An Upper East Side Abode With Scandinavian-Meets-Boho Whimsy
Designer Sarah Lederman anchored the living room seating, which includes a settee and lounge chair upholstered in the same Lake August textile, around a Carmine sofa by Maiden Home. A Temple Studio rug grounds the space and a 1930s chandelier hangs above.
A family’s first home calls for equal parts fun and function, with a dose of verdant fabulousness.
Sarah Lederman gets it. With two kids of her own, the New York-based designer understands that practicality is paramount with little ones, but function should never override flair. Case in point: the Upper East Side abode she infused with boho-meets-Scandinavian whimsy for a young family. “Designing a family’s first home feels like a big responsibility; it’s usually their first time making big purchases,” she says. But Lederman enjoys the balancing act of finding unique workhorse pieces with classic staying power and coupling them with high-impact, low-commitment embellishments. “This is actually my favorite type of client,” affirms the designer, who gladly signed on to enliven what had been a very sober, gray canvas.
“The solid bones were there,” she continues of the three-bedroom dwelling with handsome moldings and excellent flow for a tight Manhattan space. Given that in a New York apartment one typically sees all rooms at once, Lederman designs holistically, “otherwise it feels disjointed,” she says. Here, that cohesion comes from using a bright, happy green as a through line. “It’s fresh, vibrant and cheerful—and that’s what a young family is.”
In the dining room, green pops up on moss-hued linen upholstered chairs and, in a delightful surprise, swathes a glossy wet bar hidden behind a wallpaper-wrapped door. Said wallpaper—an airy graphic of abstract botanical shapes outlined in black—works almost as an oversize stripe, echoing the box-pleats on the custom pendant shade. The same green that peeps out from the bar is repeated on living room book casings that Lederman designed in the spirit of Josef Frank. The cases, finished with cabinet knobs that are “like jewelry for the room,” are freestanding, so if the clients ever move, they can travel with them.
Home Details
Interior Design:
Sarah Lederman, Sarah Lederman Interiors
Bookshelves with insets painted Benjamin Moore’s Oak Grove and hardware by Matilda Goad & Co. are clever freestanding pieces. The sconce is Matt Alford Studio, the tufted chair wears a Claremont fabric and the coffee table is custom.
In the dining room, Maiden Home chairs in Zak+Fox linen with backs covered in a Classic Cloth floral rim a Doorman Designs table. The pinch-pleated drapes and Blanche Field box-pleated pendant feature fabrics by Carolina Irving.
Painted Benjamin Moore’s Oak Grove, a hidden bar is a chic surprise. Neisha Crosland for Schumacher’s Caterpillar Leaf wallpaper drives home the garden theme. The tableware is from SL & Co.
Palm Stripe wallpaper by George Spencer Designs swathes the primary bedroom, joined by an Oomph Home bed upholstered in a Penny Morrison textile. The lantern is by Shades from the Midnight Sun. Vaughan lamps top the Chelsea Editions nightstands.
The nursery delights with a Prospect Park Mural wallcovering by The Lawns. An Annie Selke herringbone linen rug is a comfy place for floor play and book reading. The crib is Serena & Lily.
A Serena & Lily glider in timeless blue gingham feels like a picnic blanket against the park-themed mural backdrop.
Playful vignettes keep the nursery entertaining, while a dresser doubles as a changing table.
Green is picked up again on drapery trim and on an upholstered side chair and midcentury settee. “I’m always looking for textiles that are new to me and that I haven’t seen elsewhere,” Lederman says, pointing to the olive-toned print augmented by browns and pops of eggplant, which in turn inspired pillow fabric selections.
The living room centerpiece, a deep camel sofa, is a Lederman go-to, especially for first-time owners. “If they grow out of this apartment, this sofa will go anywhere. It’s a forever piece,” she says. Similarly, the rug, robust in texture and lush pile, “looks good in any context, and is soft and cozy”—perfect for when there’s a young crawler in the house. And to further layer in interest, Lederman commissioned a decorative painter to hand comb the coffee table for “a retro spin on tortoise.”
In the bedrooms, the designer’s knack for being sensible without sacrificing sophistication shines through. In the primary bedroom, a structured floral wallpaper lends a nod to tradition, while nightstands featuring rattan-wrapped drawer pulls tie to the breezy natural-fiber rugs in the public spaces. The pulls are the same color as the desk in the guest room that, for now, doubles as an office. “That way, if this space one day morphs into another kids’ room, the desk can shift into the primary bedroom and coordinate.”
But, in the nursery, Lederman happily committed, “right off the bat,” to a bold, playful wallcovering that need not do double duty; it simply singularly delights. “It’s my favorite moment in the apartment,” she says. Inspired by the nearby iconic Bemelmans bar at the Carlyle Hotel and created by an artist friend of the clients’, the wallpaper is “a fun, kooky nod to the neighborhood,” she adds. “When the sun hits that yellow, the room comes alive with dimension. You go in there and it’s cozy and feels happy. Who doesn’t want that for their kid?”