Katie Rosenfeld is used to conceiving houses for families and pieds-à-terre for couples, but this project’s clients included four dogs, three cats, a trio of goats, and a hedgehog.

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“When you have a menagerie of farm animals trotting through the house, your floors have to be durable,” says the Expert of designing with four-legged creatures in mind (as it happens, she settled on an indestructible Belgian blue stone downstairs).

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Her third time working for the animal-loving family meant the designer and clients had established an easy shorthand. “I was able to use very conversational, descriptive language to describe what I thought we should do,” says Katie. In short: “If you injected steroids into the Cotswolds,” was the decor dialogue around the sizeable, 1930s Federal Colonial-style property updated by Patrick Ahearn Architect in a tony Boston suburb. “There’s a lot of maximalism but also some very sweet accents,” she adds.

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The overarching theme skewed European, with the choice of busy prints (many are adorned with animals as a subtle reference to the owners’ love for their pets) nodding to traditional British style. The powder room, with its charming wallpaper and black ticking skirt, is like stepping into the English countryside.

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And then, as seamlessly as a first-class trip on the Eurostar, you’re in Paris via the opulent butler’s pantry. “I wanted it to feel like Ralph’s,” explains Katie—referring to fashion designer Ralph Lauren’s bistro-style coffee outposts which are universally committed to the same shade of racing green. Deliciously glossy subway tiles play off the lacquered, mesh-insert doors, making for a ‘wow’ moment every time the owners need to grab some pasta.

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Katie’s glamorous approach to utility extends to the laundry room, where a hotel-grade laundry trolley makes light work of the washing. “They have three boys who play a lot of sports so there's a lot of laundry. I wanted it to have that Downton Abbey ‘back of house’ feel. But I also wanted it to be a super bold color so that it’s fun to be in.” Farrow & Ball’s Arsenic, a lively and vivid green, fulfilled the brief.

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This being the family’s ‘forever home’ meant Katie could push the envelope with personal and elevated finishes. For example, the equestrian-inspired mudroom is a love letter to the owners’ love of horseback riding. “I designed it like a tack room, with ironmongery so that it resembles a fancy farm in the country.” Wrapping the ceiling in shellacked alder wood was a no-brainer: “As the sight line walking through is straight through to the barn, it made sense. It feels visually compelling and isn’t something you see a lot.”

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The project also saw Katie and her team flex their muscles when it came to millwork. In the den, three-paneled secretaire desks in white oak are designed like jib doors, and cleverly pull down for the boys to do their homework on. Never missing a beat, Katie lined them in leather.

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Upstairs, the custom, marble-topped walnut vanity in the principal bathroom is an object of beauty. Inspired by an antique, it boasts intricate, bamboo-esque moldings and nickel knobs. Katie wanted the room to feel like a sanctuary: “The house has so much color going on, this is a palate cleanser”. Her desire for a glossy finish drew her to Venetian plaster, which she used across the walls and ceilings: “It’s antimicrobial, which appealed to the clients, and it’s mildew and moisture-resistant. But it’s not at all sterile and boring, it still feels very warm.” A floor in rare onyx and unusually olive-hued, Calacatta marble completes the airy scheme.

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Off the principal bedroom is a dressing room which didn’t escape Katie’s exacting eye. Her mission to make it feel like a ‘lady’s boudoir’ saw her continue the Swedish-style patterned wallpaper from the bedroom and daub the closets in Farrow & Ball’s Borrowed Light. “This has an architectural element to it that is compelling and beautiful. All the clothes are hidden behind doors, which was again very much inspired by English design” she muses.

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But beautiful design coups aside, the success of this project lies in the harmony created between the owners and their furry friends. The dogs are catered to as thoughtfully as the humans, with a buttercup-yellow kennel complete with four in-frame crates and a pair of stainless steel sinks for easy grooming. Pampered to the highest level, it’s no surprise the goats want in too.

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