Black and white form an elegant base for richly layered texture and muted colors in five different projects, from a historic townhouse in Greenwich Village, New York, to a Mediterranean/Modern abode in Denver, Colorado.
Designer: FORMA
Location: Denver, CO
Photography: © Devon Banks Photography
In the middle of the pandemic, New Yorkers Trip and Jacqui Tate purchased a house in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood, sight unseen. Built in 2022, the 6,000-square-foot, Mediterranean-style house lacked interior character and was dominated by overwhelmingly yellow tones. They called in the team at FORMA – Miroslava Brooks and Daniel Markiewicz – to give their new home some much-needed TLC. In contrast to the existing exterior, they all agreed upon a simple, clean aesthetic for the interior, which now includes a series of arched openings on the first floor, connecting and opening up the floor plan. “From the beginning, we explored interior palettes of black and white to work well with the exterior. The couple wanted to bring their New York sensibilities to the design, so we created a brighter, simpler, more open interior that incorporated some of the character of the Mediterranean-style exterior – such as arched roof elements – without being ornamental. One of the most important things for the clients was to create an airy space devoid of visual clutter that thoughtfully connects with the adjacent rooms.”
SOURCES: Hardware and dining room pendant, Schoolhouse; interior paint, Sherwin-Williams; surfaces, Silestone; floor and wall tile, AllModern; kitchen and dining room tables, dining room chairs, Masaya & Co.; kitchen chairs, McGee & Co.; stools, Rove Concepts; upholstery, Maiden Home; kitchen pendant, Feiss.
Designer: Alison Giese
Architecture: Northworks
Location: Great Falls, VA
Photography: Jennifer Hughes
For clients in Great Falls, Virginia, designer Alison Giese created a casual yet refined home that is a study in high contrast, warmed with organic texture and muted color. Giese explains, “They wanted the home to feel welcoming and loved the idea of letting the outdoors and the beautiful property influence the color palette and textures.” A color palette of white and a deep, almost black smokey blue had already been applied to the kitchen cabinetry, so Giese continued that palette into the great room but brought in textures such as a vintage wool rug by Passerine Home, along with wood, leather and metal, to create an organic, richly layered feel. “We used items with clean lines – like the modern crosshatch chairs – to maintain the balance between crisp and cozy. In some areas we used tumbled travertine floors to add an instant warmth.” In contrast to the open-plan kitchen and great room, the dining room called for a warm ambience, which Giese created with a textural wallpaper, linen fabric on the chairs and curtains, and wood furniture and millwork.
Giese’s favorite space in the home is the hearth room. She shares, “The room is so architecturally striking, particularly as you approach it from the dining room. The vaulted ceiling with dark beams allowed us to play with scale on the fixtures. We created a seating arrangement with four chairs – a perfect place for family chats, reading or listening to music. The smokey palette of the wooden walls creates a cocoonlike space with lighter-hued upholstery to balance the darker walls. It’s just the coziest space.”
SOURCES: Foyer light, Urban Electric; kitchen, dining room and bar cabinetry, Lobkovich, Inc.; hearth room rug, Merida Studio; great room rug, vintage from Passerine Home; dining room rug, vintage by District Loom.
Designer: Nina Magon/Nina Magon Studio
Location: Houston, TX
Photography: Pär Bengtsson
Nina Magon’s Houston clients wanted a very modern home with a sleek and classic color palette, but also filled with warmth and a lot of natural light.
“The home was inspired by the beauty of nature and was meticulously designed to merge abundant natural light and the views of surrounding oak trees with modern interiors,” explains Magon. To celebrate the outdoors, she selected earth tones as well as natural stone and wood and layered them on a base palette of black and white, creating a retreatlike experience. The hallways are lined with wood planks to add warmth, and the finish is echoed in the kitchen cabinetry and island. Cabinetry by eggersmann and countertops in Aura Dekton by Cosentino are accented by an angular, modern chandelier by Roll & Hill. Expansive windows give the home an indoor-outdoor feel, allowing for ample views of the pool and surrounding property, and in the interior spaces, transom windows allow the continuous flow of light from one room to another.
SOURCES: Art in entry, Azul Jikiliit and Amarillo Curcuma by Sandra Monterroso, 2021; kitchen chandelier, Roll & Hill; cabinetry, eggersmann; countertops, Aura Dekton by Cosentino; dining table, armchair, dining chairs, sideboard by Nina Magon for Universal Furniture; rug, Arsin Rug Gallery; lighting, Vibia.
Designer: Tina Ramchandani/Tina Ramchandani Creative
Location: Greenwich Village, NY
Photography: Ellen McDermott
For the Greenwich Village home of a globe-trotting, art-loving couple who love to host cocktails and go out to dinner, Tina Ramchandani created dramatic, sophisticated spaces that reflected her clients’ interests and art collection.
Ramchandani notes that the black-and-white palette is something that occurred naturally. “I see black as a staple. It’s a bold color that adds emotion to a space. It can be dramatic, sophisticated, even calming.” For this home, the designer didn’t use a lot of color but rather brought visual interest by using a wide array of textures and materials. “Texture and a mix of materials is very important when dealing with contrasting colors.” Plush fabrics, leather, and a watercolor-inspired rug from Crosby Street Studios are paired with metals, glass, stone and a variety of woods and finishes. Two walls of custom millwork add a graphic effect and provide a backdrop for small paintings, sculpture and objets. Taken together, the space feels very layered and rich, despite the monochromatic palette.
SOURCES: Living room sofa and chairs, Poliform; living room rug, Crosby Street Studios; dining table, Lepere; dining chairs and living room coffee table, Molteni; custom millwork.
Designer: Alicia Murphy, Alicia Murphy Design
Architect: Kevin Lichten, Lichten Architects
Location: West Village, NY
Photography: Brittany Ambridge
For a family of six, returning home meant a move from their uptown duplex to the West Village, where they lived when they were first married. To achieve exactly what they were looking for, they hired Kevin Lichten of Lichten Architects to update the narrow-yet-tall home. Alicia Murphy came on board to complete the interiors of their new space.
Murphy worked with a muted color palette blended with graphic black-and-white accents. Smart built-ins make the most of the limited space, and a Waterworks kitchen is an elegantly appointed workhorse. In the back, an outdoor kitchen, garden and seating area lead to a “Dad’s den.” The house provides a needed respite from the hustle of New York City life.
The existing house presented a challenge in that it had a small footprint, even though it had five floors. Lichten came up with a solution. “The architectural challenge was to unite what otherwise would be a stack of disjointed floors. We created a visually strong sculptural staircase, which required convincing the clients to devote a large portion of each floor to the spiral stair. The result was worth the sacrifice; at each level you can clearly see the floors below and above, knitting the entire house together.” To create a dramatic focal point, a massive chandelier by Cameron Design House – reminiscent of ascending Champagne bubbles – fills the space.
SOURCES: Landscape designer, Robin Key, RKLA; stylist, Martin Bourne; contractor, Highline Construction; front façade lights, Bevolo; light in stairwell, Cameron Design House; laylight, custom by Lichten Architects and produced by Gil Studios; kitchen cabinets, Waterworks; kitchen light fixture, Roll & Hill; carriage house lighting, Apparatus; carpet, Stark; chair, Atelier Purcell; sofa, custom AMD; outdoor sofa and chair, Dedon; string lights, Bover; dining table, Royal Botania; dining chairs, Gloster; planters, Atelier Vierkant; primary bath, Marble, ABC Stone.
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