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.”
PROjECT. 773 394 1174 projectinteriors.com