Home Decor Envy: Restrained Glamour

Source: Elle Decor Magazine 

A couple that moved back to New York after their children left for college worked with William Sofield for two years on renovating a 1920s three-level maisonette with views on the East River. But it turned out that renovating this "palatial" space was quite a challenge that kept the well-known architect and designer awake at nights puzzling over the apartment's configuration: "Over the decades, it had been divided into smaller units, then reconsolidated. When the couple purchased it, the layout of the spaces offered a lot of drama, but not much delight. “It had been opened up almost in a loftlike manner, which actually made it enormously difficult to use,” says Sofield. “There were extreme changes of scale. The large rooms felt desolate, and the small rooms oppressive.” But for Sofield - who is known for his ability to reinterpret modernism - every problem has a solution. He found that the best decision was to erect back the walls which made the space feel much larger. As for the house's decor, antiques and items from famous designers were picked mainly from Paris, giving a sense of restricted glamour to every room. More photos here.