This mother-daughter duo runs a joyful, disability-friendly short-term rental in Norwood

Boston Globe

27-03-2025

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Dara and Paige Adams.
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The pair found a 1911 Spanish stucco bungalow amid classic Cape Cod-style homes that became a passion project, where Paige lived for a time during the yearlong renovation process. That was the start of their
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'We found the house … or the house found us. We didn't look at any other place,' says Dara. 'It was right at the epicenter of a lot of the places that were disability-friendly in terms of accessibility to find things.' This includes access to the commuter rail station and Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital.
The home was inspired by their own needs as a caregiver and person with accessibility needs, including ramps, a chair lift, a shower chair, remote lights, and grab bars. It's not ADA-accessible but thoughtfully prepared for travelers with different requirements. The house has earned designation from
The business name comes from the urge to indulge your impulses, in this case with funky secondhand furnishings you might consider to be 'dopamine decor,' also adding something fun to accessibility concerns, which often feel cold and medical.
A look at the house of id in Norwood.
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'We're both huge psychology nerds. It felt like indulging your id is not something that you get to do a lot with disabilities,' says Paige. 'So we made a space for your id as opposed to your ego.'
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Each guest also helps contribute to what the house of id is.
'We've gotten great feedback from people. We added a microwave that you could put on the counter, so if you can't reach down to the microwave, you can. So we're learning from our guests, for sure,' says Dara.
But the house also became an exercise in creativity, sparking joy for both the Adamses and their guests, with colorful decor from vintage shops, Facebook Marketplace, and secondhand stores like vintage glassware, cozy crocheted afghans, and even the lamps.
A look at the house of id in Norwood.
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'It would be my practical exercise. We would go to a vintage shop. Either I'd get pushed around, or I'd walk around. We would just accessorize our space to feel more like us,' she adds. 'That's the idea of having joy right around you, at your fingertips.'
Dara used these shopping trips as a way to get to know her surroundings. 'I got here and didn't know anyone, anything. We started to do what we had done before, which was learn the area via thrift shops and antique shops.'
The house of id takes its love of all things vintage one step further, allowing guests to actually purchase the items within the home after a friend of Dara's admired an item at a rental at which she was staying.
A look at the house of id in Norwood.
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'Something that I feel like makes us very accessible is the fact that you can buy the things in the house. You are here, you're existing in the space, you get to play records, you get to experience the plants, you get to experience the decorations, you can move all the decorations, you can change the space how you want to change it,' adds Paige.
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'We found that a lot of the people that come to us, they are not able to go to a million places [to shop for vintage items],' Dara says. They've sold some interesting items like a vintage pink lotus floor lamp, an '80s home staple.
'We sold a Curtis Jere Parisian cafe scene from a young woman whose grandma used to put Lego mini figures in the metal seats and changed them seasonally,' Dara adds.
The co-owners wanted to open up shopping to customers, who represent a broad range of abilities.
'The disability umbrella is just the same as it is with everything else. Our particular flavor of that is that sometimes Paige is able, and sometimes she isn't,' she notes. 'We wanted this business to be for people across a broad range, because when you think of disability, sometimes people just think wheelchair. And that's not what's going on here.'
A look at the house of id in Norwood.
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Some people come to stay at the house of id to visit Boston, but many just want to experience it in all its glory, even renting for parties and events like baby showers.
'We had local people, who came because a tree fell on their house. One of my favorites is a sister and her mother and her daughter came because their brother is in a group home here. It was his birthday, and he wanted to do something special,' says Dara. 'We have people going to Foxborough to see the Army-Navy game.'
Dara and Paige also partner with Hospitality Homes as both a host home and helping with fund-raising. 'They provide housing for people who come to Boston for medical care and can't afford housing,' explains Dara.
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The house of id is something special for both the Adamses and their guests. Paige describes it best:
'The house itself is not only colorful and vibrant, and we have these fun different types of artwork, but it's also the inclusivity of it all. You want to show that we are a women-owned space, that we're a half queer-owned space, that we are disability-owned, that we are accepting of really any shape, size, gender, sexuality, nationality, whatever it is.'
The rental is around $450 per night, plus applicable taxes and service fees. It has a two-night minimum stay.
A look at the house of id in Norwood.
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