“In most residences, I like to design a dark, atmospheric room,” said David of the study, which is located just off the living room. The burnished gold-tortoise wall covering from F. Schumacher & Co., the custom-made cowhide rug by Kyle Bunting at Holly Hunt, and the Osborne & Little grey chenille-covered sofa, with leather piping in the style of Jean-Michel Frank, lend the room its masculine look. The Bergamo wool draperies are the same color as the walls. In this room, the red accent is provided by the 1960s lacquered goatskin coffee table by Aldo Tura from Duane Antiques in New York. Gypsy Red, a 2011 painting by Tokyo-born artist Kikuo Saito, is a lively addition.
The covered terrace at the back of the house has a view of a large rock that was on the property. The teak outdoor seating is all from Kingsley Bate. The teak-topped square table is from Holly Hunt; the polished concrete table was made by Bradley Hughes.
In the foyer, a round, custom-made silk carpet by Carini Lang echoes the grain of the antique cherry tabletop of an early nineteenth-century Biedermeier center table from Ritter Antik in New York.
The front door opens onto a double ceiling-height entrance foyer. To balance the formality of the space, David chose Sisal, a grasscloth wall covering from Stark Fabric in a rich Prussian blue, contrasting it with the crisp white-painted door frames, wainscoting and moldings. He commissioned Carolina Sardi, a Miami–based Argentinean artist, to create the enameled steel installation that hangs over the fireplace.
A print by contemporary American artist Donald Sultan offers a vibrant counterpoint to the neutral-hued dining room. The grass-cloth wall covering is by Phillip Jeffries. The 1970s sculptural floor lamp, with its three illuminated leaves, is by the Italian artist Tommaso Barbi, and came from Lobel Modern, in New York. The polished chrome starburst chandelier is from MSK Illuminations, also in New York. The draperies were custom-made in a Calvin Klein silk from Kravet.
David decided to choose a series of sensuous curved shapes to offset the classic straight lines of the living room fireplace. A pair of 1950s armchairs by the Italian designer Marco Zanuso, covered in a chocolate brown velvet, which came from Bernd Goeckler Antiques in New York, have been placed across from a curved, tufted sofa upholstered in a velvet from Romo. The Muse, a 2008 mixed-media painting by James Kennedy, a young contemporary artist, hangs above the fireplace. A Murano glass knot and a gilded bronze leaf dish, both from Mecox Gardens, and an amber glass vase, from H.B. Home, are arranged on an oval 1940s Hungarian Art Deco cocktail table from Szalon Antiques in Los Angeles. The Tibetan wool-and-silk rug was custom-made by Stark Carpet.
To express both the clients’ and the designer’s shared love of Italy, David selected a fabric from Fortuny for the two-tone draperies in the master bedroom. The same pattern was continued as a stenciled frieze, painted by Dean Barger, along the wall. David designed the wood-and-leather custom-made headboard. The cut velvet is from Clarence House, as is the leopard print fabric on the long pillow. All of the linens were custom-made by Casa del Bianco in New York.
This article appears in the June 2012 issue of CTC&G (Connecticut Cottages & Gardens).