interiors - August/September 2014

According to both designers, there were many moments throughout the process that began with Collins exclaiming, “You girls are crazy,” followed later by, “Okay, you girls were right.” Despite her protestations, in the foyer they shoehorned in a sleek narrow custom sofa juxtaposed with a vintage coat tree and a cowhide rug from Edelman Leather. “With all the tufting and structure of the sofa, it needed the contrast of that rug, with its unruly edges,” says Wertepny, who also used pillows covered in Elitis and Mokum fabric as accents. A large painting by Meredith Sands in the entrance hall, placed over a Baker bench, adds a graphic note.

In the family room they pushed hard to paint the ceiling the same charcoal as the walls. “Mimi was concerned it would be too dark,” says Kranitz. “Instead it’s moody but cozy and bright at the same time.” Kranitz deftly integrated a weathered Asian sideboard, a petrified-wood side table, and a pair of leather and polished-nickel Andrew Martin swivel chairs into the space. A chandelier by Ralph Lauren picks up the metallic theme. “We like to include splashes of metal in every room,” she adds.

The designers used the same gray tone on the kitchen walls, where it brings the bright white articulated ceiling and beams into focus and provides a perfect backdrop for uber-modern Arclinea cabinets and Carrera-marble countertops. A Julian Chichester table with a hammered polished nickel base and an Arteriors chandelier dripping with burnished brass beads balance the wingback chairs while bringing on the bling. “The chandelier is like a piece of great jewelry,” says Wertepny. Roman shades in a Holly Hunt fabric soften the windows flanking the fireplace.

By the time they started layering up glossy leather Edelman hides in the master bedroom, Collins’s lament had changed to, “Whatever, girls, I’m into it.” Offsetting the owner’s traditional floral-print rug and Barbara Barry side tables, the hot pink hides make the room funky and fresh, and the overscale custom bedframe is complemented by a dramatic Jonathan Adler chandelier.

After opening up the outmoded his and her bathrooms to form one larger space, the duo backed the sleek Victoria + Albert tub with a white-marble and back-painted glass inlay wall by Artistic Tile. A glam mirrored Parsons table serves as a vanity, and never one to pass up a textural opportunity, Wertepny topped a black vintage chair with a fur pillow. Light fixtures from Visual Comfort make the intimate space sparkle.

“They really pushed me every step of the way, and I’d never do a house without them again,” says Collins. “Turns out they have better taste than I do, and now I’m working on carrying a purse that doesn’t match my shoes.”