Australian designer Brendan Wong was tasked by his international client to create an elegant pied-à-terre in Sydney that would be “equally suited for entertaining groups of guests as for relaxing in quiet solitude,” he says. “The approach was to create an apartment akin to a luxury hotel suite.” In the glamorous living room, Wong combined elegant seating with a coffee table of his design and purple accents that include lamps from Porta Romana. Photo by Maree Homer
When creating a pied-à-terre in Paris’s Marais neighborhood where his client’s friends and family can stay during visits, Hubert Zandberg designed a spacious and sleek kitchen to serve as the main gathering spot. “We decided to create an urban bar feeling by raising the dining table so that it’s easy for eating, drinking and socializing,” says Zandberg. As a nod to the Marais’s industrial past, Zandberg made above-the-counter shelving using vintage train racks from local antiques stores. Photo by Nicolas Matheus
For a jet-setting Bahamian entrepreneur’s pied-à-terre in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, Jessica Schuster realized her client’s vision for spaces that are at once modern and dark, and masculine but comfortable. “This is his third home and we wanted to create a space that felt like an escape,” says Schuster, who set a luxurious and cozy tone in the master bedroom with a bronze eel skin wallpaper. The floating bedside tables and antique Italian sconces were all found on 1stdibs. Photo by Joshua McHugh
High style and sculptural designs take center stage in the light-filled dining area of this Manhattan pied-à-terre, also designed by Schuster. “I softened the walls using a Farrow & Ball light grey and added antiqued mirror panels behind the serving station to create depth and dimension,” she says. The show-stopping bubble light fixture by Oly hangs above a dining table by Ironies. The Vogue-inspired art reiterates the circular motif and the antique Art Deco vases are from Mantiques Modern. Photo by Jeff Cate
“City apartments should feel like a respite from all the hubbub of urban life, so my spaces are calming and soothing with tones and colors that are harmonious with the views from the windows,” says Kelly Behun. It was no exception with this Manhattan apartment, which she outfitted with a living room sofa of her design, a vintage side table by Pierre Cardin found on 1stdibs and a Serge Mouille wall lamp from Gueridon. Photo by Daniel Kulka
“This is a small pied-à-terre, and we wanted the client to feel like they’re in a hotel suite with the personality and elegance of a private home,” Leroy Street Studio’s Sybille Schneider says of this Manhattan apartment. “We did the architecture, the design and the construction.” Here, a Paul McCobb desk rounds out a seating area within the bedroom. Photo by Joshua McHugh
In this tailored office in a Manhattan apartment near Central Park, Tammy Connor combined a 1940s Danish desk, an iron bench from JF Chen, a khotan from Beauvais Carpets and a Florian Schulz Posa brass pendant light found on 1stdibs. “A home in the city should have refined architectural details, strength in color and texture, and an orchestrated balance between formality and comfort,” says Connor. Photo courtesy of Tammy Connor
When a couple decided to transform their old apartment in San Francisco’s Russian Hill into a space that can accommodate family and friends from out of town, they turned to Nicole Hollis. “They are passionate about modern design but wanted a comfortable vibe,” says Hollis, who marries those elements in the dining room with furnishings that include plush wingbacks, Hans Wegner dining chairs, a light fixture by David Weeks and accessories by Jaime Hayon for Cassina. Photo by Laure Joliet
“Comfort was key as far as the selection on fabrics and furnishings,” says Matthew Patrick Smyth, who collaborated with architect Peter Pennoyer on the overall design of this Fifth Avenue home in New York. To balance style with ease in the living room, Smyth opted for sumptuous upholstery and elegant lighting, such as Nils Landberg glass lamps from Craig Van Den Brulle, and Ruhlmann sconces from David Duncan Antiques. The painting is by Norman Bluhm. Photo by John Gruen
“The homeowners wanted a place where they could display their more idiosyncratic art pieces without too much deliberate curating,” Pepe Lopez says of a client’s fifth home in a Herzog & De Meuron building in Manhattan. Alongside artworks in the living room is a Knoll sofa by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, a vintage chair and ottoman by Ib Madsen and Acton Schubell, a steel cocktail table by Wyeth and a ceramic side table by Reinaldo Sanguino for the Future Perfect. Photo by John Hall
For model Anne V’s West Village pied-à-terre in Manhattan, Lucy Harris wanted “the overall effect to be chic but not formal,” she says. “To create contrast with the crisp white walls, I stained the pine floors to a dark ebony stain and painted the steel windows black.” In the bedroom, Harris balances the high-contrast treatment by layering plush textures, such as sheepskin and velvet, alongside sculptural lamps by Roll & Hill and a mirror by Bower Studios. Photo by Francesco Bertocci
For a family’s second home, Melissa Morgan of M Interiors turned an apartment in San Antonio into a playful escape. She brought in antique Louis XVI–style dining chairs upholstered in a Clarence House hot pink velvet, and vintage lavender Murano lamps from Jean-Marc Fray Antiques, which are set atop a vintage Roche Bobois credenza. “It’s not the client’s primary residence, so we were able to make it fun by using impactful color and soothing tones of white,” she says. Photo by Mark Menjivar
Known for his whimsical approach to color and design, Ashley Hicks overlooked no detail in this London pied-à-terre. Hicks opted for a palette of beige tones mixed with bursts of purple and turquoise, which are colors taken from the sari in the Claudio Bravo portrait above the living room mantel. Opposite the painting, a Ganesh stone statue presides over the main seating area, while a cozy corner nook comprises a banquette and an octagonal table designed by Hicks. Photo courtesy of Ashley Hicks
At once minimalist and warm, this New York apartment by Magdalena Keck for clients from Rome, embodies pure European refinement — from the exposed vaulted ceilings to the wide-plank pine flooring throughout the apartment. Double French doors connect the enfilade of rooms, which include this dining area furnished with a drop-leaf table, folding director’s chairs and seating by Verner Panton. Photo by Jeff Cate
Eclectic color and pattern reign in this London pied-à-terre by Beata Heuman for a writer based in Cornwall. “With textural details and invigorating color throughout, the space manages to still possess an easy comfort and practical sensibility,” says Heuman, who covered the living room walls in grasscloth and a disguised a custom TV cabinet above the mantel with Fornasetti wallpaper. The marble kitchen backsplash was inspired by Carlo Scarpa. Photo by Simon Brown
“The homeowners are based in Mumbai but wanted a warm and inviting space with some touches of home for their all-too-short visits to New York City,” says Louisa Roeder. Anchored by a custom bookshelf, the spacious living room, with its colorful designs and cozy furnishings, marries city living with laid-back comfort. “It needed to both reflect my clients’ personalities and provide a sanctuary for them from the environs of the city’s hustle and bustle,” Roeder says. Photo by Claire Esparros
