Before Linda and Roy Pollock started working with designer Annie Hall, they weren’t sure how to describe their decorating style. “Cottage? Contemporary? I’m not sure we really had a style,” Linda admits. Hall, who completely redesigned the first floor of the family’s 110-year-old Medford home a few years ago, says they were a quick study. Last year, Hall carried the look — which she describes as highly comfortable with a modern edge — up to the second floor.
Hall worked her magic throughout the upstairs, but focused on the couple’s drab bedroom, Roy’s cluttered home office, and the tired family bathroom. The emphasis on green came from an image of a painting that Linda showed her husband and Hall. “It was folk art, with a chicken, and they were like, ‘What?’” Linda recalls with a laugh. “But for me, it was all about the colors.”
Advertisement
With a fresh, modern green palette in mind, Hall discovered that iconic Louis Poulsen PH 5 pendants are available in just that hue. “The wall is tight for a king-sized bed, so I found narrow side tables and punctuated them with hanging pendants,” the designer says. From there, she added pale green wool drapes, a dark green velvet bench, and an atmospheric landscape painting (albeit without a chicken in sight). “It’s nice to have art over the bed given its prominence,” Hall says.
Across from the bed, Hall widened the opening to Roy’s office and swapped out the louvered bifold doors for French doors with black frames. “Linda was leery of the black initially, but ultimately trusted it would be an interesting contrast,” Hall says. She visually tied the doors to black curtain rods and a sculptural black lamp that sits atop the walnut dresser she designed.
Roy, a scientist who has worked from home throughout the pandemic, had a number of requirements for his desk, including hidden compartments for computer equipment and a pullout keyboard. He also wanted comfortable recliners for reading. Linda, who deemed his bulky black leather one “awful,” is thrilled with their new mid-century modern Milo Baughman recliners and loves spending time in the sunny room. “When the blinds are open you feel like you’re in the trees,” she says.
Advertisement
Hall pulled green into the bath, too, with a fun, textured vinyl wallcovering by Elitis and vertical stacks of 3-inch-by-12-inch gray/green tiles from Fireclay Tile. Removing an oppressive soffit over the sink made the space feel airier and the new two-tone vanity provided Linda, Roy, and each of their two daughters with a drawer of their own. “I wanted to make this little space really special for them,” Hall says.
Now, the entire house is stylish and efficient. “We’ve lived here 22 years,” Linda says. “It was time.”
RESOURCES:
Interior designer: Annie Hall Interiors, anniehallinteriors.com
Builder: Timberwolf Construction, timberwolfcon.com
Furniture and cabinetmaker: Mcintosh & Company, mcintosh.company
MORE PHOTOS:





Marni Elyse Katz is a contributing editor to the Globe Magazine. Follow her on Instagram @StyleCarrot. Send comments to magazine@globe.com.