Not Your Average Man Cave
Justin Amaral's South End condo is a bachelor pad. Really.
In real estate parlance, "bachelor apartment" generally refers to a nondescript studio with empty pizza boxes strewn about. Justin Amaral's snazzy bachelor digs couldn't be further from that downscale image. The 33-year-old's immaculate South End loft is a wow from the moment you walk through the door.
"I was at a point in my life where I wanted to start fresh," says the global wealth management consultant for Smith Barney in Boston. "It was a unique opportunity to design something that was a complete reflection of myself."
After buying the 1,000-square-foot space in 2007, Amaral carefully planned and decorated the entire loft. "My mother has great style, so I grew up with it," he says, explaining his passion for interiors. But while Mom's tastes tend to be traditional, her sophisticated son likes clean urban minimalism combined with sensuous furnishings and startling art. "I'm in a business that's very conservative," he says. "My home reflects the adventures and romanticism of my travels with the edginess of the city."
One of Amaral's favorite travel spots is Buenos Aires, a city not yet "prepackaged" for tourists, he says. Serendipitously, the perfect store opened in the South End just as he began his search for furnishings. Diseno on Harrison Avenue is more colorful Argentine marketplace than urban furniture store. Owner Frank Campanale, who has homes in Boston and Buenos Aires, imports rich Latin American interior design collections that are both unique and surprisingly affordable.
So affordable, in fact, that Amaral bought five pieces in five minutes on his first visit, including a wood-and-steel console table, a cowhide chair, horn and silver candlesticks, and a hand-woven metallic leather rug with suede border. "There's an aura of subtle sexiness to all these natural materials," says Amaral. The same could be said for the financial adviser's art choices, including serene angel-wing artifacts bought on his travels, and a wall-sized Judith Larsen print of a zebra-striped female nude from Boston's Rhys Gallery.
Says Amaral: "It's great to have a masculine apartment, but you need to recognize women as well." Number one on that list is longtime girlfriend Stephanie Weimer. "Her place on Beacon Hill is completely French country," he says. "But she's very comfortable spending time here."
Tina Sutton writes the Fashion Snapshot column. Send comments to designing@globe.com. 