Italianate West Village

The desire to preserve historic buildings in their original state—a commendable impulse—sometimes runs into challenges that simply cannot be resolved satisfactorily. In the case of an 1857 New York City townhouse, the interiors had been so altered and had fallen into such a woeful condition that there was little left worth saving. The four-floor Italianate redbrick building, in Greenwich Village, had long before been sliced up into separate apartments, and most of the original architectural elements had been removed or damaged.

It was a project that called for poetic ingenuity, enter Peter Pennoyer. Known for his elegant classical work and love of period details, an interesting choice perhaps – considering the owners contemporary skew in art and furnishings – it does however created a dynamic creative tension between these elements.  The decorative was left to Shawn Henderson to create forward-looking rooms within Pennoyer’s classical framework, incorporating their impressive collection of artworks. The result is a supremely chic contemporary take on a 19th-century townhouse.

Perhaps the home’s most dramatic change is its serpentine interior staircase. The rounded staircase is more compact, more generous and it’s more graceful, too.

Story by Nic-Kaiko Follow him on Instagram kaiko_design