The doors to beautiful Uptown houses open for Sacred Heart Academy's first home-tour fundraiser

Light and bright. That's the look Gigi and Kyle Graffagnini went for when remodeling and redecorating their State Street home, and it is precisely what they created.

And the rooms do. Walls throughout the home are painted a soft neutral color that Gigi Graffagnini settled on after many trials and errors.

Oushak carpets -- in muted colors -- cover the floors in rooms both downstairs and up, enhancing the continuity of the dcor. Crystal chandeliers, sconces and candelabra reflect and refract the light that pours in through floor-to-ceiling windows and glass French doors.

Creamy silk draperies dress the windows, and Belgian linen cover the sofa and chairs in one room. To complete the palette, many pieces of furniture are painted wood -- rather than natural -- be they of French, Italian or Swedish heritage.

If it sounds sumptuous, it is. But Gigi Graffagnini said it is also livable.

"With three young daughters, we needed to use upholstery fabric that wouldn't suffer much from regular wear and tear," she said. "The girls will come running into the family room and jump on the sofa, and it doesn't matter."

Gentle but thorough update

The 1892 vintage Victorian grande dame that the Graffagninis now live in -- which will be on the Academy of the Sacred Heart alumnae association's inaugural home tour Friday -- wasn't always the splendid showplace it is today.

When they bought it in late 2007, its systems had become outmoded and its interior -- especially the baths and kitchen -- dated. The house had been on the market for nine months when the Graffagninis decided it had all the natural ingredients to become a lovely and comfortable family home.

"I think some people may have been daunted when they realized everything would need to be rewired and re-plumbed -- it's a lot of work," Gigi Graffagnini said. "But we could see what it could look like when all of the improvements were made and the rooms painted. One thing that really attracted us was the fact that all of the original features were still here."

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The doors to beautiful Uptown houses open for Sacred Heart Academy's first home-tour fundraiser