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Interior designer transforms Dorchester three-decker

Boston interior designer Dane Austin and his client, Lisa Gosling, have dispelled all predictable notions of what a "triple-decker" should look like.

The living room’s custom sofa is covered in a Perennials linen, a no-fuss stain-resistant fabric. “We didn’t want Lisa to worry about spills,” says Austin. A symmetrical display of antique prints of birds’ nests brings order to the room. Austin selected the antique lyre-back chair and forged-iron coffee table “because you can see through them,” he says. “They make the room feel more open.” Eric Roth

By Gail Ravgiala

1 minute to read

Don’t judge a book by its cover, and don’t imagine what the interior of an iconic three-decker is like by sizing up its imposing, porch-laden exterior. On a side street in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, where “triples” are lined up cheek by jowl, Boston interior designer Dane Austin and his client, Lisa Gosling, have dispelled all predictable notions. Together, they have created a sophisticated oasis where Gosling, a native of England and a bank vice president, can relax, entertain, and enjoy the beautiful things around her. “I had decorated my former home,” a 640-square-foot condominium in South Boston, she says. “Friends would tell me I did a great job.” But when she bought this 1,062-square-foot unit, “I knew I wouldn’t have the time or the pieces to do it myself.” Now that she has worked with Austin, she says with a laugh, “I have a list of the 10 worst design mistakes I made!”

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