The dress code, it turned out, was come as you are—“approachable and cozy, and something that reflected both our personalities while giving us enough space to entertain and host family and friends,” shares Lauren, who was born and raised in Concord. It would have been a simple enough brief, if hers and Vijay’s personalities were anything alike. “He leans traditional while I favor the modern. He and I also approach decision-making very differently. He is quick to decide and charge forward, whereas I like to sketch out all the options, discuss the possibilities, eventually make a decision and perhaps rethink that decision hours later,” she says of herself and her husband, who heads an environmental company.
One thing they did agree upon was keeping things classic, but not too classic. If the architecture reflected Vijay, the interior design held a mirror to Lauren—timeless, edgy, and a little unexpected—a brief she entrusted Chango to bring alive. “With the architecture already in motion, we aimed to honor its essence while giving the interior design a distinct, independent narrative,” avers Simonpietri. And so she did, lending each space a distinct expression: a stone slab sink in the black foyer, a green family room color-drenched with a jewel-toned wraparound sofa, and a kitchen darkened in black. She paid equal attention to the kids’ bedrooms, connecting them with lofts for stowing away toys and encouraging joint or individual play.
