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Above: The parlor room features the modular Mah Jong sofa by Roche Bobois with custom pillows in Pierre Frey’s Pachira Blanc fabric. The area rug is custom, and the coffee tables are the Blackbird Glossy Tables by Gio Pagani. The wallpaper is the Terrace Porcelain Woven Sisal Wallcovering by Carlisle & Co., and the pendant is an Akari Lantern by Noguchi.
From the sidewalk, a row of Upper West Side brownstones may appear deceptively uniform. Many do feature the classic hallmarks of this corner of Manhattan—deep wooden accents and sturdy fireplaces—but some can also defy expectations. In this particular Beaux-Arts home, the interior tells a far different story than the facade lets on.
The homeowners, a couple with three young children, wanted to turn the traditional building into a vibrant, indoor-outdoor multigenerational home for their nuclear family, plus the wife’s parents, who would live in a private onsite suite. Throughout the home, spaces are decorated to honor the family’s Japanese culture and heritage. For example, most of the bedrooms have tatami mats (i.e., traditional woven floor coverings traditionally made of grass or straw) instead of beds.
Jason Schmidt
The exterior of the Beaux-Arts Upper West Side townhouse.
To transform this townhouse while preserving its character, the couple turned to Fawn Galli, a New York– and Paris-based designer best known for her bold, eclectic style and vibrant color combinations. Galli’s work would complement a full gut renovation—led by the Brooklyn-based firm Sherman Architects—that focused on bringing light and natural elements into the space.
“They came to me for my use of color and nature, but they wanted it to also have a simplicity,” Galli tells ELLE Decor. “They wanted it strong and simple.”
They also trusted the designer to combine two seemingly disparate styles: “I basically had to apply Japanese logic and aesthetic to Gilded Age Beaux-Arts architecture,” says Galli. The home also needed to be both kid- and grandparent-friendly—the kind of place where a big family could actually live, relax, and enjoy.
Jason Schmidt
The formal foyer sets the tone for the rest of the house with the Rat Pack Sofa by Mod Shop, a copper Baby Rabbit Chair by Stefano Giovannoni, and the Noctambule Cylinder Floor Lamp by Konstantin Grcic for FLOS.
Galli wanted to set the tone right from the jump. The entryway features a rabbit-shaped stool tucked behind a curved green settee and is a playful hint at the themes embedded in the home’s design.
“It’s meant to be fun times right away with a bunny hiding behind a green moss sofa,” Galli says. “The colors purposefully reference nature.”
Despite the home’s urban location, the outdoors play a major role. The renovation included the addition of terraces and massive windows on each floor so the outside always feels accessible. This is especially true for the children, who are constantly looping inside and out. The backyard landscaping was overseen by Liz Pulver and features a pergola with a swing that is surrounded by greenery. The roof, meanwhile, is tricked out with a hot tub and vibrant chaises. “I really like the seamlessness between exterior and interior,” Galli says.
Jason Schmidt
The garden features a daybed swing by The Porch Swing Company with cushions in Holly Hunt fabric. The lounge chairs are from Room & Board and the coffee table is the Concrete Pedestal Outdoor Table by West Elm.
The entry wasn’t the only place where Galli drew in colors from outside. In the reading room, a light-filled area next to the dining space, Galli created a custom velvet chaise that matches the hue of the plants on the other side of the window. It sits among bookshelves filled with philosophy and technology tomes. Around the corner, latticework extends into a double-height atrium, bringing in even more light.
“They really read there and they really sit on that bench,” Galli notes. That chaise became one of her favorite items in the whole home. “It’s been a successful piece—very comfortable and relaxing, but joyful.”
Costas Picadas
The centerpiece of the reading room is the custom chaise by Fawn Galli Interiors in Varese Velvet by Designer’s Guild. The side tables are by Reda Amaloua and the window seat cushion is in faux black fur by Kravet. The area rug is also custom and the hanging pendant in the latticed double height space is the TR33 Pendant by Tom Rossau.
The living room has its own showstopper seating in Roche Bobois’s modular Mah Jong sofa, which Galli ordered in jewel tones of canary yellow and royal purple. The kids like to jump around on the oversized cushions so the family rearranges the layout easily and frequently. “Every time I arrive, they’ve put it in a different configuration,” Galli says.
But perhaps the most unique pieces of furniture—at least for Manhattan—are the aforementioned tatami mats that replace beds in the primary room, the grandparents’ suite, and the boy’s bedroom (the girls have two beds). It was Galli’s first time designing for tatami mats, but it was a challenge she enjoyed. She customized the nightstands, sourced from Industry West, because the mats were so low. In the primary room, the mat sits on a raised wooden platform with a custom velvet headboard.
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Open Gallery
Paired with wallpaper that features rollicking dunes from Brett Design, Galli likens the room to an oasis. “It’s all very saturated but simple,” she says.
These inherent contrasts—calm but vibrant, light pieces within heavy architecture, sunlight within dark rooms, Beaux-Arts and traditional Japanese—are what make the home so unique. “It’s just amazing how you can reimagine so many spaces in New York,” says Galli. “These townhouses are treasures.”
Sourcebook
La DoubleJ Birchwood TrayCredit: Net a Porter
West Elm Orelle Side TableCredit: West Elm
Zimmermann Women’s Cloud 91 Clutch
Z Gallerie Freja Fringe PillowCredit: Z Gallerie
Uniquity Farley Throw Blanket
Annie Goldsmith is the senior editor and digital lead at ELLE Decor, where she covers design, culture, style, and trends. She previously held positions at The Information, covering technology and culture, and Town & Country, writing about news, entertainment, and fashion. Her work has also appeared in Vogue, Rolling Stone, and the SF Standard.