West Village debut: Transforming a white box apartment into a curated Mid Century home
A young New Yorker purchases an apartment in a West Village high rise, and hires an interior designer to turn it into a sleek, sophisticated space. The city views from the panoramic windows and the wrap-around terrace are jaw dropping. But while the unit is freshly renovated, it lacks visual texture and definition.
How do you transform a white box space into a new homeowner’s personalized expression of modern, global style, while blending it with the building’s 1960s architecture?
My client, a young economics analyst who travels the globe frequently, had a guiding image for his new space: a Mid Century leather lounge chair sitting atop a bold oriental rug. The design brief was to create a streamlined look, but one where an antique wouldn’t feel out of place. Leaving behind his rental, the client sought a fresh start for his long-term home, with all new furnishings (vintage included) that reflected his urban, modern style.
Clean, minimal lines and vibrant colors were on order. But when I took the client on a VIP excursion to some of my favorite New York design showrooms, he discovered surprising new aesthetic interests of his own: strong sculptural forms, polished metallic finishes, dual material combinations, and rich natural stone surfaces.
Read on to see how I translated the client’s vision into his stylish new home, using my signature combination of vintage designs, contemporary fabrications, and curated original art.
Photography by Gloria Kilbourne
Florals by Valentina Spalten
The vintage Persian Bakhtiari area rug (a design “must” for the client) defined the color palette of the living room. Flanking the navy cotton velvet sofa are aluminum painted side tables by Dutch designer Bas Vellekoop, whose color I custom selected to bring out the rug’s teal details. The table lamps are reconfigured from antique English whiskey jars.
During initial design exploration conversations, I ask clients what kind of art they enjoy. I scored a vintage French landscape painting on1stDibs, evoking the colorful, playful style of Matisse — the homeowner’s favorite artist.
Sourcing wool plaid cushions from Wallace Sewell was an exercise in creative pattern mixing: I hand picked the exact models from the British textile studio’s one-of-a-kind selection, aiming for an intentional juxtaposition against the rug’s floral motif.
A blue bookshelf tower from Design Within Reach provides apartment-friendly vertical storage for the client’s growing library. The travertine and walnut coffee table, Scandinavian media cabinet, and French lounge chair (not pictured) are vintage Mid Century.
I grouped the 1960s Danish leather safari chair by Kaare Klint with a vintage chrome “eye” floor lamp and an antique European leather ottoman that together create a dedicated reading nook. The geometric wall art is a vintage work on paper.
Leather and chrome chairs by Thonet from the 1970s surround the sculptural Maiden Home pedestal table, whose round shape maximizes flow to the adjacent kitchen while accommodating the client’s dinner party guests.
In the open dining room, a large contemporary oil on canvas from a Vietnamese art collective creates instant impact. Across it is custom framed landmark NYC photo art dating to1961, the same year that the Mid Century apartment building was constructed. It depicts the old Penn Station — a personalized reference to the hub the client travels through between his family's home in Philadelphia and his new base in New York.
To make up for lack of under-cabinet lighting, I placed a complementary pair of handblown glass table lamps from Finnish design brand Iittala, a personal favorite of the client’s, which give atmospheric glow in the evenings. The vintage Persian runner and custom window shade in steel blue linen inject a dose of personality into the newly updated kitchen.
The marble and black steel console table by Poland-based design studio Un’Common offers a convenient niche for more books. It’s paired with a Mid Century Danish teak mirror, positioned strategically to bounce daylight off the far window.
Before furnishings arrived, the apartment’s flat white walls were professionally painted in Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace, whose subtle blue undertones echo the high rise unit’s sky views. Custom window treatments in natural linen were installed throughout.
We swapped contractor-grade closet door handles for funky lavender lucite pulls that refract light coming from the glass patio door.
Furniture layout was another challenge my client sought guidance on, as the building’s unusual architecture left hardly a straight right angle in the apartment. The bedroom’s longest wall runs diagonally along a panoramic three-panel window, with a view of the West Village’s iconic Jefferson Market tower.
We positioned the bed to face the spectacular view, and draped it in an oversized linen coverlet. The slim profile reading lamp in a blackened bronze and ash wood finish has a minimal footprint.
My favorite architectural feature of the apartment is the extra deep, curved window niche in the shower. A professional plant specialist of Rosecrans in the West Village procured a tropical Swiss Monstera suitable for bath humidity, along with a Ficus Audrey indoor tree for the Southwest-facing living room.
A pale blue linen shower curtain and Portuguese cotton towels from Bathing Culture bridge the newly renovated bath’s minimal design with the layered aesthetic of the remaining rooms.
Let’s craft an original design for your NYC apartment
Time & Place Interiors designs for sophisticated New Yorkers making a fresh start in a new space. Founder Ksenya Malina’s access to one-of-a-kind vintage and cutting edge contemporary designs opens doors for her clients to enjoy living in a bespoke environment that tastefully pushes boundaries of aesthetic conventions. To discuss your design needs with Ksenya, use the link below schedule a free 20-minute information call:
