This Back Bay Condo Is a Masterclass in Feminine Glam

A pair of curvaceous “Lorae” lounge swivel chairs from the Bright Group are upholstered with expressionistic Holly Hunt printed velvet fabric and placed, like all the seating furniture in the home, for socializing and conversation. / Photo by Michael J. Lee

This article is from the fall 2025 issue of Boston Home. Sign up here to receive a subscription.

When a high-powered professional bought a home in the Back Bay, she had a clear vision when she hired Jill Litner Kaplan to design the interior.

“She wanted a refuge,” explains Kaplan, who founded her Newton-based interior design firm more than 20 years ago. “She told us that she wants to come home from work to a soft, neutral palette that’s all cool, calm, and collected. She needed a guest room for her children, who are grown but come back to visit. She loves to entertain, and she has a fabulous eye for art. And,” she adds, “she loves glam.”

“Watered Silk,” a heritage-design wallpaper from Cole & Son, lines the walls of the primary bedroom in pearlescent gray. The custom bed is upholstered in coordinating fabric from Holly Hunt. / Photo by Michael J. Lee

The two, who knew each other socially, soon developed the kind of working bond designers dream of. “Because we had a wonderful relationship where she completely trusted us, we were able to push her out of her comfort zone,” Kaplan says. “The soft, neutral palette she wanted is expressed in tones of ivory, gray, and greige, but we introduced pops of her favorite color, which is pink. It is in pillows and artwork, and it makes the home unabashedly feminine.” The nearly 3,000-square-foot condominium occupies an entire floor of a 1927 building. Original architectural elements had been removed when a developer bought it; the gut renovation produced what Kaplan calls “a white box.”

That can be an advantage, she explains, in that they were able to craft a home that was very specifically created for the homeowner. “It functions like a single-family house, with the public space at the front and the bedrooms, laundry room, and home office at the back.”

For a homeowner who loves to entertain, the bar in the dining room is another serving surface. Glossy metal inlaid in the table and chairs reflects her glam side. / Photo by Michael J. Lee

Kaplan gave her client the softness she wanted with wallpaper, highly textured linen drapes, velvet and chenille upholstery fabrics, a living room console table wrapped in pink grasscloth, and wool carpeting. Living and dining room furniture is grouped so that guests can talk to and face each other. She expressed the homeowner’s love of glam with the strategic use of polished metal.

“The dining table is as much a piece of sculpture as any of the art in the home,” Kaplan says. “A strip of polished nickel is inlaid into the taupe oak top, and polished nickel is applied to the tops of the legs.” The dining chairs also have cuffs of polished metal, as do the kitchen stools. Instead of one coffee table, Kaplan furnished the living room with six stainless steel tables in different sizes and heights; each is like an individual metal sculpture. Drapery hardware and lighting bring additional elements of metallic shine.

Kaplan adores Sputnik-style chandeliers. In the living room, a custom version by Venfield crowns pops of pink, enlivening softly neutral furnishings. / Photo by Michael J. Lee

In the den, a woodblock by Polly Apfelbaum, Persephone – Pink, 2013, printed on handmade Japanese paper, hangs above a side table by Mr. Brown London. / Photo by Michael J. Lee

To supplement the homeowner’s art collection, Kaplan commissioned a large multimedia piece by New Orleans–based abstract expressionist Karina Gentinetta. It serves as a focal point in the living room; another Gentinetta piece hangs over the dining table. Displayed between two living room windows is a piece by Brigitte Bertoux of Avignon, France, who paints on undyed raw silk. In the den, a woodblock on handmade Japanese paper by Polly Apfelbaum adds to the lighthearted pops of pink. A high-gloss hot-pink console table, a pink Murano glass bowl, an office chair upholstered in pink mohair, and a pink camo-printed corkboard add to the personal, feminine sensibility of the home.

“The home is exactly right for this homeowner,” Kaplan says. “It is bright, airy, and happy.”

Interior Designer Jill Litner Kaplan Interiors