The Luxury Space
A few words from Tony Cutugno
“Live only with what you love.”
— Susanna Salk“To know what you’re going to draw, you have to begin drawing,” quipped Picasso when asked how and where inspiration comes. The same for writers who freeze when faced with a blank page (many look for help by reading something). We homeowners also need inspiration before we springboard into decorating an empty space. Whether re-imagining an antique, starting from scratch with a just-built or refreshing a specific area to make it yours. Enter the irresistible new book Making a House A Home, by design guru and YouTube sensation, Susanna Salk. She subtitles it “Designing Your Interiors from the Floor Up”—and she’s not kidding. There’s an entire chapter devoted just to floors, another laserfocuses on doors; still other highlight walls and ceilings. My own approach has always aligned with Salk’s: when every aspect of a great home is considered worthy of thoughtful design, the result is an interior that excites the senses. When my marigold yellow Lacanche oven—handcrafted in France with enchanting polished brass knobs—was at last installed in the kitchen of my newly renovated guest cottage, I toasted the occasion with a bottle of champagne!
Each of the very special Private Brokerage properties in this issue embraces the idea of enlivening spaces of the home with imaginative, often personal details. Because it’s adorned with lush ivy, the turret of an iconic Bronxville Tudor—and indeed the whole façade-- assumes a fairytale charm. The decorative colonnade of a stately white Georgian home in Lawrence Park West long provided an elegant front door welcome for a family of Danish diplomats. The sprawling 4-exposure, open plan kitchen of a Nantucketstyle Colonial boasts no fewer than 12 sets of windows, not to mention a pair of French doors to a colonnaded blue-stone wrap-around porch. Sunlight itself becomes a decorating element! “My goal is always to give design a voice,” Salk declares. A concept we think you’ll hear echoed in the outstanding homes on the following pages.
On the cover: 42 Masterton Road, Bronxville, NY listed by Mariellen Carpenter and Susan French
Cellings
In the Renaissance, architects considered the ceiling was a symbol of heaven---so embellished accordingly, always drawing the eye heavenward. In a divinely chic home in Armonk, a dining room ceiling is papered in a faux wood design, a refined take on rustic exposed beams.
Windows
Too many of us hear “windows” and think Microsoft and the multiple platforms we can “view”. Give love instead to real windows, the true “eyes” of your house. Witness how the wrap-around windows of a hexagon-shaped turret lets in light while transporting you to your garden.
Beautiful homes always “make an entrance”; The first impression of every house and room is, of course, the door. Consider one with a favorite color (maybe in lacquer!) or, as in this gorgeous Georgian, one with decorative leaded glass accents.
Butts Hollow Idyll
4 Butts Hollow Road | Millbrook, NY
Visual Landscapes
A compact interior space is where your imagination can run wild, creating little “landscapes” of harmonizing furniture, books, plants or objects. The fun part is imparting favorite spaces with delightful items that reflect you—whether they’re full of drama or serenity. OFFERED AT CONTACT
Walls
Architects of modern Tudor style architecture (so abundant in Bronxville) know how to fashion a wall! Whether stucco punctuated with dark wooden beams—offset by beamed ceilings and period pegged wood floors—or full-on fieldstone walls in a sunporch supported by slate floor.
Fifteen Damia
Floors
Whether you go bare (with a gleaming stone or warm white oak) or bold with a spectacular carpet, whatever floor you choose will “ground” the room, and serve as its visual foundation. Keep it clean & modern or paint a pattern, pick out an exotic tile & take a walk on the wild side!
PRIVATE BROKERAGE BOOKSHELF
"Making a House a Home: Designing Your Interiors from the Floor Up"
by Susanna Salk
In her newest book, beloved Rizzoli author Susanna Salk gives you all the tools you need to design every aspect of your home. Whether you’ve recently moved into a new place or want to revamp and refresh your current home, Salk outlines how to conceive and create a cohesive design for your space. Beginning with the basic elemental aspects of any interior—such as floors, doors, walls, and windows—and proceeding to fundamental decor decisions, like setting the design tone and making sure your rooms are livable and functional, this book walks you through the process, sharing approaches and techniques for designing every interior element. With beautiful photographs from top designers—such as Miles Redd, Bunny Williams, and Madeline Stuart, to name a few—showing a variety of stylish treatments and solutions, Making a House a Home is inspiring and educational, demonstrating how to implement both big and small design ideas into your space on your budget. Informative texts and practical instructions and tips from the designers create a how-to guide for bringing your rooms to life.
ANTHONY P. CUTUGNO
Senior Vice President
Director of Private Brokerage
O. 914 234 0308
M. 914.582.7789
ACutugno@HoulihanLawrence.com
@apcutugno359 | @hlprivatebrokerage