A tiny Upper East Side flat marries old-school New York elegance with modern flair
If this apartment was a person, it would manifest as – imagination willing – one of Truman Capote's socialite ‘Swans’. Indeed, like those doyennes of New York society, this ‘classic seven’ apartment (New York realtor-ese for a pre-war, two-bedroom apartment) is timeless and glamorous, with one foot firmly in the elegant 1960s. Nestled on Manhattan's chic and storied Upper East Side, the flat perfectly encapsulates the neighbourhood's impossible allure and cosmopolitan spirit. The flat's designer, Lilse McKenna, agrees: “I like to think this apartment is a nice blend of a modern sensibility and a nod to the traditional Upper East Side aesthetic.”
Sprawled across 1,200 square feet (111 square metres), the flat was the first major property purchase for Lilse's client, a single woman in her 30s who grew up on the Upper East Side. “The apartment had good bones,” says Lilse, owing it to the previous owner's “amazing renovation” of the space. That owner reconfigured the apartment from its original layout, as Lilse explains, "while still maintaining all of the good things that come with a pre-war apartment,” including a generous living space within a more traditional layout that is not entirely open-plan.
As for where to take the redecoration, Lilse's client had only a few requests: first, the client wanted her puppy, Ziggy, to be “welcome to jump on any piece of furniture”; second, she wanted some of her family's antiques (of which she maintains a detailed catalogue) to be incorporated into the design and, lastly, she wanted ample space and flexibility to host dinner parties, the latter being “a real challenge with every New York apartment,” according to Lilse.
Factoring in her client's wishes, Lilse immediately took the lead and began working on her scheme. Firstly, she wanted to maintain an eclectic mix of modern elements with the pre-existing traditional details. "I'm always trying to create schemes – with all materials, but especially textiles – that they look like they've been collected over time,” she says. “I want the client to be able to come back from Paris or India with something beautiful and not feel like it's out of place.” Lilse draws this philosophy directly from English interior designers including Geoffrey Bennison and H&G Top 100 designers Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, whose interiors are intrinsically “layered and collected”.
Given the rich architectural heritage of the neighbourhood, Lilse was also keen to incorporate some “very Upper East Side” details and furnishings, including the velvet Breck sofa in the living room and the Gracie wallcovering panels in the kitchen: “it would have felt like a major departure if we [had] leaned into making this space super modern and contemporary,” she says.
The apartment's other decorative details and furnishings were mostly sourced from the client's vast collection of antiques, including the Ushak runner in the entry hall. One of the first pieces Lilse selected for the flat, the rug was the “perfect starting point” for the flat's colour palette. Artworks, including the Japanese lithographs in the entrance hall, were also mostly derived from the client's collection. Other pieces, however, came from a myriad of stockists and sellers including Etsy and 1stDibs, as well as American manufacturers like the Connecticut-based RT Facts, which custom-built the dining table; all upholstery was done locally. The sky blue banquette which edges a bank of the flat's large, north-facing windows, is one of the other key furnishings sourced for the flat, added by Lilse to maximise the amount of space available for dinner or cocktail parties, as well as adding an area for her client to work from home “that's not in the kitchen”. (For inquiring minds, puppy Ziggy is allowed on nearly all furnishings).
Once Lilse was happy with her marrying of the classical and more contemporary elements of her scheme, the designer moved onto the next task on her design to-do list: to hone the colour palette even further and keep it relatively neutral ("for me!", she laughs). “I wanted this palette to feel sophisticated and irreverent,” she says, adding that it was important for the apartment to “feel cool, not overly feminine, but a good balance of both.” Indeed, the apartment is filled with natural materials which exude a sense of calm, as well as other “textures and elements, including snakeskin and metal, which give great variation,” as well as a subtle “industrial” look; pops of colour, like the hallway's powdery sky blue paint or the master bedroom's more muted French blue, add a playful youthfulness to the spaces.
The “more masculine, olive-y, army green” colour of the Breck sofa and footstool worked well with the main palette of greens, blues and browns. This was originally dictated by the Ushak runner in the front hall and exuded the coveted ‘cool’ look Lilse wanted. The metal legs of the custom-made dining table further add to the flat's more industrial, masculine side. The bedroom, conversely, Lilse kept more feminine; its blue walls are not painted, but are instead lined with Mosca silk, which allows for the colour to read differently depending on the angle. There are also subtle glimmers of pink throughout the room, playing off the suzani-style Robert Kime fabric which lines the headboard.
Reflecting on the design process, Lilse feels that she “really hit the note [she] was trying to achieve: the blending of the traditional and the more contemporary elements.” Indeed, like a consummate socialite, this Upper East Side apartment gracefully maintains its chic, playful nature whilst still honouring its traditional roots; we'd be willing to wager that, if they were around and invited to dinner, Truman Capote and his ‘Swans’ would approve.
Read McKendree1/10The front hallway to the apartment is painted in a calming powdery blue, which complements well the Ushak runner, which served as the jumping off point for the apartment's colour palette. The Japanese lithographs come from the client's art collection.
Read McKendree2/10In another shot of the hallway, the mirror is from Oly Studio, the lamp from RT Facts and console from Made Goods.
Read McKendree3/10The contemporary kitchen maintained “a 60s feel, yet still felt very modern and had clean lines,” says Lilse. Originally renovated by the previous owner, Lilse opted to keep it as is, only slightly updating certain furnishings and architectural elements. The island chairs are from Crate & Barrel; the pendant lamp is from The Urban Electric.
Read McKendree4/10Despite being a north-facing room, the living room welcomes in ample natural light, which Lilse felt was important to maximise. The pouf's patterned, olive green fabric is “Star Atlantico” in Grass, by Michael Smith with Jasper.
Read McKendree5/10The mantel was a pre-existing fixture in the apartment, added by the apartment's previous owner. The artwork (a print by Stacey Beach and borrowed from Uprise Art) which hangs above it has since been replaced by a television, having been “unceremoniously told” by the installer that the cable box “could not be anywhere else”, making for “a classic New York conundrum!”, says Lilse. The club chairs come from the client's own collection.
Read McKendree6/10The olive green sofa, upholstered in a fabric by Fabricut, is one of Lilse's favourite pieces in the flat. The colour deftly straddles the fine line between the ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ energy of the room, and adds a welcome pop of colour to the rest of the living room's calming, neutral palette.
Read McKendree7/10“I always put banquettes in New York apartments,” says Lilse, “so that clients have a spot for their laptop that's not in the kitchen.” Crucially, the piece also makes additional space for dinner party guests, which the client wanted. The banquette is upholstered in Siam in Baltic Blue by Carolina Irving; the table was custom-made by RT Facts. The lamps that flank the banquette are from Vaughan.
Read McKendree8/10The bedroom is a calming oasis. Instead of paint, Lilse upholstered the walls in a French blue Mosca silk linen, which “adds texture to the little room” and allows for the serene colour to be read differently from different angles. The headboard is upholstered in a Robert Kime fabric “not too dissimilar-looking from a suzani” and infuses the room with a subtle pinkness without being overly feminine. The bed rail fabric is by JRB Silk.
Read McKendree9/10The drapes in the bedroom are made of Gray Lines linen and have a Claremont trim.
Read McKendree10/10The makeup table is from Made Goods, as is the mirror. The lamp comes from Arteriors and the chair is a vintage find.
