With every space we design, a narrative emerges as we delve into what makes our clients tick. In decorating this Park Avenue apartment for a family with three young children, some of the first conversations we had were about the homes our clients had grown up in, and in turn, how they wanted their own home to feel. Glamorous was a word that came up again and again. Quickly a story started to develop in our minds, one inspired by classic New York apartments where glamour was king and antiques were meant to be lived with and passed down from one generation to the next. We immediately started to amass a Pinterest board full of images of interiors lived in by Bunny Mellon, Jackie Kennedy, and Babe Paley. Below, the building is one of the last remaining pre-war buildings with a drive through central courtyard entered through tall Gothic archways.

We curated a collection of French, Italian, Asian and English antiques throughout. Pairing these fine pieces with the clients’ contemporary art collection kept the rooms feeling fresh and youthful, while honoring the period of the apartment. Cool blue walls in the living room were a lovely departure from white, bringing to life the Samarkand rug woven from antique threads of many shades of blue.

To maximize the amount of natural light, we kept the windows largely unadorned, except for a pair of sumptuous draperies stacked on either side of the two windows. We selected etched sunburst wall sconces fabricated by EF Caldwell & Co., one of the premier designers and manufacturers of electric light fixtures from the late 19th Century.

Moss fringe was added to the seams of the corner sofa seat cushions with small brass nail heads detailing the base. For the remaining custom upholstered furniture, we designed updated traditional shapes covered in crisp off-white and pale blue textiles. The pillows were designed and made using vintage and antique textiles and tapestries. Note the Venetian style window treatment in the adjacent dining room, made from a pale blue silk.

For the family kitchen, we updated a family eating space, adding a custom dining table and banquette in a channelled washable leather. Shirred linen with a subtle stripe hides any clutter behind the glass cabinets and a chic new light fixture completed the look.

In the library, we were inspired by the colorful and whimsical motifs from Indian block print textiles, designing a stencil pattern over burlap covered walls. The mix of playful, global prints and textiles with some more serious antique pieces gives this room great functionality as a space for the children to gather after school and for the adults to relax in at night.

Our client dreamed of having a canopy bed in her bedroom, and we set out to accomplish that by using an unexpected color palette combination. A soft blue strie on the master bedroom walls provides the perfect companion for a tea stained floral textile with subtle hints of deep purple and lime green.  The Italian Murano chandelier was an early acquisition, and a way of ensuring that the room would exude glamour. We had the ceilings painted in a soft, cloud like stipple glaze, leaving no surface unfinished. The cozy sitting area gets a shot of lime green on the custom chaise. An English Regency-style sofa table originally intended for the living room got moved into the bedroom serving as a surface for additional ambient light and to display family photos.

In the little boys room, we opted for strong primary colors. The wallpaper is a shirt ticking stripe. Red roman shades, headboards and bedskirts were embellished with a strong navy blue tape detail. A collection of small Ellsworth Kelly prints put a sophisticated spin on a classic boy’s bedroom. A vintage T.H Robsjohn-Gibbings desk and antique miniature Windsor chair brought to the apartment by the client are sweet additions to the room.