Park Avenue Duplex

The owners, long-term Commune clients based in Northern California, wanted an interior that didn’t feel at all “Upper East Side.” The Park Avenue apartment would serve as a New York pied-a-terre when in town for business and for entertaining. They wanted it to be an extension of their lifestyle in Marin County, comfortable and casual; but feel well-integrated with the architecture of this grand Park Avenue building originally designed by JER Carpenter in 1927. The property had been remodeled in the 80s and was filled with too many moldings and faux marble finishes, but it had great bones, a nice plan, and beautiful light. One could see that by pulling things back and simplifying the details, elegant spaces would appear.

We had always admired Elizabeth Roberts’ ability to update stately interiors without making them look ‘modern’, so we tapped the firm for a collaboration that involved a full gut remodel of the 2500 sq. ft. duplex. All details and finishes were revisited, millwork was fully redesigned, and the kitchen and bathrooms remodeled. The client has always loved Swedish interiors, so that became the conceit: the feel of a Stockholm apartment in New York. This involved finding the right color palette from Farrow & Ball, stripping wood floors and bleaching them, revisiting Swedish vintage patterns on rugs by Doris Leslie Blau, and bringing in a mix of Swedish antiques and paintings. To keep things from being too on the nose, we brought in wallpapers by Mauny and Tess Newall, light fixtures by Woka Lamps, and commissioned furniture pieces by local artisans George Sawyer, Black Creek Mercantile, and Chris Lehrecke.