In This Chic Manhattan Pad, Everyone Has a Place—Including the Family Dog
Designing a home for a couple can be difficult; designing an apartment for a couple with teenage twin daughters can be akin to an Olympic sport. Despite the inherent challenges, interior designer Tina Ramchandani seamlessly navigated these potentially tricky dynamics in a recent project for a young family. “[The twins] were about to go to high school, so the mother wanted them to have the rooms of their dreams,” she tells ELLE DECOR. “It was, ‘Oh, decorate the house because we need furniture—but the girls are priority.’”
What followed was not just a few extra chairs or tables in the living room, but a complete transformation of the cozy West Village residence into a family home—one that suited everyone’s needs—from the twins to the family dog, Sunny.
While everyone in the family was considered, the driving force behind the apartment’s makeover was the wife. After a career in the corporate world, she became deeply focused on her family, as well as charitable endeavors and self-advancement (she takes philosophy and language classes in her free time). Her collaboration with Ramchandani began with an inquiry on the designer’s website, and the two clicked almost immediately. “She wanted a friend, an ear, and a partner to help her make this a home,” the designer says. “We would present wild ideas that I didn’t think she was going to go for, and she loved it. It was really fun.”
The Foyer
The family had a large collection of artwork that Ramchandani pulled from throughout the project.
Kitchen
Ramchandani added pendants by Apparatus to the kitchen and dining area.
Dining Area
In the dining room, the lighting is from Apparatus, and the table was the client's own.
Dining Room
One of the biggest changes Ramchandani made to the living, dining, and kitchen area was to add custom shelves and storage that ran throughout the space.
Living Room
Sunny, the family dog, lounges in the living room. The sofa is custom, the rug is by Crosby Street Studios.
The Den
In addition to the living room, The couple wanted a quieter, cozier space for entertaining guests. The chairs are by Avenue Road, upholstered in a Dedar fabric; the wallpaper is from Omexco.
The Primary Bedroom
The couple's bedroom focuses more on blue tones. The rug is by Stark, and the chandelier is by Apparatus.
Daughter’s Room
The twin daughters had very different personal styles, and thus different bedrooms. This one is swathed in wallpaper by Schumacher.
Daughter’s Room
The other daughter opted for a more neutral approach to her decor. The chandelier is by George Kovacs from Lumens, the desk is custom, and the wallcovering is by Phillip Jeffries.
One of these bigger ideas was to add custom wood cabinetry and shelves that stretched across the open-concept kitchen, dining, and living areas, uniting the three spaces in a layout that Ramchandani felt was previously disjointed. Since the apartment wasn’t flush with square footage, the extra storage was also all-important for day-to-day life.
In addition, the couple like to entertain—particularly for Christmas parties—so having a living room that can be both a family gathering space and a party pad was paramount. Ramchandani also designed a den area for the family just off of this main room. This quiet, cozier space functions both as a library and as a more intimate setting for cocktails and conversation.
Of course, the twin’s rooms remained a primary focus. “These young women were fabulous. They definitely had input,” says Ramchandani. “One is very much like her mother and the other is very much like her father in terms of design taste, style, and the way in which they approach things.” The result? Two very disparate rooms, one swathed in a green floral wallcovering by Schumacher, and another where neutral tones reign supreme. “Her mother forced her to have a wallpaper, because her sister had one,” she says of the latter space. “So, it was a bit of a challenge. I’m a sister, so I know you kind of later say, ‘Well, she picked that.’” The approach, ultimately, was to create rooms that felt, in Ramchandani’s words, “equal but different.”
The other priority, of course, was Sunny, the family’s bull terrier. Sunny presented a design challenge of her own, because she needed a crate—and there wasn't much space for one in the home. Thankfully, designing for the family pet was an opportunity that Ramchandani, also a dog owner, jumped at. “Sunny is the cutest little girl in the world,” she says.
The solution, initially, was to create a small room for Sunny in the den. Eventually, though, Sunny found her home elsewhere, according to the designer: “She was sleeping in [one of] the girl's rooms.”
A ringing endorsement, if there ever was one.
You Might Also Like
