An Uptown Duplex's Refresh Embraces A Bold Infusion Of Color

For an Upper East Side couple and their three sons, one Fifth Avenue duplex was ideal in size, location and price. Less ideal were the choppy layout, dark rooms and significant water damage across the upper floor. Undaunted, they saw an opportunity to rethink the residence from scratch, tailoring it totally to suit their lifestyle.

The gut renovation was led by designer Kate Gray and architect Hope Dana, who were separately brought onto the project via word-of-mouth connections but quickly found common ground through strategic problem-solving for the complex reconfiguration. In close collaboration with general contractor Tom Levy and their design-savvy client, the apartment was reworked from top to bottom. “Every interior wall was moved and changed!” the wife exclaims.

An avid cook, she desired a large, open and welcoming kitchen. To accomplish this goal, the team relocated the formerly back-of-house space to the front, connecting it to the living-dining room through a cased opening with pocket doors that allow the rooms to seamlessly merge for everyday living or be closed off for formal gatherings. A mudroom was also added for the boys to tuck their school gear out of sight.

While planning this spatial alteration, Dana made a fortuitous discovery. “On the street-facing façade, there were windows that had been covered up by the developer, which in my 25 years of experience I had never seen before,” the architect reveals. Now uncovered, these hidden windows—three in total—allow soft light to permeate the living spaces. “That was a revelation,” the wife says. “When you walk into the apartment now, it’s incredibly bright.”

Elements like wooden HVAC outlet covers with fluted fronts and millwork trims detailed with simple, geometric reliefs were proposed by Dana to subtly reference the 1928 building’s Art Deco style yet allow the interiors to feel wholly contemporary. So as not to overpower these details, the palette in the living space was largely kept neutral—save for a few bold artworks and upholstered furnishings. However, thanks to the client’s love of color, the same can’t be said for the rest of the residence.

In the den, moss-green walls, a blue sectional and rainbow-striped bolster pillows were all lifted from the colors of a marbleized-velvet ottoman. A pass-through bar and pantry that connects back to the living room is drenched in an even darker, moodier blue-green hue. “As you travel back through the first floor, these rich and saturated tones create an interesting transition,” explains Gray, who continued the wall paint onto the ceiling to “make the rooms feel taller.” Dual-paneled doors throughout the home also emphasize verticality for this reason.

In the entryway, the glamour of historic Fifth Avenue residences is evoked by tessellated marble floor tiles and grass-cloth wallpaper, which juxtaposes a wall-mounted Simon Allen sculpture made from woven VHS tape. Other tradition-nodding elements include a vintage Murano flush-mount chandelier to temper the living room’s contemporary furnishings as well as arched doorways and bookshelf niches that further help marry old with new.

Upstairs, where the water damage was worst, everything was ripped out and rebuilt so that all four bedrooms now have their own bathroom—a luxury with three teenage boys. And the primary suite was crafted as a calming sanctuary with peach-toned, limewash plaster walls and ceilings that complement the patterned window treatments. Lampshades created for the bedside sconces feature the same peacock-like print as the favored ottoman in the den. “We tried to stay away from traditional Upper East Side style and have it feel unique, more textural and a little cleaner,” Gray explains of the bedroom—but it’s a sentiment that sums up the project in full.

Both Dana and Gray fondly describe the client as a great collaborator whose taste and ideas played an important role in steering the design direction. “Her love of color helped to bring out mine,” Gray affirms. Incorporating items of personal value—like a delicate light sculpture by John Wigmore in the dining area that was kept in storage while the boys were young and a bench in the entry that has traveled with them from one home to another—firmly places the family’s stamp on the newly reorganized apartment, which now flows effortlessly with their daily lives.