ITALIAN DECOR REFERENCES IN A NEW CONTEMPORARY LAYOUT PROVIDE THE IDEAL RESPITE FOR A NEW YORK CITY COUPLE.

WRITTEN BY LIZ ARNOLD / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ZACH & BUJ

T raveling abroad can often influence one’s design sensibilities. This was the case for a couple who returned to New York City after spending a significant amount of time in Europe. “They wanted to embrace a more

Moderne moment,” says interior designer Jesse Carrier, who worked with his partner and wife, Mara Miller, to update their new Upper West Side penthouse overlooking Central Park. Fitting their international style, the prewar building boasts Italian Renaissance motifs and European features, such as terraces with wrought-iron railings.

Inside, the couple were ready to embrace an update. “They brought a few pieces of furniture they cherished, and our job was to make them work within a more contemporary shell,” Carrier says. “But the biggest change was conceptual: They wanted an open plan that would better suit their lifestyle.” The original layout consisted of defined rooms, all off a center hall. Everything came down in a renovation led by principal architect Calvin Tsao and associate Richard Rhodes, along with builder Rob Carpenter. Opening up that hallway and removing walls, Rhodes says, “allows you to see the park all the way from the kitchen.” Letting natural light filter throughout was a strong consideration, as were sight lines and view angles, even from the rear.

Beyond light and views, “the pretext for the design was to serve the homeowners’ needs,” Tsao says. “When

INTERIOR DESIGN / JESSE CARRIER AND MARA MILLER, CARRIER AND COMPANY INTERIORS, LTD.

ARCHITECTURE / CALVIN TSAO AND RICHARD RHODES, TSAO & MCKOWN

HOME BUILDER / ROB CARPENTER, C-SQUARED CONTRACTING, INC.

OLD-WORLD AUSTERITY

l u x e s o u r c e .c o m / 2 6 3

A sweeping curved staircase ushers residents through the entry of an Upper West Side penthouse by interior designer Jesse Carrier. References to 1930s New York and Milan throughout the home include the Jules Leleu mahogany armchair with gilt-bronze sabots from Maison Gerard. The polished plaster walls are by Jonas Everets.

Architects Calvin Tsao and Richard Rhodes created a floating wall between the living area’s formal and casual spaces. In the latter, a custom L-shaped sofa in woven Chapas Textiles fabric lends softness in a neutral palette, as does the woven alpaca rug, deferring focus to the Robert Mangold artwork. “The artwork becomes part of the space and architecture,” Carrier says.

guests visit, we didn’t want people to be sequestered in little rooms.” Hence, the living area—formerly separate rooms—became a pair of spaces divided by a floating wall to help distinguish their functions: One is more of a casual media and game room, while the other is more formal for music lessons and conversation. “They’re not totally separated,” Tsao says, “so it’s not only visual but also performative for the family.”

The interior designers and architects worked together on finishes, bringing old-world glamour and substantiality to the modern updates. Venetian plaster covers most of the first-floor walls, and ceiling planes change from room to room to delineate space, Rhodes explains. Sleek 1930s-style crown molding throughout—in which more molding appears on the ceiling than on the walls—gives

the illusion of even grander height. “The molding isn’t something you may notice but you can feel,” Tsao says.

One intention for the team was to honor the building’s heritage and design influences: 1930s Manhattan and Milan. A nod to both destinations, bronze was the dominant metal of choice, as seen in the kitchen’s upper cabinetry, the dining area’s Art Deco crystal starburst pendant, the fireplace surround in the formal living area and the decorative sliding doors between the dining and casual living areas. Pierced and clad in nickel-plated bronze, they reference a pair of doors at architect Piero Portaluppi’s 1935 Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan.

Bronze continues on the formerly steel railings of the stair, which Carpenter transformed into a more spacious elliptical passage that glides up to the bedrooms. “They’re

2 6 4 / l u x e s o u r c e .c o m

One of Carrier’s objectives was to work in some of the residents’ existing pieces. In the formal living area, he placed their skirted split-back club chairs and tufted-leather ottoman atop a hand-knotted, braided abaca rug by Doris Leslie Blau.

“THE CLIENTS DEFINITELY HAD A SENSE OF ECLECTICISM AS A RESULT OF THEIR TRAVELS.”

–JESSE CARRIER

2 6 6 / l u x e s o u r c e .c o m

The two-story prewar penthouse, which overlooks Central Park, features Italian Renaissance motifs and terraces with wrought-iron railings.

all hand-bent and hand-polished,” he says. “It’s the only way to make that irregular shape, and it took probably six months from design to completion.”

As for the furnishings, “the clients definitely had a sense of eclecticism as a result of their travels,” Carrier says. An antique chest-on-chest and a handmade four-poster mahogany bed bring traditional elements to the master bedroom, where subtle neutral tones in the silk walls and Belgian linen on the bed lend a grander European sensibility. In the casual living area, a 1940s French game table mixes with a plush rectilinear sofa, opposite vintage Scandinavian armchairs. And in the space’s more formal side, Carrier reupholstered a pair of the clients’ existing bergeres in Belgian linen.

In the dining area, Jean-Michel Frank chairs pair with an oval Saarinen tulip table in a compelling and unexpected combination. A light box by James Turrell hangs here, and the home’s colorful artwork—including pieces by David Hockney, Robert Mangold and Yves Klein—“drove us toward a neutral palette that we could still pepper with accents of color,” Carrier says of the creams and taupes used throughout.

Settled into their new residence, the homeowners may be back in New York, but Europe is never far away thanks to a personalized design inspired by their time overseas. “This is by far one of the most custom, bespoke homes we’ve ever had the pleasure of working on,” Carrier says. “The owners know quality.”

Awash in light, the casual living area is a mix of European finds, including Scandinavian armchairs and a 1945 French mahogany pedestal table with mahogany armchairs, both by Maison Leleu from Maison Gerard. The marble-slab waterfall table was custom made with remnant stone from the master bathroom.

2 6 8 / l u x e s o u r c e .c o m

The residents’ vintage Saarinen table centers the dining area, where a dozen 1930s Jean-Michel Frank chairs—sourced from a Christie’s auction—make for a “compelling and eclectic” pairing, Carrier says. On the wall is one of James Turrell’s light boxes.

Custom kitchen cabinetry fabricated by MZ Woodwork and installed by C-Squared Contracting features

a white-bronze finish that honors the Moderne era, as does the homeowners’ 1930s C.J. Weinstein

pendant. Select Door made the decorative doors; fine wood floors throughout are by I.J. Peiser’s Sons.

l u x e s o u r c e . c o m / 2 7 1

Opposite: The homeowners’ George III chest-on-chest brings a historic moment to the master bedroom. Their club chair and ottoman were reupholstered in a textured beige-and-cream linen-blend weave by Arnitex.

Below: With its clean lines and classic shape, the clients’ custom Carlton House mahogany four-poster bed—dressed in a Robert Kime Belgian linen from John Rosselli & Associates—centers the master bedroom. A pair of Circa Lighting pendants with linen shades cast a glow over custom lacquered-wood bedside tables from Furniture Place. The bordered wool rug is by Beauvais.

“LETTING NATURAL LIGHT FILTER THROUGHOUT WAS A STRONG CONSIDERATION.”

2 7 2 / l u x e s o u r c e .c o m