The living room is equally prepared for two or 20.
It's Cole Porter chic with casual charm when Markham Roberts creates a Manhattan pied-à-terre for a West Coast couple who jet in for paint-the-town-red weekends — with or without the kids.
Interview by Julia Lewis | Produced by Senga Mortimer
In the entry, a carved Irish Georgian console from KRB displays plants and decorative objects. A striped wallcovering by Victoria Hagan breaks up the long wall. "Without some pattern and surface interest, I would have had to hang a lot of art," Roberts says.
In the dining room, walls sheathed in Schumacher's Prestwick wool satin in Paprika are hung with antique watercolors depicting minerals from Cove Landing gallery. A parchment-covered dining table works for two but leafs out for larger groups.
The wall fabric is repeated on the custom chairs, paired with Brunschwig & Fils's Oatlands Tapestry. The chandelier holds real candles — which Roberts encourages his clients to use— but is also wired with tiny electric bulbs for additional light.
A custom sofa upholstered in a Brunschwig & Fils wool anchors an elegant seating arrangement in the living room. Simple matchstick shades make the room feel lighter and younger. "It's an airy, uncomplicated look," Roberts says.
A custom armchair is covered in a vintage chintz; the antique French table with an inlaid marble top is from James Sansum Fine and Decorative Art. The abstract landscape is by Alex Schuchard.
At the opposite end of the living room, a custom L-shaped sectional upholstered in Schumacher's Gainsborough velvet provides ample seating for entertaining. The oak-and-leather coffee table was designed by Roberts and each of the mandala prints by Julia Condon represents a different spiritual state of mind.
Roberts created intriguing vignettes throughout the apartment. One of his own photographs, a gift to the clients, hangs above a Sheraton table and a Karl Springer–inspired bench. A 19th-century owl oil lamp, now wired for electricity, provides a charming note of levity.
A marble Belvedere mantel by Alexa Hampton for Chesney's provides a visual anchor between the two seating areas. Above it, Italian glass sconces from the '60s flank a 19th-century Dutch mirror. "While the marble mantel provides a focal point, I didn't organize the furniture around it," Markham says. "This isn't a drafty manor where you need to huddle around the hearth!"
The study's walls are upholstered in Divine Wool from S. Harris; Roberts designed the low mahogany bookcase to allow space for a quartet of Neapolitan gouaches and a surface for accessories, including a pair of wooden Indian lamps. Cork wallpaper on the ceiling creates a quieting effect.
The custom breakfast table is painted in Fort Pierce Green by Benjamin Moore. Roberts's schnoodle, Harriet, sits on a Saarinen Tulip chair, in a Duralee fabric, from Design Within Reach.
In the master bedroom, a tufted sleigh bed is a nod to the iconic designer Syrie Maugham. The bed and curtains are in prints by Lake August, and the walls are covered in an Alamwar pattern, all from Studio Four NYC. "It sounds over-the-top, but layers of blue-and-white patterns can actually be coherent and calming," Roberts says.
Roberts designed an Art Deco–inspired shagreen-covered dressing table, pairing it with a Venetian mirror.
Roberts alongside Senga Mortimer, House Beautiful's celebrated contributing editor.
See something here you like? Check out our shopping guide for where to find it.
This story originally appeared in the April 2017 issue of House Beautiful.
14 Countries That Give Citizenship to Homeowners
5 Timeless Paint Colors That Are Always in Style
6 Stylish Ways to Display Your Family Photos
“Burrowcore" Is the Latest Cozy Design Trend
