Good luck keeping the rest of the family out.
After spending a year in their stately 1930s Manhattan duplex, a young family — by then keenly aware of the space's strengths and weaknesses — asked designer Frank de Biasi to renovate it into an elegant yet family-friendly home. De Biasi mixed pieces commissioned by artisans with sleek upholstery and contemporary art to create rooms that feel both of the moment and warmly personal.
The entryway staircase retains its original Rosario Candela-designed balustrade, while concealing newly installed storage for bikes and skateboards.
"A piano has a sculptural quality that always makes a room more interesting," says Frank de Biasi, who designed the apartment in a prewar co-op. The custom sofa in a Sabina Fay Braxton velvet is topped with pillows in antique textiles. Custom straw-marquetry screens accentuate the high ceilings.
In the living room, vintage klismos-style Lucite chairs that used to belong to Karl Lagerfeld sport cushions in a Cowtan & Tout wool shearling and goat-hair pillows. When de Biasi's partner, Gene Meyer, designed the custom silk-and-wool rug, he was inspired by a game of pick-up sticks.
The living room's shutters were inspired by Bill Blass's Sutton Place apartment; the custom furnishings include armchairs upholstered in a Prelle fabric and a glass-and-metal cocktail table filled with down and feathers.
"The library serves as the husband's man cave — hence the enormous TV," says de Biasi. A custom Gene Meyer rug with a bold tribal motif takes center stage. Both the sofa and its chenille fabric were made to order for the project. The curtains are in a custom silk that was handwoven by Soie de Lune.
"When I was looking for a trim to finish off the edges of the silk taffeta curtains in the dining room, I found some old saris in an import store on New York's Second Avenue," de Biasi says. "I love using antique fabrics whenever possible." The custom table has a cranberry crackled-resin top. Chairs are backed in a Chelsea Textiles silk plaid.
Gracie wallpaper hand-painted with branches and flowers creates the feel of a garden in the dining room. A Marcel Wanders mirror reflects the room's windows.
A cabinet built into the wall holds a collection of pink Herend china.
In a powder room, cutouts of vintage Gracie wallpaper were decoupaged over silver-leaf paper, also by Gracie.
Walls covered in a Le Manach fabric feel soothing in the master bedroom.
"Everybody has stuff they don't want to see," says de Biasi. "These cabinets over the closets store luggage, hats and seasonal items."
In the master bath, the vanity mirrors were hung directly in front of the windows, which were fitted with frosted glass for added privacy.
"You can't pigeonhole it to a particular style, and that's good," says Frank de Biasi of the apartment.
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This story originally appeared in the April 2017 issue of House Beautiful.
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