Houzz Tour: Mod Remakes for a Silver-Screen Couple
As a set decorator, Ondine Karady used to have clients like Carrie Bradshaw and Charlotte York Goldenblatt, but since she made the transition to interior design and opened Ondine Karady Design, her clients are more flesh and blood than fiction. “I worked on shows like Sex and the City and movies such as 25th Hour and Requiem for a Dream,” she says. “As a set decorator, the character is your client. You learn how to channel their taste and figure out how they would live.” When her husband’s job took them on a brief detour from Brooklyn, she started working with clients whose lives continue after the cameras go off. “Real people have real and practical needs and families,” she says. “Fictional clients are easier.”
But real life and set life collided when she was hired to remake this prewar Manhattan apartment for a director she had worked with back in the day. “He’s one of the foremost comedy writers and directors in America, and he’s married to a well-known actress,” she says. “I’d worked with him on set before, which is why I got the job.”
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A bicoastal writer-director, his wife and their child
Location: New York City
Size: 2,500 square feet; 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Photography by Bjorg Magnea
The couple wanted to make the apartment less fussy and more mod. The first order of business was for the architects at B Space Architecture + Design and Karady to create a new layout.
“Before the remodel the apartment had a large dining room, which this family didn’t need,” says Karady. “What they did need was a larger living space and a screening room. We gutted the home and created an entirely different layout.”
The new dining room is at the end of the entrance hall in a space between the living room and the family room–screening room. A round table can expand to an oval that seats 12 guests.
Table: Modern Living Supplies; chairs: Cherner; mirror: Captain’s Mirror, BDDW
Part of the couple’s midcentury modern–style furniture collection is in the living room, including a Ralph Pucci lounge and an Eames chair. The table was created with ceramic tiles by French ceramicist Roger Capron. “I loved the color and contrast it added to the room,” says Karady.
Before the remodel the fireplace was a traditional and formal affair, with ornate molding and elaborate sconces. Now it’s surrounded by a far simpler tile surround. “It elongates the room,” says Karady.
A wooden Komodo dragon, a large Indonesian lizard, peeks out from behind the atomic-era sofa. “We were shopping, and we found this piece,” she says. “My clients thought it was hilarious and thought it would add a funny touch to the room.”
Sofa, chair: Ralph Pucci; rug: The Rug Company
The screening room doubles as the family room. Felt backs the walnut-paneled sliding doors to provide sound protection when closed. At the push of a button, blackout shades cover the windows, and a large screen drops from the ceiling to hide the regular television. The armchairs are upholstered in a cranberry-colored mohair fabric and are lightweight enough to be picked up and turned to face the screen.
Felt wall: Felt Studio; rug: AM Collections
In the kitchen a banquette runs into a set of shelves that connect to the hall. “We wanted it to be open to the hallway but not completely open,” Karady says. “The grooves make the resin shelves adjustable and flexible.”
Banquette fabric: Lulu DK
“The clients love an apple-green color, so we gave them some with the kitchen tile,” says Karady. A stainless steel countertop makes for a tough work surface in a small kitchen were every inch matters.
Tile: Ann Sacks
“I like to custom design one element in every project,” says Karady. “I think every project should have at least one item that you won’t see anywhere else.” In this case she designed the bed with a felted fabric headboard, and the curtains are custom embroidered with colors from the Mad Men age.
Table, lamp: Modern Living Supplies
In the bedroom, where square footage is tight, a pair of pocket doors is a great space saver.
“Like most New York City apartments, the guest room in this house is asked to do several things,” Karady says. “The sofa folds out and becomes a bed, and shelves and a desk let it be used as an office.”
When asked if working with movie industry folks is challenging, Karady said it’s actually often easier. “As creative people, we all had a visual vocabulary, which helps,” she says. “It’s also helpful that they have a sense of humor.”
Wallpaper: Osborne & Little; coffee table: Room; rug: Paola Lenti
