When there's no more room inside, antiques go on the patio.
In his trio of rooms in Greenwich Village, Joshua Greene isn't afraid to go big with furniture and major art. The key to living large: rigorous editing and a richly urbane gray palette.
In the living room of designer Joshua Greene's apartment in New York's Greenwich Village, a pair of 1970s chairs are covered in Classic Cloth's Sierra Madre. Since the window and door on the wall facing the terrace are not aligned, Greene disguised the discrepancy by painting the wall black and hanging a row of sheer black curtains over the openings.
The floor lamp is from Ralph Lauren Home, and the pillows are in fabrics by Zak+Fox, left, and Ralph Lauren Home.
Greene unified the apartment by painting much of it in Benjamin Moore's Rockport Gray, including this wall in the living room. While he stuck to neutrals for most of the furnishings, like the gray velvet sofa he has had since his college days, the designer added vibrancy to his spaces with art. He found the oversize painting, by an unknown artist, in a Brooklyn antiques shop. Despite its humble provenance, "I treat it like a Picasso," Greene says.
The Danish midcentury credenza, which conceals a television, is one of the first antiques Greene bought. "It has truly made me appreciate Scandinavian design," he says, noting that the piece is loaded with compartments for extra storage. The Louis XV–style green velvet chair was his mother's; he bought the pillow at Crate & Barrel in his teens. Greene typically keeps the pocket door between the bedroom and living room open, "which makes the space feel like one big hotel suite."
In the dining room, a mirror by Michael S. Smith for Mirror Image Home reflects light from the facing windows. An abstract painting by Balinese artist Suliyat Buamar commands another wall. Because the room is a pass-through between the front door and the kitchen, Greene opted for a space-saving round table, which he found with the chairs in Hudson, New York, and had fitted with a marble top.
The eight-foot-long breakfront in the dining room came from a Mark Hampton project, "so I love it even more," says the designer, adding that "with all of my pretty things behind glass doors, it never feels messy."
The designer covered up an exposed brick wall in his bedroom with a geometric handpainted wallpaper by Porter Teleo. The pattern is a dynamic backdrop for a collection of art, which includes an early Ansel Adams photograph, an image by Richard Phibbs and a charcoal nude by Fedele Spadafora. The custom bed is upholstered in a Libeco linen, and the bolster is in an Etro silk ikat. A vintage flag from a Kyoto flea market is at the foot of the bed. The bedding is from Restoration Hardware.
By reconfiguring the entrance to the bedroom, Greene was able to carve out a small dressing area that he customized to the hilt. A shelf positioned at chest height serves as a dressing table; the painting is by his brother, Michael Greene. The bathroom is clad in travertine tile.
Greene bathed the terrace in grays and greens and decorated it like a proper room. A vintage metal sculpture hangs on a stockade-fence "wall" painted in Benjamin Moore's Stormy Sky. A Chinese altar table, once bright red, was repainted in the same color. The rug, from Tulum, Mexico, was a gift from Greene's design partner, Katrina Hernandez.
Read more about Joshua Greene's inspiration for this space here.
See something here you like? Check out our shopping guide for where to find it.
This story originally appeared in the June 2017 issue of House Beautiful.
62 Clever Small Living Room Decorating Ideas
We Love These 12 Sleeper Sofas for Small Spaces
59 Small Patio Ideas That Maximize Your Space
How to Buy The Best Murphy Bed for Your Home
