It is hard to top a pre-war apartment overlooking Central Park, or so it was for one couple who had spent decades raising their children in a storied building on Central Park West. Believing it was time for a change, they conducted a thorough search for a new apartment. Finding nothing that came close to the charm and leafy setting of their current residence, the couple decided to stay put, then tasked their designer, Penny Drue Baird, with revamping their longtime apartment so that it felt like a new home.
Prior to Baird’s involvement, the apartment was strictly traditional with time-honored decor that included a classic wood-paneled library and antique European art. Having designed their beach house in Quiogue and discovered that her clients were risk-takers, Baird felt emboldened to suggest that they recast the apartment as a chic, contemporary environment better suited to both their lifestyle and the home’s urban locale. With the couple fully on board with her vision, Baird embarked on a gut renovation that left the original footprint mostly intact while also introducing an entirely new set of finishes and furnishings.
In the living room, artwork by Tanner Lawley hangs above a custom cabinet from John Salibello.
Antique Italian mirror and console.
A luminous ceiling fixture from Hersh Design complements an antique Italian mirror and console in the gallery.
Custom dining chairs by Bespoke by Luigi Gentile surround an expansive table from Collection Philippe Hurel.
In the primary bedroom, the custom bed covering is by Casa del Bianco. The sumptuous sofa is ideal for taking in views of Central Park.
In the primary bath, custom mirrors by Julian Chichester hang above the custom vanity designed by Penny Drue Baird and her firm, Dessins, LLC.
Mindful of the building’s Neo-Renaissance architecture, Baird did not completely abstain from using traditional elements in her quest to modernize the interiors. Rather, she reintroduced them to the apartment in updated ways that prove compatible with the building’s classical style. “The building was built almost a century ago, so it deserves to have its architecture respected,” says Baird. In lieu of conventional trim, the designer used crisply fluted crown molding to set a fresh tone for the entry, whose other striking feature is a sleek two-toned terrazzo floor with brass inlay. For the adjacent living room, she made a bold statement with applied molding, which blazons the room’s walls with a linear pattern that is echoed on the ceiling. The designer even hewed to tradition by adding a mantel to the room’s fireplace, though in the form of a cubist plaster surround.
The apartment’s dramatic makeover also resulted in a new complement of furniture that was selected in part for its distinctiveness. Baird’s eye for shapely, even sculptural-looking pieces is perhaps most evident in the living room, where curvy upholstery and cylindrical side tables are joined by a cocktail table comprised of three puzzle-like pieces. Lustrous finishes are another signature of the apartment’s furnishings, ranging from brushed metal to glass and metallic leaf. Even Baird’s lighting selections, such as the entry’s glass ceiling fixture that resembles spun sugar, brim with artistic merit, making them ideal accompaniments to the homeowners’ also-newly-curated collection of contemporary art.
Although Baird makes it a point to treat each of her projects uniquely, there is one thread that runs throughout much of her work, including this home: French-inspired details. Signaling a departure from its former wood-paneling, the library walls are now sheathed in square pieces of parchment paper, an idea gleaned from the work of the French modernist designer Jean-Michel Frank. The primary bedroom’s recessed bed niche is another quintessentially French moment. Partially upholstered and flanked by built-in closets, the niche—without taking up too much valuable space—provides a cozy spot for slumbering. While the apartment may have a fresh new look, it still feels like home to its owners, whose willingness to be bold paid off handsomely for themselves and their designer. “When my clients go into their home and think it’s the best place in New York City,” says Baird, “then I know I have succeeded.”