{"id":635706,"date":"2026-08-13T21:28:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T21:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/635706\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T21:28:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T21:28:23","slug":"step-inside-a-manhattan-apartment-designed-by-kate-reid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/635706\/","title":{"rendered":"Step Inside a Manhattan Apartment Designed by Kate Reid"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated3 min read<\/p>\n

In a brief moment of misunderstanding, Melissa Powell admits she doesn\u2019t mind the bugs: \u201cIf you have a garden like ours, you\u2019re going to wind up with an occasional worm in the bathtub,\u201d she says. Her wife, designer Kate Reid, laughs because the bugs she was referring to are decorative ones\u2014dazzling, hand-beaded scarabs parading along the edges of the couple\u2019s living room curtains.<\/p>\n

They explain that these were a must-have for Reid, but at first vetoed as costly and unnecessary by Powell. Ridiculous. Offensive, even!<\/p>\n

\u201cBut she loves them now,\u201d says Reid of the whimsical 18-yard beaded border in their teeming-with-life Manhattan apartment. The compromise is one of only a few they made in the process of decorating their home; they are fully attuned, aesthetically and otherwise.<\/p>\n

The women, who\u2019ve been together for 10 years, are uniquely ensconced in the design industry. Reid is a partner at the New York decorating firm Marshall Watson & Reid Deane Ganes<\/a>; Powell is managing editor at Sandow Books<\/a>, the book packager responsible for bringing design titles by Ellie Cullman, Suzanne Kasler, Bobby McAlpine, Gil Schafer, and others to life.<\/p>\n

But clients with extraordinary tastes and budgets to match didn\u2019t influence or hinder these creative professionals\u2014their personal style ethos is as clear as a bell, and big on roses.<\/p>\n

Potted roses on the rooftop, illustrated roses on the walls and ceilings. Their preferred wine: a bubbly California ros\u00e9. \u201cSome people want designer handbags; Kate wants David Austin roses,\u201d Powell says. The iconic British flowers, known for their dimensional scents, star in this Victorian-era apartment\u2019s most enviable feature: a rooftop garden, a miniature Surrey on the skyline. The outdoor room, with a wisteria-covered pergola and layers of dahlias and allium, is only out-bloomed by its nearest interior space, a primary suite fully drenched in cascading roses.<\/p>\n

\"ALisa RomereinThe rooftop comes alive with sweet peas, wisteria, roses, and more. Yellow chairs, AllModern<\/a>.\"theLisa Romerein<\/p>\n

Grapevine scrambling up the apartment\u2019s fa\u00e7ade lends to the rooftop\u2019s Secret Garden charm. Luna the cat admires the blossoming nasturtium, allium, cosmos, and more. The vintage lantern is Moroccan.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandmother was a major design influence on me, and she had a toile bedroom\u2014walls, curtains, everything,\u201d Reid recalls. \u201cIt was the first time I\u2019d ever seen that, and here, I thought, we\u2019re doing that! We\u2019re going to make a cozy enclave of serenity for ourselves.\u201d (Cue the birth of their first baby. And a few years later, another. Serenity be damned!)<\/p>\n

Flowers suffuse the main living spaces, too. In the living room, pale pink glassine walls stretch up to a moody Victorian floral-papered ceiling, and the kitchen has two-tone berry-colored cabinetry. The ceiling is wallpapered there as well, a subtle textural pattern with flecks of gold. Clearly, ceilings are not to be ignored in this house: There\u2019s even a charming creep of ivy in the skylight above the tub, as if art-directed. It\u2019s actually decoupage, one of the many projects that Reid got up to during maternity leave after their first child.<\/p>\n

\"BrightLisa Romerein<\/p>\n

Reid, inspired by her grandmother, enveloped the primary bedroom in a blush rose pattern.<\/p>\n

The buoyant spirit of the house, with sentimental objects and antiques throughout, could fool a guest into thinking it\u2019s all baby giggles and rooftop ros\u00e9 sessions, but Reid applied rigor, ingenuity, and grace to make this 1,800-square-foot apartment work. Twenty years in the office of Marshall Watson will do that\u2014elegance only appears easy. Mismatched door frames received clever paint solutions; toys were tucked away in ample storage; and an awkward transition between floors in the primary bedroom was solved with a clever curtain scheme.<\/p>\n

Like a garden, the growth doesn\u2019t stop. Recently Reid proposed a new ceiling wallpaper. \u201cI was totally against the idea,\u201d Powell recalls, \u201cbut then she sauntered in and held it up to the ceiling. I thought, \u2018Oh my gosh, Kate is a genius.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, wallpapering the ceiling makes people in the room feel held,\u201d Reid says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s a gift\u2014that\u2019s my gift, to envelop the people here, to make them feel hugged.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guest Room<\/strong>\"Bedroom<\/p>\n

Lisa Romerein<\/p>\n

\"Cozy<\/p>\n

Lisa Romerein<\/p>\n

Painterly peonies (wallpaper, House of Hackney<\/a>) blossom across the guest room. A vintage heart-shaped headboard lends bohemian spirit to the room.<\/p>\n

Kitchen<\/strong>\"Stylish<\/p>\n

Lisa Romerein<\/p>\n

Reid perked up the petite kitchen with two-tone cabinetry in berry hues (Barrett Brick <\/a>and Carter Plum by Benjamin Moore<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Dining Room<\/strong>\"Elegant<\/p>\n

Lisa Romerein<\/p>\n

In the dining room, rattan peacock chairs (Creel and Gow<\/a>) surround an antique Biedermeier table.<\/p>\n

Living Room<\/strong>\"Cozy<\/p>\n

Lisa Romerein<\/p>\n

Portraits of Reid\u2019s mother (bottom) and grandmother (top) watch over the living room. Beaded insect trim, Samuel & Sons<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nursery<\/strong>\"Colorful<\/p>\n

Lisa Romerein<\/p>\n

A playful dinosaur-patterned wallpaper (House of Hackney<\/a>) and quilt made by the designer\u2019s father animate the nursery.<\/p>\n

Bathroom<\/strong>\"bathroom<\/p>\n

Lisa Romerein<\/p>\n

Insects make another appearance in the bath, where beetles and moths flutter among the wallpaper\u2019s leafy branches (Timorous Beasties<\/a>). The embroidered stripe shower curtain fabric is by Fabricut<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Become a VERANDA Design Society Member\"Become<\/a>Become a VERANDA Design Society Member<\/p>\n

Featured in our September\/October 2026 issue. Interior design by Kate Reid; photography by Lisa Romerein; styling by Helen Crowther; written by Sophie Donelson.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"3 min read In a brief moment of misunderstanding, Melissa Powell admits she doesn\u2019t mind the bugs: \u201cIf…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":635707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,228816,228817,228939,1926,268649,366,13195,18,117,346,19,17,201411,590,160169,268648,240005,156422],"class_list":["post-635706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-collection-from-veranda-magazine","tag-collection-the-ultimate-house-tours-guide","tag-collection-vds-silver","tag-content-type-feature","tag-contentid-d3a06e19-448e-4c10-be55-36eb6b0cb6ae","tag-design","tag-displaytype-long-form-article","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-hasproduct-true","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-read_time-4","tag-shorttitle-step-inside-a-secret-garden-manhattan-apartment","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-house-tours"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}