July 14, 2024As Britt Zunino started conceiving the interiors of this New York City pied-à-terre for clients whose primary residence is in São Paulo, she kept in mind that she was working with some serious design connoisseurs. “The homeowners have the most amazing apartment in Brazil, incredibly modern and filled with important Brazilian mid-century furniture,” she says, noting that the residence also feels “very masculine, finished with a lot of concrete and leather.”
In contrast, for their three-bedroom apartment in a newly finished condominium on the Upper West Side, the husband and wife sought something a bit more feminine. “They wanted it to feel different from their home in Brazil,” explains Zunino, who, together with her architect husband, Damian, runs the Manhattan design firm Studio DB. “The brief became to create something that was more like an eclectic Parisian apartment” — the clients had just visited the French capital — “with a softer overall feel, more color and pattern and a bit of a playful sensibility.”
The couple also wanted their New York nest to offer plenty of flexible, family-friendly space, the better to accommodate not just themselves but also their four college-age children, three of whom attend school in the U.S. and planned to use it often with friends.
“They’re a very close-knit family, and they wanted a place to gather,” Zunino says. “They were looking for a space that looked polished but could also accommodate a group and would feel comfortable for cooking dinner together, playing games, playing music. They’re fun people.”
Zunino’s design finds much of its own sense of fun in the whimsical wallpapers and fabrics she deployed in almost every room. Her scheme’s overall color palette is drawn from the moody jewel tones of the fantastically forested House of Hackney print cladding the walls of the powder room. “The wife loves that brand,” says the designer, “and everything branched off from there.”
Subtly playful icons of mid-century-modern design, from Brazil and beyond, dot the apartment, including paper lantern-style Akari lights by Isamu Noguchi in two of the bedrooms and stiletto-legged nesting tables by T.H.Robsjohn-Gibbings beside the living room sofa. A slouch-armed Moleca lounge chair by Brazilian-modern master Sergio Rodrigues also enriches that seating area.
“It was a splurge,” Zunino confides. “They have one in their home in Brazil, and they weren’t going to spend as much on furniture here, but then, she told me, ‘Actually, I need to have this chair.’ ”
Now that the apartment is finished, she says, “the family is so pleased with the place, they’ve ended up using it much more often than they ever imagined. They say it makes them happy every time they arrive.”
Here, the designer takes us on a tour of its joy-inducing interiors.
Living Area
“There was one wide-open space, so I wanted to define separate dining and living zones,” says Zunino, who explains that delineating the latter was “about creating a comfortable seating area for a large group.” She accomplished this with a vintage loveseat and a contemporary sofa and coffee tables, plus that iconic Sergio Rodrigues Moleca lounge chair. She found the T.H.Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb nesting side tables at Stationhaus, via 1stDibs.
Dining Area
At meals, the family sits on caned, bent-beechwood Josef Hoffmann side chairs, at a marble-topped Eero Saarinen Tulip table with a George Smith pendant lamp suspended above. Zunino installed the wall-mounted shelving unit because the clients “wanted to add space for books and artwork,” with room for growth as they expand their collection in the U.S.
Powder Room
Together with a petrol-blue-painted hallway—a bit of whose color can be seen on the door here—the powder room is the darkest space in the relatively light-hued home. The rich colors of its House of Hackney wallpaper provided Zunino with the palette she used throughout the apartment.
Main Bedroom
The Louise Jones botanical print Zunino selected for the bench at the foot of the custom bed provided her with the pastel green, blue and yellow colors she used in the room. Flanking the bed are rebar-legged nightstands by Sylvain Willenz for HAY, one of which appears to have a tree growing behind it, thanks to the room’s bespoke Isidore Leroy wall mural. The clients, Zunino says, “were very open to the idea of playing with color here. Not everyone is — sometimes, it’s helpful when it’s not the primary residence. That frees you to experiment a little.”
Guest Bedroom
“They have a lot of guests,” says Zunino. “Not just their kids but friends the clients bring with them on city trips. So, they wanted a space that felt sophisticated enough for adults.” She fulfilled that desire with mid-century-modern icons, including a low Charles and Ray Eames bent-plywood chair in the corner, a Louis Poulsen PH5 pendant light overhead and a Isamu Noguchi Akari 2A table lamp on the nightstand between the beds. The rug is a Beni OurAIn.
Bunk Room
Here, again, Zunino says “we wanted it to be playful but still sophisticated.” She considered wallpaper but decided on drapery to create “a fun moment, with lots of drama. The ceilings are tall, so the Pierre Frey curtain fabric makes quite a statement. Then, we kept the rest minimal.” Another Noguchi piece, this one an Akari 21 A pendant, hangs from the center of the ceiling.
