NEW YORK TOWNHOUSE
Completion: September 2019
An aspiration to marry contemporary elegance within a traditional Late Italianate New York townhouse led to a close examination of materiality and craft in this luxury renovation. Quarzo Bianco quartzite, Calacatta Calvani marble, patinaed brass, blackened steel, and Sapele wood mingle and interlock in carefully considered details.
At the parlor floor, structural efforts were made to allow for an open kitchen, dining, and entertaining area, including removing walls to expose the one-of-a-kind historic spiral staircase. This created a need to give special care to the distinctly positioned kitchen island, which was conceived as a minimalist sculpture where steel and stone frame and elevate each another. A linear geometric chandelier by Montreal lighting designer Gabriel Scott hangs overhead. The primary kitchen cabinets are custom stained sapele, a sustainable alternative to mahogany. Deceptively simple open steel shelving flanks the expertly finished brass hood surround.
In the entry vestibule, new marble wainscoting, antiqued mirrors, and mosaic floor tiles offer a highly tailored first impression. The historic entry doors guide proportion and detailing decisions, and the totality of vestibule’s experiential effect creates a portal from the street into the residence.
The powder room reimagines the vestibule stone by borrowing a plank configuration of the typical wood floors. Handcrafted wallpaper, unlacquered brass fixtures, and rosewood accents create timeless opulence. Uniquely unobtrusive doors are consistently employed throughout the house and eliminate superfluous lines. This contributes to creating a quiet canvas, allowing the lush materials to be appreciated for their beauty and escape the ostentatious pitfalls that could otherwise fell such an ambitious palette.
Oak floors throughout the house are dyed and stained to a sultry dark finish. Impressive plaster crown moldings harken back to the home’s history. The historic center stair was preserved and restored, while being outfitted with a new forty-five-foot tall Lindsay Adelman chandelier that illuminates the ascension. At the second-floor family room, a wall-to-wall window seat was created, with a second-tier cascading into the large bay window. It is the family dog’s favorite perch. The family room’s wet bar takes literal queues from the kitchen and stair chandelier, tying the common spaces together.
Photography: Eric Laignel Photography