front window. Staff work at custom-built-in desks set against a Soane wallcovering designed to soften the rhythm of the workday. Even the new kitchenette, made from modular deVOL oak cabinets painted on-site, blends craftsmanship with practicality—a reflection of the studio’s family-like culture of six.

One of the renovation’s most charming architectural details is a blind-cut door disguised within the leafy wallpaper of the conference room. Fitted with a brass porthole, it leads quietly to the kitchenette, allowing staff to slip in and out during meetings. “Clients love it—they didn’t know you could do that,” Caan says.

For Caan, the transformation has reshaped daily life. “I always joke this is the new work-from-home,” she says. “It feels warm and cozy. I don’t want to beeline out at the end of the day.” Instead, the studio invites exactly what she hoped for: lingering, connection, and the simple pleasure of being surrounded by good design.

The porthole window in the conference room door allows staff members to peek into the room before interrupting a meeting. / Photo by William Geddes

Builder Opus Master Builders
Interior Designer Liz Caan Interiors
Millwork Studio Furniture Design Studios
Photo Stylist Philippa Brathwaite