ABSENT…
an interesting mix of furnishings, the beautifully detailed rooms of a recently built, traditional-style dwelling in a leafy New York suburb lacked warmth. Its new owners, a lawyer and a real estate professional, craved sophistication in their surroundings, but they also wanted a relaxed, livable home for their young family of five.
WITH…
a deft, sure touch, Scarsdale, N.Y.-based interior designer Sharon Rembaum blended existing interior elements — paneled walls, coffered ceilings, gleaming parquet floors –- with a curated array of custom and vintage modern pieces and adventurous contemporary art.
THE DESIGNER…
set a lighthearted tone from the get-go, juxtaposing the robustly paneled walls and ornate gilded mirror of the entry foyer with a stair carpet sporting a playful speckled pattern.
THE LIVING ROOM…
furnishings, within their classic envelope, are a symphony of assertively modern shapes. Rembaum played off a contemporary rectilinear sofa from Dmitry & Co. with a pair of stout cylindrical ottomans and swoopy jet-age chairs by Marco Zanuso for Cassina. Other pieces are of mid-20th century vintage, including the leather-upholstered armchairs by Karpen of California, a wood coffee table with a marquetry top and a 1960s brass arc lamp by German lighting manufacturer Florian Schulz. An oversized work from American artist Whitney McVeigh’s Foundation series veers fearlessly into the avant garde. It’s all tied together by a deep-pile rug with a geometric pattern from Mark Phillips.
ON AN…
opposite wall of the living room, a pale wood console with chiseled doors anchors a black handwoven tapestry by Mimi Jung, a contemporary artist from South Korea, now based in Los Angeles.
SOME OF…
the most desirable elements of 21st century kitchen design are evident in farmhouse-style white painted cabinets with brass knobs and pulls, and countertops and backsplash of highly figured marble. Pendant lights by Allied Maker hang above the central island, accompanied by bar stools from Holly Hunt.
IN THE…
nearby dining area, beneath a minimalist chandelier from Apparatus, a mid-century wood table is flanked by a set of CH23 dining chairs by Danish mid-century master Hans Wegner. Designed in 1950 and reintroduced in 2017 by the original maker, Carl Hansen & Son, the solid wood chairs with woven seats are universally acclaimed as a perfect expression both of artistry and ergonomic form.
AS ELEGANT…
as the kitchen-adjacent dining vignette is, there’s also a formal dining room with floor to ceiling drapes, velvet-upholstered chairs from Julian Chichester and an abstract painting by Mattea Perrotta, a London-based artist whose work explores the female form. The modernistic chandelier is newly made, based on a mid-20th-century design.
IT ALL…
adds up to a harmonious whole, whose carefully-considered furnishings speak to being able to have it all –- bucolic surroundings and convenience to the city, traditional underpinnings and modern decor, impeccable chic and family-friendliness –- when the choices are made with confidence, mastery and good taste.
Design: Sharon Rembaum Interior Design
Photos: Nicole Franzen
