“Customers did not want to have the impression of having inherited their grandmother’s apartment in the Upper East Side”remembers the interior architect Christine Gachot, evoking the start of the full renovation of a pre-war duplex located in Manhattan. The couple, recently installed in this upscale New York district after leaving Tribeca, wanted “Something fresh, while retaining a certain traditional sensitivity”.
Christine – Who directs with her husband, John Gachot, the eponymous agency renowned for her interiors worthy of film sets – immediately knew that she could give life to the vision of the owners. Distributed over two floors in a Beaux-Arts building dating from 1907 and built by Delano & Aldrich, the residence had a large space. But, as John points out, “It had been inhabited, cut and adapted by the previous owner”. By studying the original plans of the building as well as those of similar neighboring buildings, the designers have managed to imagine an original arrangement, while meeting the needs of an expanding family.
The pastellone plaster walls, painted in White Dove by Benjamin Moore, the ornamental moldings and the Arabic chimney signed Jamb offer a discreet setting to a clever mixture of vintage and tailor -made furniture. The Club Gunnel Nyman armchairs, unearthed at Hostler Burrows, are dressed in alt for living cream wool, in harmony with tailor -made sofas dressed in Mohair Muscade by Angela Brown Ltd. The marble and brass round coffee table was also drawn by Gachot. At nightfall, the space lights up thanks to Lysberg and Hansen lampposts of the 1940s, supplied by Jackson Design, and a double ceiling light signed Gong.
Art: Louise Lawler
On the architectural level, the objective was to create spaces capable of adapting to the evolution of the needs of the family. The wooden chimneys of the apartment were going to become the points of convergence of the public spaces of the house, on the ground floor, in what would become the living room and the living room. Fortunately, the vast duplex lounge could comfortably accommodate a formal dining table for eight or more people, which allowed the owners to transform the old dining room into a sunny space dedicated to breakfast and games, adjacent to the kitchen.
Upstairs, at the most private level of the house, one of the six bedrooms was transformed into a secondary games room, dedicated to toys and books. A wardrobe has also been set up near the entrance to this floor to park the strollers there, with the possibility of one day in the gym or in a home office. “The phases of life are changing, and these spaces must be able to adapt to pre -adolescents, adolescents, then possibly to the enlargement of the cupboards”explains John. “We have thought of these small spaces in anticipation. »»
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