This penthouse in Greenwich Village, New York has all the details of a jewel box with the exception of the jewel tones. Well perhaps you can see one or two. The inspiration for this glamorous and elegant apartment was two chairs but specifically two beige chairs that Interior Designer and Architect Rafael de Cardenas found in Basel, Switzerland. The owner is a London born who moved to New York and whose taste is obviously urban and sophisticated. Although the apartment had been redone previously and was in good shape, Cardenas and its owner decided to make it even better and more appealing to its owner’s taste. Walls were moved and every surface was refinished. The color scheme throughout the apartment is mainly composed of neutrals with lots of pretty details and different metal finishes. Metals such as brass, bronze and steel work as jewelry accessories against the blond-wood herringbone floors and the travertine fireplace. The fireplace has a glamorous brass mantel… or is that painted to look like brass. Either way it creates an alluring effect.
A Mattia Bonetti chair on the right. The sofa is designed by Rafael de Cardenas
Brown and blue is a combination that I have always favored. The day bed is custom-designed by Rafael de Cardenas, the lamps are by Jean Royere.
From this angle, we can see the entire living room and how harmonious it is. The ceiling is hand-painted trompe l’oeil to look like malachite, only in beige not green…
In one side of the entry hall is a table and chair set by De Cardenas. Love to see when designers are capable of accomplishing both, restrained and austere in such an elegant and sophisticated way. Interior Design is very personal and a designer’s job is to create the spaces that reflect their habitants way of living but most importantly their own personal taste.
The next two images via 1stdibs. I love it when by looking through doors you can make a mental map of the footprint of the house.
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