Designer Eddie Lee was no stranger to the clients of this recently completed apartment in downtown Manhattan. In fact, he has completed multiple residences for the couple— from California to New York—and also helped them find their new home in this light-filled building overlooking City Hall Park.
With postcard-worthy views of some of the area’s most iconic buildings— One World Trade, the Woolworth Building, and City Hall to name a few—Lee set out to balance the dramatic city landscape outside with something cozy and inviting on the inside.
“It was bought as a blank slate,” Lee says of the new space. “The client’s directive was, obviously, to warm it up.”
And while the clients wanted an urban apartment, they also wanted it to feel soft and pretty. Because they share with Lee a passion for wallcoverings, extra-special designs were selected for the apartment’s walls. The Iksel pastoral design in the dining room, rich with nature-inspired colors, is a nod to the view of the park on the opposite wall.
A Moroccan rug from Mansour Modern anchors the living room area; the sectional is covered in a Schumacher fabric.
In the dining and kitchen area, Gubi chairs from Suite NY surround a Sovet Italia table from Lepere.
In a guest bedroom, a Murano lamp from 1stDibs rests upon a custom nightstand by Upholstery Workroom.
The primary bedroom’s curtain fabric by Mokum complements a de Gournay wallcovering.
Interior designer Eddie Lee takes in the skyline views from the apartment’s terrace.
“We wanted to stay away from cold grays and things like that,” says Lee. In the primary bedroom, an elegant blush-colored de Gournay wallcovering creates an oasis of calm. Another bedroom is awash in jewel tones, including violet silk curtains. Everything contributes to a feeling of serenity, in contrast to the urban landscape just beyond.
“When you’re doing one of these apartments with these spectacular views, it’s either do white-on-white and cream,” says Lee, “and you just make it this gorgeous kind of cloud all about the textures—or you pump up the saturation to weight the interiors to balance out the gorgeous views. And so that’s what we decided to do.”
As for the collaboration, Lee was lucky to already have an insight into his client’s preferences after doing so many homes together.
“The dream is doing multiple projects with a client, or the client’s family, over time,” says Lee. “It’s all about a vibe and getting into the person’s head and figuring out how they want to live. And not just how they’re living right now, but how they might want to live in 10 years.”
