Virginia Toledo and Jessica Geller, the design masterminds behind Toledo Geller, recently put their inimitable spin on a pied-à-terre renovation in the heart of Manhattan. Home to a prominent entrepreneur, this apartment in a landmarked Park Avenue building is filled with unique bespoke details and inspirational city views. Consider the drink ledge built into a custom server in the living and dining room, where a brand new wall of floor-to-ceiling folding glass doors frames iconic skyline panoramas. Another dramatic aspect of this space is a distinctive 360-degree gas fireplace which rotates for inside or outside use.
“The biggest standout features in this home are the double-sided fireplace and the wall-to-wall glass doors that open entirely to merge the indoor and outdoor living spaces, blurring the lines between the interior and exterior,” Virginia Toledo noted. Spanning the entire apartment, the terrace’s ledge is ideal for perching small bites or cocktails, and a Zen-like meditation area features a water fountain and mahogany daybed.
For the busy entrepreneur-owner, a hip work-at-home space was essential, Jessica Geller said. “The home office is swathed in the most beautiful high gloss gray-blue; it wraps the walls, the built-in cabinetry, the ceiling and all of the trim. It’s a happy color, but it also has some seriousness, which is important because when our client is in New York City, he is usually there for business and needs to focus.”
The understated elegance of the furnishings is paired with some risqué modern art, one of the design duo’s signatures, according to Toledo. “We love a dash of the unexpected, and an interior that is so sleek and polished benefits from having a moment that makes you pause and go, ‘Oh, okay.’”
At the end of the day, this opulent apartment offers a calm respite from the stress of city living, Geller observes. “When we work with clients on pieds-à-terre, we’ve learned that they usually want an experience of simplistic luxury. The space isn’t overly personalized and feels like a luxury hotel where you can pop in at a moment’s notice.”
Photography by Jacob Snavely.
For more like this pied-à-terre renovation, be sure to check out the soft, alluring interiors of this Upper East Side apartment.
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