Presented with a massive Greenwich Village home too austere for its new owners, a city design firm created a vision that combined clean aesthetics with “an inviting vibe”

by Evan Monroe

Upon transplanting from London to New York City, the buyers of this one-of-akind 7,800-square-foot, five-bedroom, seven-bath (five full and two half) townhouse in Greenwich Village were seeking expansive interior areas for a growing family. The previous occupants had completed a full renovation, resulting in clean, modern architecture that, while striking, felt too crisp and pristine to its new owners. So, they recruited Revamp Interior Design partners Danielle Fennoy and Cece Stelljes to, among other tasks, carefully select furnishings and fixtures “with soul,” as Stelljes explained, “to produce a warmer, more personable feel. The prior gut renovation was completed according to owners’ wishes by Turett Collaborative Architects; Revamp’s scope was primarily decorative, adding wall finishes, rugs, lighting, and furnishings, plus some light renovation work. And we came up with the idea of the glass-walled pool!”

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The Revamp partners met in Denmark while they were studying interior and furniture design, and both went on to earn master’s degrees in interior design from Pratt Institute. Fennoy, after working at a New York City design firm, founded Revamp in 2008. Since then, she’s been an on-screen presence for HGTV’s Bang For Your Buck and My Favorite Place, and has been named one of House Beautiful’s “Next Wave of Top Designers.” Stelljes, a former music industry executive, penned award-winning designs for the firms Icrave Design, Roman & Williams, and Karim Rashid Inc., including projects for STK Restaurants, Tenjune and The Bank nightclubs, and the W Hotel Atlanta.

Stelljes walked us through various standout areas and pieces within the home.

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“While this is a very New York home, we referenced the family’s background in the form of playful nods to England,” she said. “In addition to the living spaces and bedrooms for the family, the owners needed guest quarters, an office and art studio, playroom and exercise area, gym, and pool.”

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The ground floor houses the kitchen, one large enough for a custom 13-foot lacquered table and an ornate Murano chandelier. Faced with a blank wall that continued into the stairwell, Revamp commissioned a mural there, with a pattern that gradually fades away toward the stairs.

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A chunky Patricia Urquiola sectional anchors the family room and, together with crocheted ottomans, provides ample seating. (Toys are stashed not only in the built-in millwork, but also in the base of the round coffee table.) On the parlor level, visitors are greeted by a bespoke cowhide rug mimicking the British flag. In the formal dining room, dark plastercoated walls imbue a rich, moody vibe, while a chandelier of smoky globe lights hangs over a thick wood table and red velvet cushioned chairs. Dinnerware is displayed in a custom metal cabinet, its interior finished in vivid red.

The spacious living room is anchored by a silk rug, which unites seating clusters, including a sleek and deep sectional, the open edge of which faces an antique daybed. A leather Egg Chair is paired with a Revamp-designed side table, with a lacquer finish reflecting the Jenny Holzer digital art scrolling in the lamp above.

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The existing elevator was upgraded by wrapping the walls in tan leather decorated with red stitching, portraying a chandelier, a Queen Anne seat picture frames, and chair rail moulding. Wall-to-wall red carpet adds the final touch.

The children’s bedrooms were designed to suit their inhabitants for many years: playful enough for them to enjoy now, yet sophisticated enough to endure. Thus the 3- and 5-year old girls’ room was covered in a pattern of photo-realistic butterflies, while the son’s passion for soccer was realized in a subtle border that includes his team’s mascot, plus vinyl silhouettes of his favorite player kicking a ball. His desk, media cabinet, and storage were integrated through layered millwork by Leicht, a German-based company founded in 1928.

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Upstairs, the master suite exudes luxury, yet its blue palette keeps the space from feeling too feminine. The vintage metal bedframe there is surrounded by a silk rug, leatherwrapped side tables, marble lamps, a cowhide-covered trunk, and silk-thread wallpaper. The TV wall is softened by a
Dana Barnes’s original fiber sculpture and a Christian Liagre console.

Then, aiming to make the walk-in closet feel like “a jewel box,” Revamp replaced plain white shelving with walnut millwork, crystal knobs, kaleidoscopic diamond wallpaper, a sheepskin runner, feather drum lights, and a leather-wrapped mirror.

Up on the roof, Fennoy and Stelljes extended the deck to cover most of its footprint, with decking incorporating built-in planters and a sloped-back bench.

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“We also furnished it with a bed-like swivel lounger, a bar cart, and, adjacent to the hot tub, a pair of Richard Schultz chairs with a giant umbrella to shield the sun,” the latter designer said.

Lastly, tucked away in the basement, is the gem of the house: a glass-walled lap pool. Glass brick flooring from the backyard allows light to spill in, making for a sunny swim. Asked the seemingly inevitable question as to whether this represented the creative apotheosis for the project, Stelljes replied:

“Of course, the pool is the crown jewel, but we are also proud of the master dressing room, the elevator interior, and our selection of wall treatments throughout, such as plaster in the dining room, the custom Eskayel mural in the kitchen, and wallpaper and vinyl decals in the children’s bedrooms.”

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Requiring just under a year to complete, the redesign ultimately united, as Stelljes said, “clean aesthetics and a comfortable, inviting vibe.”

Revamp Interior Design
202 W. 40th Street, Suite 902, Manhattan
212.354.1980 / revamp-nyc.com