Interior design firm Cullman & Kravis reimagine a classic Park Avenue apartment with a transitional design update. Ellie Cullman first completed the design of the residence over fifteen years ago. Now she had returned to freshen up the place with a more modern look. There was no physical renovation of the spaces. The clients wanted to keep most of their cherished antiques. The rooms were already well proportioned and arranged. The furniture plan remains classic and good.  To update things, the designer made many smart changes to the existing design elements that ultimately resulted in a fresh whimsical glamour.

The walls, ceilings, and trim were refinished with either high gloss glazes or over-washed with a metallic finish. Sofas and chairs were reupholstered with simpler, monochromatic textures.  One-color woven fabrics and those with unusual textures feel more modern.  The new fabrics and trim included those with metallic and iridescent threads to add spark and new glamour. The fresh fabrics together with the lighter palette infused the apartment with a feeling of sleek modernity. 

New lighting and light fixtures continued the quest to brighten the place.  Larger lamps, brighter bulbs and simpler shades really make a difference.  New recessed art lights replaced wall mounted picture lights creating a more gallery-like feeling.  This artful mixing of classic forms and contemporary elements created a comfortable opulence that’s easy to live with.

PARK AVENUE TRANSITIONAL DESIGN

In the living room, Venetian stucco walls and a high-gloss silver leaf ceiling create a sleek canvas. Custom sofas covered in a Kravet chenille group with custom wood framed chairs upholstered in a Rogers & Goffigon fabric and club chairs in a leopard print by Taffard Fabrics. The room gathers on a Sisal rug by ABC Carpet & Home beneath a 19th-century Empire-style chandelier. An abstract painting by Canan Tolon hangs above the Louis XV-style fireplace mantle flanked by a pair of gilded Biedermeier consoles and 19th-century Italian mirrors. A Regency sofa table and Biedermeier center table anchor the seating groups. A 19th-century Japanese lacquered chest stands in the rear opposite the piano. Curtains in a simple fabric by Coraggio include jeweled embroideries by the Paris firm Lesage.

Ochre and white marble with black cabochons in a diamond pattern cover the floor in the entry. A contemporary painting hangs above a marble-topped Napoleon III console. Bronze lantern by Price Glover.

Bark paper applied in a running brick pattern covers the walls in the dining room. A grand Baroque-style Austrian chandelier hangs beneath the high-gloss gold leaf ceiling. Gold trimmed ebonized chairs upholstered in silver faux shagreen surround a circa-1910 English dining table. A painting by Robert Rauschenberg hangs above a black-lacquered Japanese cabinet from the Meiji period, with inlaid silver and gold-lacquer medallions. The red lacquer Leleu sideboard stands beneath a gilt-framed mirror and bronze-ormolu wall sconces. A sisal rug by ABC Carpet covers the floor while curtains of silk from Kravet frame the windows.

In the honey-stained-pine paneled library, golden pearl-coated paper lines the back of the bookcases softly reflecting the light. A custom sofa covered in a Kravet fabric gathers with club chairs by Robert Allen on a leopard carpet by Beauvais.  The sculpture in front of the window is by Eric Fischl.  Bookcase harmony is achieved with a mix of open and closed arrangements, including books and objects of different shapes and materials.

A striking red bench stands beneath a blue LED artwork at the end of a long hallway.

The master bedroom includes walls upholstered with pale cream ottoman silk finished with bronze nail trim. Silk carpet covers the floor while silk curtains with Lesage embroidered cuffs frame the windows. Embroidered linens dress the upholstered bed trimmed with antiqued mirror.

A vibrant-hued study holds a custom daybed and chair upholstered with an over-scale abstract zebra fabric from Pierre Frey. A photograph by Tim Davis and print by Damien Hirst adorn the walls. Carpet by Stark.

That concludes our design inspiration for today, my friend.

Be sure to see the other projects by this leading design firm:

Contemporary Traditional Design: Southern Mansion

Georgian Modern Traditional Elegance

Venetian Waterfront Residence: Cullman & Kravis

Fifth Avenue Classical Design

Transitional Design Update

Cullman & Kravis Associates is known for providing the highest quality of design excellence and personal service since 1984. The goal of the design firm’s most recent work is to redefine the traditional interior. Their designs have been edited, clarified, and strengthened with new materials and palettes to achieve a “modern traditional” aesthetic. With this fresh approach, the point of view is contemporary while still respecting the 30-year history of the company.  Antiques of all periods and origins are used alongside modern artworks, custom made furniture, and exceptional textiles to create dynamic interiors that are complex and layered-always comfortable and never overly formal.

This is my second project from Elissa Cullman and Tracey Pruzan’s latest beautiful book- From Classic to Contemporary: Decorating with Cullman & Kravis.  The design firm infuses traditional interiors with a modern perspective, embracing historicism and referencing a wide range of cultures and contemporary design motifs. In From Classic to Contemporary: Decorating with Cullman & Kravis, Ellie Cullman and Tracey Pruzan explore the lessons from modernism that add a new and welcome dynamism to the firm’s most recent projects, both traditional and modern.  You really must get it!  It is a must read.  Absolutely Beautiful!

Interior Design: Ellie Cullman and Lee Cavanaugh of Cullman & Kravis

Photography: Eric Piasecki

Thank you so much for reading along with me today. Let me hear from you in the comments. What do you think of this Transitional Design Update on Park Avenue?

Have a great day!