How do you create a kick-ass party pad-cum-family home? No problem, say this couple. Just mix a dash of fashionista chic with a playful, club-like vibe. Good times guaranteed...
The ProPerTy
A five-storey New York brownstone. In the basement there’s a playroom. The kitchen, family room and office are on the ground floor. A dining room, library, living room and WC are on the first floor. The second floor houses the master bedroom, Violet’s bedroom, a bathroom and a WC. A dressing room, guest bedroom, bathroom and laundry room are on the top floor.
kitchen
Richness, romance and space to roll back the rugs and dance – that’s the maverick spirit that prevails through Nanette Lepore’s New York home.
The fashion designer, whose clothes are worn by celebrities including Blake Lively, Taylor Swift and Lauren Conrad, is the first to admit her downtown Manhattan brownstone, stunning as it is, regularly ‘gets a workout’. Her last bash? An all-night Oscars party held in the library, with the bar and buffet set up in the adjacent dining room and the living room designated the official chill-out zone.
Nanette and her husband Robert Savage, who is a painter as well as her business partner, spotted the house while walking daughter Violet to school. The previous owners were a couple with six children and the house, unsurprisingly, showed signs of wear and tear.
The renovation took a year, starting with the kitchen, which Nanette switched from country style to an urban scheme.
Library
Next on the couple’s list was laying beautiful dark-wood floors as a foil for their furnishings and artwork. This room, with its fabulous crystal ship chandelier and dark-wood panelling, sums up the ‘richness and romance’ Nanette wanted for her home.
Get the look The antique chandelier was found at Jonathan Burden LLC. Try Rainbow for similar. This is the Bear Chair by Hans J Wegner for Johannes Hansen. Try 1stdibs.com for Wegner classics. The leather pouf is from Mecox Gardens. John Lewis sells similar. The cushions and colourful rug, opposite, are by Nanette Lepore Villa.
The way the colours of the furniture pop against the dark wood is a clash of the conventional with the unexpected that makes this scheme work – like the Chesterfield next to a portrait of Eva Perón.
Dining room
Nanette prefers ‘white walls loaded with pictures’, but admits that her gallery of junk-shop portraits might work better against a darker background.
Get the look For similar kitsch artwork, try Rockett St George. This is a vintage Milo Baughman dining table. Talisman stocks his designs. The upholstered chairs are from Artistic Frame. Nordic Style sells Gustavian chairs like these. The Vistosi pendant is vintage Seventies.
Living room
An antique sideboard displays many of the couple’s treasures.
Get the look For vintage furniture like this, try Hayloft Mid Century. The artwork is by Robert. Christie’s holds regular auctions for both fine art prints and first-edition novels. For gold-glazed ceramics like Nanette’s, check out Jonathan Adler.
master bedroom
Nanette and Robert’s bedroom includes an intimate group of seats at one end of the room.
Get the look The love seat is upholstered in Pisanello velvet by Scalamandré, available at Colony. This is a paisley cushion by Nanette Lepore Villa. The silver chair and pouf are from Youngblood at 1stdibs.com, as is the mirrored coffee table. The Art Deco sconce is original. Try Talisman for similar. Find Fornasetti plates at Liberty. The photograph is of Bianca Jagger riding into Studio 54 on her birthday in 1977. Taken by Rose Hartman, prints are available from her website.
Guest bedroom
This space is full of intricate surfaces that bring a subtle opulence to the cool blue and white décor – inlaid tables, a stonking metal pendant light, rich velvet and a shaggy rug. If guests look closely at the artwork, they’ll see a few more surprises, in the form of risqué etchings.
Get the look This is the Floating Curve sofa by Vladimir Kagan. Find similar Kagan seating at Chaplins. The octagonal mirror is by Jonathan Adler. The pendant light is vintage. For similar, try Porta Romana. This is a Berber rug brought back from Morocco. François Gilles specialises in vintage Berber designs. For similar side tables, visit Moroccan Bazaar. The curtains are trimmed with Manuel Canovas’s Kesa linen-mix.
Photography / Matthew Williams
Styling / Hilary Robertson/Sarah Cave
