Boston's Back Bay

In this renovation of a classic 19th-century triplex townhouse on Boston Common, designer Alan Tanksley creates a fresh-faced testament to timeless elegance for his take on modern living within the city’s tony Back Bay neighborhood. Per Tanksley, the 3,420-square-foot pied-á-terre (a project he took on for a pair of beloved repeat clients who had recently become empty-nesters) is his modern, high-style interpretation of the old private clubs you would find in London around the time the home was built. Although Tanksley’s design isn’t outwardly retro, it nimbly references elements of both the Mid-Century Modern and Art Deco eras, as seen throughout the home’s elegant and exquisite details—from the contemporary “floating” walnut panels that hide the rooms’ existing moldings to the gleaming 1920s-esque high-gloss walls and sweeping curves of the contemporary furniture. Tanksley’s history with the clients enabled him to hone in on their yearn for warm, comfortable spaces where their whole extended family could put their feet up. To wit, Tanksley, along with a builder and team of architects, added a third-floor guest bath, reworked both the office and main dressing room, and helped transform a second office into a media/game room with a very apropos swanky, sexy bar.