This Upper East Side elite residence has been one of the most prominent locations to have a Pied-aTerres and/or part time luxury living experience in New York City.
We had a great time renovating this space for sale and designing the rooms within 1 month from start to finish. We wanted to share this beautiful re-design with you!
Living Room
Graciously appointed living room, boasting elegance and charm – updated for today’s buyer.
The walls were padded with silk – so we removed the fabric and padding, then skim coated, primed and painted the walls leaving the trim work original. The sconces at the fireplace and back wall were specifically for candles so they were removed.
The bookcases were not attached to the wall so we took from front wall and moved to the back wall. We added the marble pillars from other area of home and put the marble statues atop, then the figurative abstract art was added a set of four nudes that were created as a grouping especially for the space by Michele D. Lee.
Lighting was a challenge so we added new wiring and 7 new contemporary sconces to this room with crystal and brass and double light chandelier light bulbs. We kept the silk drapes, marble fireplace and mirror. The wood floors were in perfect condition! We removed the existing rug and added a very large contemporary rug from Nourison – Twilight rug to compliment the space.
Keeping the style and class of the home, the furnishings are matching grey velvet and luxurious – along with a 48”x48” travertine cocktail table – with bronze frame, and two glass and rubbed brass side tables, the lamps were platinum that added a contemporary mix to the space.
The graceful staircase has a combination of beautiful iron, brass, and crystal finials. The stairs flow into the formal living room, each stair wrapped with hand-knotted rug tapestry, that we removed took off then refinished the stairs. The wood flooring in the home was exposed already and in excellent shape for the living room – the baseboard is marble and faux marble stairs on risers. So I decided to paint the stair risers white.
Entry Hall
Our challenge was to bring more light into this room – so we had an electrician wire and install 6 new sconces.
One of my favorite things to do is bring old warm charm to new transitional, clean lines to the space making a simple elegance to this room – I did this by removing the rug runner, and adding two sleek benches in the platinum color tone – we left the details of the trim work and did not paint or take away – we removed the padded fabric on the walls and painted them to a warm cream which lightened and brightened the room.
I added four contemporary pieces of artwork to make look like a gallery of art, all framed in silver platinum in tone.
DINING ROOM
I decided to leave the wall paper since it really was a fun print and wanted to keep the class and style of the home’s integrity. We pulled the carpeting up and exposed the wood flooring – although wood floors were in great shape, they needed refinishing because of dried paint on edges that was not removable any longer. I lowered the chandelier and removed the lampshades to update its look.
For the design I painted the lower wall, ceiling and trim work, keeping the original door the ice blue color. I found a rug that was ice blue and had some gold veining as shown. The chairs had green pads securely attached and we were able to remove them easily giving us a rattan seat with gold trim. I took out some of the ornate side cabinets and used the pillars and busts (statues) in other rooms.
BEDROOMS
Bedroom #1 was painted a yellow color – so we re-painted a soft cream/tan paint by Benjamin Moore in matte. The trim work was repainted white.
The carpet was removed, the bedroom closets had to have new wood blended into pre-existing wood flooring, then floor was sanded, re-stained and sealed, we used Bona Swedish treatment. We removed all the draperies to let the light shine in – we took the queen bed, and the rest of furnishings out of the home.
About the design – The KING tufted upholstery 80” tall bed has a romantic, resort feel in this room – 34” wide side tables that are driftwood in color as well as marble top. The two block lamps are stacked marble in white and in brass. The fur bench is simply fun and adds more dimension and texture to the room. The mirror is the homeowners. The bedding is silk and the linens are cotton – four king pillows and two small complimentary pillows added. The rug is wool and cowhide in a chevron pattern / a blend of peaceful colors and textures.
Bedroom #2 can boast of beautiful original woodwork of burl wood and cherry. The carpet was removed, floors redone – walls painted, drapes taken down – now it is time to design.
I decided to use a geometric design on the rug echoing the new velvet padded bed in size king. I wrapped the new mattress and boxspring with fresh sheets, a nice velvet coverlet in tan and bloused the pillows and tan lined duvet atop.
Notice the new brass lights to be adjusted as needed. The bookshelves were designed with accenting a personality. This room also has a wonderful personal marble full bath.
The bedroom #2 was fully wallpapered so we took off and repainted with Benjamin Moore paint. The carpet was removed, the bedroom closets had to add new wood and pre-existing wood flooring had to be sanded, re-stained and sealed, we used Bona Swedish treatment.
I took off old light fixtures and added the brass swivel arm light with black metal shades so that when the furniture would be placed the king bed would fit firmly between both cabinets and the arm could be used however the sleepers would like.
THE LIBRARY (or could be another junior king suite)
This room was called the “library”. One door on right opens to a built in mirrored bar, left side a closet and lastly a separate entry into a bathroom. The room had fabric padded walls (already down in most photos shown). Hunter green was painted on above and below the upper trim. We painted the prepped walls with Benjamin Moore Night Horizon paint in matte finish.
I added two sconces and brought in a total of 4 matching sconces. The flooring was wood and I used a preexisting rug – because it just worked.
All professional photos by Mark Sagliocco
With National Designer, Cindy Montgomery 