A knife-edged January wind, with temperatures hovering near zero, turned the short hike from Grand Central Station to East 35th Street into a gauntlet.  A bright, sun-filled dome of blue hung over the city, making the towering buildings along the way appear like massive stalagmites rising with stony determination from an icy concrete floor.  Multitudes of huddled figures, dressed in black and gray, with an occasional shock of color in a scarf or knitted hat rushed by, head-bowed.  They sought more refuge than destination in the darkened doorways that bordered the streets, the winter-sun’s rays too weak to offer life-affirming warmth to those, like me, far below.

Right: Bronze sconces, classic wall covering and period art help to preserve the Art Deco feel in the lobby leading to the penthouse of this 1930s structure.

My destination was the penthouse of a classic, mid-30s Art Deco gem that stands just a few blocks from, and in the imposing shadow of, The Empire State Building.  Dwarfed by its neighbor, its 17-storied yellow-glazed brick and stone facade holds its own in the balanced geometric simplicity and attention to architectural detail of that period. The building’s footprint is broad and solid; its lobby with original architectural detailing intact, hallways and multi-level rooftop gardens evoking a time in our history when luxurious urban living could be surprisingly modest yet well-thought out and elegant.

Once in the lobby, I met interior designer and my personal guide for the afternoon, Patricia Herson, ASID.  A short, express elevator ride brought us to the rooftop and just a few more steps to the entrance of the building’s penthouse unit.  Measuring jut 1200 square feet in total, the concise floor plan is laid out on two levels. Trish explains that she began her planning with the new owners when the unit’s layout was still as it had been for several decades.   To meet the new owners’ objectives, it was clear that the space had to be totally reconfigured.  That meant removing walls, re-purposing existing spaces; opening long-sealed-over windows, creating new rooms and generally redesigning light and traffic flow within the space.

To meet the new owners’ objectives, it was clear that the space had to be totally reconfigured.
None is better suited to the task than Trish Herson.  With a broad background in media planning, executive placement, product sales and facilities’ management and planning, she fell in love with design when calling on a commercial fabric client.  With an undergraduate degree in business, she pursued her new-found passion with coursework at the New York School of Interior Design. With all of that business background and real-life experience, she seems to possess an ability to remember where all the loose pieces are stored and a kind of X-Ray vision that allows her to see through walls and around corners and ask herself (and her client),”What if?”

Trish Herson, InteriorDesigner, takes a moment in the redesigned foyer of the apartment. She dramatized the once-small entrance by creating a circular motif reflected in the stairrail, floor tile pattern and surrounding walls.

Before she was done, not a single nook or cranny of this space had not been reconfigured.  The completion of the penthouse took almost a year and ultimately required removing walls, relocating other walls and reshaping certain spaces to better accommodate their intended purpose.

Trish calls her interior design approach, ‘value engineering’.  “When I first entered the space, I was struck by how dark and plain it was.  I knew that light would be an important part of my design solution.  I fell in love with the working fireplaces and the outdoor patios that can be accessed from both levels, so I had my starting point”, she says.  Her eclectic design style and keen instincts for detail allowed her to furnish and appoint the space with an eye toward budget, elegance, functionality and the occasional visual surprise thrown in for drama. “In a small space like this, it is important to keep colors and shapes toned down to make the space look larger and to reduce visual chaos,” Herson points out, “but to play with texture and the occasional bold design highlight to add drama.”
before and after kitchen After photo by Patricia Herson

Herson removed walls (below left) and opened up space to create a funtcional kitchen and island that tied to the larger living area, optimizing storage and making it ideal for entertaining.

The structural element of a working fireplace (rare in the city in an older building) and the need to bring more light into the living room/dining area were inspirations for Herson in planning for this space.

Here again, the work of a good designer is one who can gather disparate elements together and create a unified statement once the interior space is put together.
“When I first entered the space, I was struck by how dark and plain it was, I knew that light would be an important part of my design.”

A good designer is equally astute when it comes to finding real value for her clients in the marketplace. “All those years in retail sales and I know how to seek out the best product within our budget”, she states with pride. “I can save money for the client when and where I can so that we can decide to splurge on that special object or finish detail that will make the difference. For example, the sparkling Ellen Blakely tile in the kitchen was an important part of the finished look of the space for my planning, so corners were cut in areas of the project that would be less apparent, in order to realize that goal,” Herson explains. She also wanted me to understand that, “It is important to recognize the vital role that the general contractor, engineers and architect played in bringing this project to fruition. They are key to the kinds of radical remodeling decisions were necessary to reach the owners’ goals for the space.”
shells

A fusion of natural and manmade: beach shells and glass tiles share a soft blue-gray message in a master bath that was created from that had formerly been a closet.

I got the feeling as I moved through this elegant penthouse, with all of its space saving and multi-purposing so beautifully accomplished, that I was visiting some version of SpaceLab, where NASA had relinquished its final design decisions to an interior designer, rather than a group of engineers. The views from the surrounding patios were certainly dramatic. I left feeling satisfied that I had seen an exquisite example of the design and lifestyle possibilities that can come from the hands of a skilled professional designer in an elegant and timeless location.

Go To:
http://www.patriciahersondesign.com
http://www.ellenblakely.com  for more tile ideas.