The custom Sherle Wagner fixtures in the kitchen, a developer’s detail, were designed by Vicente Wolf. The two bronze industrial barstools were purchased at ABC Carpet & Home. Dunes & Duchess’ column lamp sits next to Aero Studios’ antique wood horse on a metal stand.
comfortable enough for Super Bowl Sunday. Passal approached the challenge with an eclectic mix of shapes, textures and scale, like in the dining area, where a leather banquette in a classic klismos shape is paired with an Italian acrylic and glass table. “I love the tension that the two create,” says Passal. “I think that’s what we did throughout the space.” In the bedroom, high meets low with a geometric Room & Board four poster bed customized with a headboard upholstered in a Zoffany damask. A custom storage solution took the idea of contrast a step further. “We took a very modern form,” says Passal of the wall unit of drawers and shelves that he designed, “very geometric and lots of squares—but we used horsehair, which is a very traditional material, as the insert. You have this contrast in material and in timeline: a very modern piece of furniture with an application that’s more traditional.” Kraus, a Colorado native, also wanted his New York home to be evocative of his roots: “I didn’t want to forget where I 30
was from,” he says, without anything too obvious: “I didn’t want a ski lodge.” Passal’s nod to the Rockies was done through use of deep color. “Most people are intimidated by darker tones and darker colors,” says the designer, “but it’s the contrast that works.” Wood veneer wallcovering was installed in the master bedroom, where aubergine velvet drapes so dark they appear black at night frame the massive arched windows. Aubergine was used on the apartment’s interior doors, too, with lacquer so heavy it appears almost mirrored. Even a small powder room got a dramatic treatment. “We used reflective surfaces to really bring light to it,” says Passal of the tight, dark space (it was paneled in ebonized wood). A stainless steel toilet and sink reflect the shine from the Tracy Kendall newsprint wallcovering Passal applied to the ceiling. A dollop of sex appeal was added with artwork: Alex Guofeng Cao’s oversized chromographic print of Brigitte Bardot eyes visitors to the powder
the home observer fall 2012
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