Inside designer Charlie Ferrer had simply three standards when looking for a brand new dwelling in New York Metropolis: a West Village handle, a pre-war constructing and a working hearth. Seems that this mixture will not be simple to search out inside an affordable price range. However, as luck would have it, a former consumer’s son moved out of a one-bedroom, double-exposure residence on Christopher Avenue, in a 1931 Bing & Bing condominium constructing that sits virtually on prime of the landmarked Stonewall Inn. It ticked all of the containers, and Ferrer wasted no time shifting in.
Charlie Ferrer sitting on a Nineteen Seventies ‘Elda’ chair by Joe Colombo. On the ground, {custom} sisal matting by Mitchell Denberg (all through the residence) and Classic Khotan from Katie Leede on prime of classic kilim from Double Knot. Customized hearth encompass in wenge and bronze. Vintage mirror flanked by a pair of LP7 Wall Lamps by Ignazio Gardella for Azucena, Nineteen Fifties. On the wall is {a photograph} by Eric Wink
(Picture credit score: Tim Lenz)
The situation is ‘a dynamic little intersection of energies’, he says, and much livelier than Chelsea, the place his two earlier NYC residences have been located. Every handle encapsulated a second in his gradual stylistic shift – the transition from the ‘spare masculine’ aesthetic of midcentury modernism to a much more eclectic, vibrant, ‘granny female vibe’ displays a private evolution as a lot as an expert one.
Charlie Ferrer: a design based mostly on discoveries
By the window in the lounge is a Nineteen Fifties desk by Jacques Quinet and Nineteen Seventies acrylic chairs by Michel Dumas in {custom} cloth by Mitchell Denberg, standing on a Nineteen Sixties French carpet. On the desk, XXL Porto Vase by Andrew Hughes for Ferrer. The curtains are by RoseHyll in {custom} cloth by Mitchell Denberg. Lighting features a Nineteen Seventies painted steel ground lamp from France (left) and a ‘Pileo’ lamp by Gae Aulenti (proper)
(Picture credit score: Tim Lenz)
Ferrer was born and raised amid the ‘heteronormative white preppy’ aesthetic of Greenwich, Connecticut, which he admits he aligned with for a time. However after shifting to LA, popping out, and getting into the furnishings enterprise, his tastes naturally shifted. A largely self-taught inside designer, Ferrer has grown his personal studio to embody mannequin residences for luxurious condominiums, in addition to a classic furnishings collaboration with CB2. ‘Over time, as completely different initiatives have demanded various things of me and my pursuits have advanced, I’ve taught myself the right way to combine sample and color,’ he says.
In Ferrer’s bed room is a Nineteen Sixties wall sconce by Max Ingrand, a {custom} rug by Mitchell Denburg and a mattress upholstered in a Le Manach print from Pierre Frey, above which hangs Self Portrait (as Ripley), 2023, by Andrew Brischler. Customized linen bedding by Vis-a-Vis Paris, and {custom} cashmere blanket by Paul Renwick
(Picture credit score: Tim Lenz)
The present character of the pre-war West Village constructing additionally helped information this transition from impartial and barely austere to a extra layered, collected look. ‘There’s one thing inherently stable and good and dependable concerning the proportions of the areas and the detailing,’ notes Ferrer. ‘These little railings from the entry vestibule down into the principle lounge space are simply so charming.’ Furnishing the interiors from scratch was made simpler by the truth that Ferrer additionally runs his personal classic design gallery, giving him a plethora of stock from which to cherry-pick. Over time, he put aside items he beloved and customised them in order that they might complement each other. ‘Each time I discovered a bit that I assumed I needed to reside with, I popped it into the design,’ he says. ‘It’s not a couple of full imaginative and prescient. It’s iterative or incremental, based mostly on discoveries.’
Entrance corridor that includes a {custom} lavender mirrored door panel by Stephen Cavallo Architectural Solid Glass, {custom} wallcovering from Mitchell Denberg, classic rug from Double Knot, {custom} stool upholstered in rabbit fur and Nineteen Sixties-70s ceiling pendant by Stilnovo, Italy. Artworks, from backside left to proper: Jack Pierson, Self Portrait, 2004; I Gollo, Portrait of a Gentleman, France, Nineteenth century; Isadore Levy, CHERAW, 1975
(Picture credit score: Tim Lenz)
In the lounge is a {custom} hearth encompass in wenge and bronze by Santiago Salgado, a Nineteen Sixties smoked acrylic French house age lounge chair by ‘ensembliers-décorateur’ Raphaël Raffel and a classic midcentury French oak facet desk with iron splayed legs. On the wall is a pair of LP7 wall lamps by Ignazio Gardella for Azucena, Nineteen Fifties, and a Nineteenth-century vintage mirror. Artworks on the wall, from backside left to proper: Work on paper, Matt Connors, Untitled, 2024; Textual content artwork, Maynard Monrow, By no means Underestimate the Energy of Babel, 2012; portray on board, bought at Artwork Basel; oil on canvas, Celia Hempton
(Picture credit score: Tim Lenz)
Take the couch, to which he added pleats on the rolled arms, cast-bronze-animal claw toes and magenta piping. Then there’s a swivelling ‘Elda’ chair by Joe Colombo, which has ‘the weirdness quotient that I search for in objects’, and was reupholstered in a darkish inexperienced alpaca-hair cloth. A pair of putting moulded acrylic eating chairs additionally obtained a makeover, with their cushions wrapped in chartreuse-hued textiles to distinction with the translucent rosy-amber bases. ‘What consumer would approve that cloth on these chairs? In all probability none. However that’s the purpose,’ Ferrer laughs. They accompany an vintage picket desk upon which a figurative bronze sculpture by French artist César takes satisfaction of place.
The kitchen options matting by Mitchell Denberg, wallcovering by FJ Hakimian, Roman shades by RoseHyll in materials by FJ Hakimian. On the ceiling, Italian gentle made circa Forties. Furnishings features a stool by Gianfranco Frattini for Cassina
(Picture credit score: Tim Lenz)
Within the bed room, Ferrer selected a Nineteen Thirties archival print from French textile home Le Manach to cowl the mattress. ‘I name it grandma, however I believe it’s tremendous attractive,’ he says. Above it hangs a group of small crosses he bought at a Parisian property sale. Raised Catholic, although not practising, he put in the trinkets as a method of ‘eradicating the that means away from the objects and making it extra about an aesthetic gesture’. Different surprises embrace the Hermès-orange interiors of the kitchen cupboards, which face a wall lined in textured grasscloth. ‘I don’t actually use the kitchen to prepare dinner, so I used to be okay with placing that basically heavy, very absorbent materials on the partitions,’ he says.
In the lounge, items embrace a Nineteen Fifties desk by Jacques Quinet, Nineteen Seventies acrylic chairs by Michel Dumas, a neoclassical espresso desk by Pierre Lottier, and a ground lamp by Gae Aulenti, alongside an art work by Davide Balliano
(Picture credit score: Tim Lenz)
The designer has by no means stopped tweaking and enhancing particulars within the residence, each giant and small. The all-important hearth, for instance, obtained a brand new mantel ‘solely two days earlier than this shoot’, admits Ferrer. Taking this true collector’s method to inside design has created a private refuge from the chaotic vitality of the neighbourhood beneath, and makes a powerful case for selecting smaller, extra characterful areas over bigger, blander items. Place, persona and playfulness win the day.
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In the lounge, a {custom} couch upholstered in {custom} Mitchell Denberg cloth, and a classic Italian desk with steel base and purple acrylic/plastic prime. Forties picket and cane armchair from Spain. On desk, classic candlestick by Dansk Design Denmark
(Picture credit score: Tim Lenz)
Within the toilet, {custom} vainness fabricated by Santiago Salgado with marble from Sotos Stone, custom-framed mirror by Bark Framework. Customized Roman shade materials by FJ Hakimian, fabricated by RoseHyll Studios, ceiling overlaying by Helene Blanche. Towels by Abyss
(Picture credit score: Tim Lenz)
Mattress upholstered in a Le Manach print from Pierre Frey, above which hangs Self Portrait (as Ripley), 2023, by Andrew Brischler. Customized linen bedding by Vis-a-Vis Paris, and {custom} cashmere blanket by Paul Renwick. ‘Raphael’ chair from a Paris flea market, upholstered in classic Japanese textile and {custom} cloth by Soraya Shah at Fiber Content material Studio. Nineteen Sixties ‘Nigritella’ pendant by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Flos, Italy, Nineteen Sixties
(Picture credit score: Tim Lenz)
In a nook of the lounge become a research is a Nineteen Thirties Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann desk with classic barber’s swivel chair reupholstered in C&C Milano linen, a classic stool by Rene Gabriel and, on the left, {custom} lavender mirrored door panel by Stephen Cavallo Architectural Solid Glass. On the desk is a Nineteen Seventies ‘Accademia’ desk lamp in enamelled metal and a cloth stretched shade, designed by Cini Boeri for Artemide. Artworks on the wall embrace, from backside left to proper, an vintage Venetian mirror; Deborah Remington’s Icar, 1983; two artworks by Jed Ochmanek; Sculpture by Patrick Dupré, 1977; and Silence by Thomas Beale, 2004
(Picture credit score: Tim Lenz)
Supply: Wallpaper
