After two decades in New York City, and with their daughter now away at college, a professional couple decided it was time to establish their “forever home” in the city they had come to love. Enter Judy Dunne of Butter & Eggs, who had worked with the couple on previous projects but never one quite so complete. “This was our first top-to-tail project, where we really did everything,” Dunne says of the Tribeca penthouse. “The collaboration becomes so much stronger when you know somebody and have a true understanding of their sensibility.”
The homeowners spoke affectionately with Dunne about this being both their “grown-up house” and “dream home” and the designer delivered on the desired vibe that would reflect their love of art, beauty, and togetherness, all the while creating a welcoming space for family and friends. “The heartbeat that I try to relay and that we work to create in our studio is spaces that are refined but not stuffy or precious,” Dunne explains.
Gracious outdoor space was critical to the couple’s choice of a property and, though not easy to come by in Manhattan, determination led them to the perfect place. Nearly 1,000 square feet of newly landscaped terraces bookend the 3,500 square foot duplex, making the interiors feel very lush. “It’s more like a home than an apartment,” Dunne says, stressing the true indoor/outdoor experience is very unique in the city.
The fluidity of the overall space demanded one complete design vision from interior to exterior. “That was very much deliberate,” Dunne explains, adding the project began with a conversation about palette. “It was loosely Asian-inspired and grew with that in mind. The pops of red, that natural green that roots the project and gives it that organic quality that then ties to the more modern pieces. That was the balance we kept going back to throughout the project.” The visual flow is evident from myriad vantage points, like when seated in one of the red Gubi Beetle dining chairs from Suite NY with a clear view to the rich red Japanese maple trees on the terrace, just one element of the lush landscaping curated by Dunne’s frequent design partner, Cara White of Elevations Urban Landscape Design + Build.
Further connections can be experienced in the lighting, like the Apparatus fixtures in the living and dining areas that serve to tie the spaces together. “They have great presence but aren’t overbearing,” Dunne notes. “They feel light but make a visual impression.” And the lighting is just one of the stand-out decisions in the home. Impossible to ignore is a pair of live-edge coffee tables that were the first items purchased for this renovation. “They’re so delicious in person,” Dunne says of the tables that ground the space and make yet another connection to the richly landscaped terraces. “They have these wonderful fissures and these negative spaces, and the wood is so rich and just beautiful,” she says. “They’re still one of my favorite things in the home.” The tables also serve as yet another example of perfectly pairing the natural with the modern. Hanging in the same space is a contemporary work by artist Jody Morlock, a favorite of Dunne’s. The designer explains the modern art serves as the perfect complement as it is “very punchy, poppy, and edgy against those very organic tables.”
Ultimately, the home is being enjoyed as intended, with every space, indoors and out, getting its fair share of use. “This home was designed so they can be in the space with many, many people or with just their small family unit—it works very comfortably for both,” says Dunne, noting how gratifying it is “to create moments for people to experience. It’s very gratifying when people are truly happy to inhabit the whole space. I’m delighted they’re using the entire home.”
Photography by Josh McHugh.
Landscape design by Cara White, Elevations Urban Landscape Design + Build.
For more like this Tribeca penthouse, be sure to check out the melding of indoor and outdoor spaces in this home.
Like what you see? Get it first with a subscription to aspire design and home magazine.