Whether color drenching a room or simply coating a ceiling, lacquered walls bring a certain sophistication to any space. From jewel-box apartments in New York City to sun-soaked homes in Palm Beach, these high-gloss interiors offer inspiration for both small spaces and statement rooms alike.
“The Mermaid Room” is a speakeasy-inspired lounge at The Willow—a Rockwell Group-designed apartment building in Gramercy. A mermaid medallion was salvaged from the previous building on the 23rd Street site and was embedded into the floor, inspiring the room’s name. “We used high-gloss blue lacquer to create a sense of immersion and escape. We chose a lacquered finish because it has a depth and reflectivity that shifts with the light, so the room feels responsive and evokes a feeling of being underwater and part of the mermaid’s world,” says Brad Zuger, a partner at Rockwell Group. “It’s intimate and glamorous and complements the copper bar and velvet seating.”
Designer Meg Braff has a penchant for green and applies the color in layers of lacquer in this Palm Beach home’s “card room.” It is coated in Benjamin Moore’s high-gloss #546 Courtyard Green. To match, a vintage sofa wears Holland & Sherry’s “Andes in Spring” wool, the antique French chairs are covered in a green tiger-print velvet from Scalamandré, and brass table lamps from Visual Comfort top the green penshell side tables from Modern History.
In a chic lower Fifth Avenue home, designer Bella Mancini paired a Calico wallcovering with a pale-pink paint-finish lacquer on the ceiling. “It gives the space a ‘jewel box’ feeling when you walk through, almost like it’s a different room in the house, rather than a pass-through area,” she says.
Robert A.M. Stern Architects designed The Henry, a residential building on the Upper West Side. The private dining room is coated in a deep blue, which was “chosen to evoke a bold yet sophisticated atmosphere,” according to RAMSA Partner Michael D. Jones. “The sheen of the lacquer’s finish elevates the dining space into something even more special, like a precious jewel box within the building.”
Architect Peter Pennoyer updated this West Village townhouse that dates back to the 1850s. He imbued an almost contemporary feel into the living room, which includes a blue lacquered ceiling.
Designer Cami Luppino brought high-style elegance to a New Canaan bachelor pad. Existing paneled walls in the music room now sport a lacquered glossy French gray finish. “Everything was selected to help keep a certain rhythm going,” Luppino explains. The result? A lounge-like space reminiscent of a swanky jazz club.
At an Upper East Side Apartment, the butler’s pantry cabinetry is custom by Elizabeth Vergara of Vergara Homes and painted in a high-gloss finish. “It’s a luxurious pop of blue lacquer,” designer Mara Miller of Carrier and Company says of the prep station.
In a whimsical Greek Revival West Village townhouse, the sunroom’s kitchenette is complete with custom malachite-green lacquered cabinetry. “Each room is meant to be its own jewel box,” designer Coco Kanakis says.
In a thoughtfully updated pre-war apartment, interior designer Eve Robinson lacquered the family room in Benjamin Moore’s Kensington Blue. “The goal was to retain the pre-war feeling, but update it and make it feel fresh and current,” says Robinson.
For the kitchen in her own Midtown home, designer Jennifer Cohler Mason collaborated with Christopher Peacock. Stone slabs enliven the white lacquered cabinetry, which is further brought to life with brass hardware and accents that are nods to the ’70s.
