Today in conspicuous capitalism, the most expensive home currently for sale in Boston is a $30 million 6-bedroom, 10-bathroom 10,000 square foot mansion. It was built in 18991, and as you might guess, it features a stately facade perfectly suited for Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood.
That’s lovely, albeit a little crooked. And how’s the the interior?
Oh. Oh my. Lest you think this is not representative of the entire home, I urge you to see more photos via this New York Post article, which includes the following quote from designer Eric Roseff:
“We wanted it to have a real loungy vibe — like a 1970s coke-den vibe,” Roseff added, who described the room as having a “perpetual mood” to it. “It’s intoxicating, it’s inviting, it’s sexy.”
It’s something, alright. Speaking of owner Kevin Starr’s tastes, Roseff said:
“His vibe from the beginning was the feel of a boutique hotel…He likes a little bit of Miami thrown in, a little bit of Vegas thrown in.”
They certainly did nail the “a boutique hotel, but worse” aesthetic:
My favorite line from the aforelinked article is this:
Despite its opulent features, the mansion also offers practical amenities, such as a 2,200-bottle wine room and six parking spaces…
Ah, yes. So practical.
Footnotes:
Give or take a few years, anyhow. The city’s maps were updated sporadically back in the day. That means it’s generally only possible to narrow down when a structure was built to a range, that multi-year period between when it didn’t appear on a map and when it did. It seems to me that a disproportionate number of houses in Boston are listed as being built in 1899, surely to be able to advertise themselves as “19th century”. ↩︎
