Guides

A Society Hill Towers Condo With an Eclectic Design

Vestige Home created a cozy, layered space filled with the clients’ antiques, books, and travel mementos.


Society Hill Towers design

A pair of academics get a lesson in eclectic design for their condo at Society Hill Towers. / Photography by Brian Wetzel

Client consultations can be a way for interior designers to learn interesting details about the homeowners. Nicole Cole, CEO and founder of East Falls-based Vestige Home, was reminded of this during one such meeting with a couple who were leaving their abode in Boston for a condo at Society Hill Towers, designed in the 1960s by legendary architect I.M. Pei.

“The wife is a retired art museum curator, consultant, and specialist in historic interiors,” says Cole. “She saw something in our work that resonated with her.” What she and her husband — a retired political science professor — connected with was a firm that could create a cozy, layered residence that showed off the treasured antiques, books, and travel mementos they had collected over the decades, all while honoring the building’s austere design. And what of those floor-to-ceiling views? They’re works of art in their own right.

Primary Bedroom

Cole sought inspiration from the couple’s favorite hotel, Raffles Singapore, when selecting Maxwell’s Le Toucan charcoal wallpaper, which informed other elements like the West Elm velvet pintuck quilt and a mid-century-modern-style cane headboard.

Office

East Germantown design firm Edgewood Made built the wall of walnut millwork with an integrated desk designed by Vestige Home. A framed poster featuring the work of British artist Eric Ravilious is a keepsake from the homeowners’ travels.

Living room

A Highland House custom sofa is paired with an oversize Woodbridge Furniture coffee table that makes an inviting surface to display books.

Dining Room

Vestige Home’s bespoke banquette and a Rosanna Corfe bird print both pop against the dining room wall, splashed in Inchyra Blue by Farrow & Ball.

Published as “Class Act” in the November 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.