A 1920s English Country–style bungalow is where Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton calls home
As soon as interior designers Jon Hattaway and Martin Potter of MJ Berries Design in Boston laid eyes on the 1920s English Country–style bungalow, they knew it was the ideal house for clients Tom Hamilton, bassist for legendary rock band Aerosmith, and his wife, Terry. The couple, who were ready for a change after 22 years in their previous home, agreed. “This house was the perfect blank palette,” says Terry Hamilton, who worked with the design team to incorporate the couple’s collections of artwork and objets d’art into the new space.
Clients and designers were charmed by the structure’s meandering layout, which opens onto several courtyards, bathing the rooms in natural light. The impressive architectural details including wainscoting, crown moulding, numerous fireplaces, and wood floors gave the rooms gravitas. And the mansard-roofed addition, built by a previous owner, had a 14-foot-high ceiling, providing plenty of wall space for artwork.
“I love comfort and color and things that are fun and beautiful,” says Terry, who has been immersed in vivid patterns her entire life. She grew up helping customers in her father’s wallpaper store, and she collected art and furniture pieces with her mother, with whom she shared a space at the Antiques Center of Cape Cod in Dennis, Massachusetts, for many years. Her favorites, animal prints, pinks, and velvets, are evident in every room of the house.
The design reflects “the theatrical nature of Tom’s professional life, combined with Terry’s bent for things that are shiny and fun and colorful,” says Hattaway.
Familiar with the artwork and collections that would fill the house, Hattaway and the now-late Potter ensured the background was consistently neutral, using 12 shades of gray for the walls throughout. “We were conscious of the transition from room to room,” says Hattaway, “but I believe you should know you are in a different room for reasons other than the wall color.”
The living room, a voluminous 24-by-38-foot space, is the main gathering spot, with plenty of room for people and collections; it easily holds four large sofas, numerous chairs, tables, and lamps, and plenty of artwork. “This living room is meant for lots of family and friends,” says Terry, “whether it’s to watch the Super Bowl or host a fundraiser for 75 people.”
The living room is a prime example of Terry’s personality, says Hattaway. “Terry likes detail. She likes layers. Elements such as the bullion fringe on the purple velvet sofas and the leopard-print rug add contrast and foil to the influence of all things modern, including the artwork.”
With the idea of an open gathering place in mind, the Hamiltons embarked on a renovation of the adjacent kitchen. Working with Payne Bouchier Fine Builders of Boston, they removed a wall to open the space to a casual dining area. Terry Hamilton and Potter designed the kitchen with a focus on storage, counter space, and style, adding traditional paneled cabinetry and marble countertops. The wood floor is painted with a diamond pattern that makes the galley-style layout appear wider.
Not long after moving into the house in 2014, the Hamiltons, who have two grown children, realized that the small dining room was inadequate for large dinner parties and family gatherings. The team turned to architect Jennifer Birnstiel of ArchiPlicity in Plymouth, Massachusetts, for a plan. “They wanted a room that responded to the existing house and also to the garden out back,” says Birnstiel, who designed a 19-by-12-foot addition with a painted-brick exterior that echoes the existing facade and a copper roof that mirrors the copper flashing on the bay windows. The addition is offset by a pergola-covered walkway that suggests an English Country–style transition from garden to home.
“The matching brick really makes the addition blend in,” says Payne|Bouchier project manager John Cooke, “and the copper roof makes it distinctive. The pergola helps integrate everything. It invites you to walk into the dining room and to walk out to the garden.”
Inside, a custom glass-paneled door that slides on barn-style hardware separates the new dining room from the old. (The latter is now used as a serving area and central axis for the entire first floor.) Hand-painted murals, a French-inspired ceiling fixture that produces different hues of light, and painted wood floors all combine for an enchantingly surreal setting.
For everyday life, Tom and Terry each have a home office, hers with a feminine ethos, complete with a pink velvet daybed, crystal torchiere, poufy silk window shades, and gray-painted desk. It’s a place for quiet reading or correspondence. “I pictured being in this room with my girlfriends, having caviar and champagne,” jokes Terry. “We do that sometimes, just not in this room.”
Tom’s office provides both comfort and function, filled with guitars on stands, a desk, embossed leather chairs, and a deep sofa covered in an automotive-inspired fabric. (He’s a self-described car freak.) “I needed a room where I can have my guitars at hand, but I actually do more writing in this room,” says Tom, who is working on his memoir. “Writing comes much easier than my profession, the performing and playing. With writing, I like that I’m sitting on my ass and actually working.”
The rear courtyard offers an outdoor haven, created with horticulturist Joseph Miner of Watertown, Massachusetts. With tall arborvitae in oversize clay pots and a stone terrace for casual dining, it has the feel of an Italian garden. “I love the courtyard and all the natural light in this house,” says Terry.
More than anything, indoors and out, this home speaks to a love of light, comfort, and color, an environment at once stimulating yet peaceful.
Dream on.
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