03 February 2009

Gil Schafer, Part II: In Town

Photo by John Lei for the New York Times

900 square feet of perfection.




Architect Gil Schafer meticulously designed every square inch of his historic Greenwich Village parlor floor-through, resulting in a space that sensitively conserves (or replicates) many of its original 1830s Classical details AND accommodates all the necessities of 21st century comfort.

This gorgeous burnt orange color was also used in Schafer's country house - I wonder if he wanted to create a sense of continuity between the two residences or just loves the color?

I am always curious to see the homes of designers - with no client demands to conform to, they can really let themselves go. It is clear that Schafer, who has done much for the Institute of Classical Architecture, walks the talk. Together with decorator Miles Redd (who also worked on Schafer's country house) and a crew of talented craftsmen, Schafer has created a mini-Palladian mansion in the tradition of English aesthetes Lord Burlington and William Kent, chock-a-block with prints, drawings and curiousities worthy of the Grand Tour. AND I adore that Schafer's TV is out in the open - why apologize for it?


Click here to read more about how Schafer ingeniously reconfigured the layout and how he handled having 13' ceilings which gave him more wall space than floor space.

Photo #2 by Rene Stoeltie, #3 and #4 © Paul Costello

7 comments:

Toby Worthington said...

Great seeing these again, but would it be churlish of me to point out that photos # 3 and #4 do not give
an accurate representation of the subtle colours that were used?

Emily Evans Eerdmans said...

Toby, Talk to me! You must describe what we are missing! EEE

The Peak of Chic said...

I never tire of these photos! And don't you think Schafer and Redd are the dynamic duo??!!

Emily Evans Eerdmans said...

Jennifer, Indeed I do - if I were in the market for an architect or designer, I would turn to them in a heartbeat. Miles is working on a friend's apartment and it is going to be amazing - of course!

Style Court said...

A favorite of mine too.

Toby Worthington said...

According to Angus Wilkie's text (House & Garden, January 2004):
"The cross-hatched glazes in the living room are an intriguing autumnal shade of orange, the hallways are covered in a tobacco brown felt, and the bedroom walls are tailored with an olive green and chocolate striped silk."
This is evident in Rene Stoeltie's photographs for that spread, allowing for subtle distortions of colour on any printed page.
The Paul Costello shots are crudely oversaturated in the link that was was your source for the last 2 images.
At the risk of being the biggest fusspot in the Western World, I humbly submit these thoughts.

Emily Evans Eerdmans said...

Toby, how happy I am that you have the original article! It is so easy for colors to get distorted on the page or screen - how indeed to capture the mellow translucence of a glaze.... so the area before the orange living room is not black, but dark brown felt?