it’s a big treat to get a look into the new york city apartment of interior designer ellen hanson. ellen is well-known for incorporating green design principles into her work – she writes about eco-conscious design in a column for 1st dibs called green scene. it’s always fun to see what the professionals do in their own homes; ellen has plenty of tricks up her sleeves such as painting the entire space in a high-gloss white to create a mirror-like effect and effortlessly mixing high and low items. {thanks ellen!} -amy
[Several years into our marriage my husband Richard and I found, and fell in love with, an apartment that was smaller than our existing home and required clever use of furniture to create extra storage. In keeping with our idea of making an elegant urban nest, I had the entire apartment painted a high-gloss white including the ceilings. The mirror-like finish makes the rooms feel larger and the ceilings seem higher than they actually are while the reflective black doors and ebony parquet all add to the urban blend.]
Ubiquitous and affordable subway tiles softened by vintage inspired cabinets give the galley kitchen a nostalgic feel. The grey and white tiles look like marble but are actually ceramic which contains recycled content. We eat most meals at the little table from Ikea.
CLICK HERE for the rest of Ellen’s sneak peek after the jump!
Despite appearances this desk is not conducive to hard work. I would just sit and ponder the twisted pine tree!
The large armoire in the living room stores all of the bed linens and towels for what has been dubbed the smallest guest room east of Central Park.
While normally a masculine little den, when guests come to stay the narrow room barely allows the sofa to pull out to a queen-sized bed (leaving only inches to spare). A big shout out to the guy who invented flat screen TVs!
Our good friend Steven Gambrel designed this sofa covered in powder blue linen velvet. Surprisingly the more our Norwich terrier napped in his favorite spot on this couch, the better it looked – who knew?
Most meals are eaten in the kitchen at the table from Ikea but when another couple comes over there is casual dining for four by the fireplace. Table and chairs from Historical Materialism, Hudson, NY.
At the same time we were downsizing our square footage, we were expanding our collection of art. We have kept the first piece we ever bought as a married couple, a work on paper by Fernand Leger for $150 from Swann Galleries, while adding paintings, photography, and tribal art to the mix. To keep things from getting too serious here there are flea market finds throughout such as the ‘atomic’ pendant in the entrance and table top accessories mixed with precious family hand me downs.
