Call it designer’s intuition: “Even before I saw it in person, I knew this was it,” says Elizabeth Lawrence of the Upper East Side home she and her husband purchased in 2018. “I walked in and immediately saw the floor plan in my head. It was perfect.” Of course, that kind of magical thinking comes easy when you’ve spent more than two decades as the right hand of one of America’s preeminent decorators: Lawrence is the business partner of Bunny Williams, whose firm was officially renamed Williams Lawrence last year.
After buying a two-bedroom on the Upper East Side with her husband in 2018, Elizabeth Lawrence of design firm Williams Lawrence set about stripping the space of its outdated features and filling it with a collected mix of new and old. A wall of antique mirror—given to Lawrence by her design partner Bunny Williams—helped visually expand the dining space. Lawrence had fallen in love with the vintage columns, from Williams’s erstwhile shop Treillage, after using them for her Design On a Dime booth in 2017, and ended up buying them for her own home. The custom Dennis Miller table expands to seat 12. Light fixture, Rosie Li. Table lamps and antique chairs, Objets Plus.
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Lawrence is a self-professed dinner party pro. “For me it’s like a small design project to set a table,” says Lawrence, who layered a Moda Operandi tablecloth with Elizabeth Lake napkins, vintage Baccarat glasses, and Anthropologie taper holders for this ebullient tablescape.
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“Something I learned from Bunny very early on was not to be intimidated by entertaining. You don’t even have to cook—just order takeout and have people over!” says Lawrence. Here, she paired a dark floral Patch NYC tablecloth with a mix of her grandmother’s china and pieces by Bunny Williams for Ballard Designs.
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For the layperson, however, the two-bedroom apartment might have seemed a bit more daunting. “It was very outdated—there were a lot of ‘70s and ‘80s touches, smelly wall-to-wall carpet, bad light fixtures,” says Lawrence. “As soon as we closed, I was over there with my screwdriver prying the built-in Formica desk from the guest room wall. I was just like, ‘We need to purge.’” So out went the old carpet and built-ins, and in went new floors and a coat of creamy Venetian plaster on the living room walls. “We spent our first few months living in the guest room and everything was covered in dust, but it was worth it,” says Lawrence.
A creamy shade of Venetian plaster, applied by decorative paint studio Art Groove, lends softness and dimension to the main living space. “When the light comes in and hits that plaster, it just shines,” says Lawrence. The antique Swedish mahogany chairs, recovered in a Le Manach fabric, were the result of a long search: “I knew that I wanted a rounded back, so that when you walk into the room, you see that pretty shape,” says Lawrence, who finally found the perfect pair via 1stDibs. The sectional and chair (in a Cowtan & Tout floral) are both custom, from Schneller. The painting, by Jill Nathanson, came from Berry Campbell Gallery, one of Lawrence’s favorite sources for art.
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A 19th-century French Empire mahogany buffet in the living room doubles as a bar. The vase is from Deborah Sears Design Studio—who also happens to be Lawrence’s aunt. Mirror, David Duncan.
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A print of Queen Elizabeth and an abstract drawing from BK Antiques hang above an additional Klismos chair, which Lawrence had recovered in turquoise leather. Lamp, Visual Comfort.
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The process of decorating continued at a leisurely pace over the next few years. A monthslong search for the perfect rounded-back living room chairs eventually led to the discovery of a pair in Sweden; trips to the Williams Lawrence warehouse yielded the dining area’s antique mirrored wall (which Williams had saved from her previous apartment when she moved out) and Rosie Li light fixture (originally commissioned by the firm for a Kips Bay Show House room). “I remember Bunny kept asking me, ‘Is it finally done?’” Lawrence laughs. “It’s so hard to make decisions when it comes to your own home!”
“Ever since I was a child, I’ve always loved the idea of my bedroom being like a garden—this is a modern take on that,” says Lawrence, who had Art Groove cover the walls with a yellow Venetian plaster base before embellishing it with a motif of trailing vines and leaves. After tearing out the original carpet, she replaced it with a subtle animal print from Stark. “It’s funny—some people really dislike wall-to-wall carpet, but I love it in a New York City bedroom,” adds Lawrence. “It makes everything softer and quieter.” The Oly bed is outfitted in custom linens from Casa Del Bianco and a suzani from B. Viz Design. A Drusus Tabor textile covers the antique Gustavian settee. Bedside tables, Noir.
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A mirror from A. Tyner Antiques and 1970s Italian lamps from John Salibello add a dose of glamour. The jewelry box originally belonged to Lawrence’s great-grandmother. Dresser, Villa & House.
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Lawrence perches on a daybed in her daughter’s room. “I love how it feels so cozy and colorful and fun,” the designer says. The paintings are by Mary Maguire.
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Then, in late 2022, Lawrence got the push she needed: “I found out I was pregnant, and I realized it was my last chance to really finish the apartment.” Her top priority became turning the second bedroom—which, until that point, had been simply painted and furnished with a few existing pieces—into a proper nursery. “I wanted my daughter to have a room that she could grow into, and that felt feminine but also fun,” Lawrence says.
A custom-colored Jean Monro glazed chintz was the ideal partner for the soothing pale aqua of Farrow & Ball’s swirling Tourbillon wallpaper and Pierre Frey fabric window treatments. “I thought of playing up the lavender or pink as a contrast, but all of a sudden the red was just popping out at me, so I went with it!” says Lawrence, who had the Ballard Designs mirror painted to match. Rattan accents, like the Lucas Drinks Table from Bunny Williams Home, add earthy texture.
Francesco LagneseAs a backdrop, she chose a swirl-print wallpaper in a tranquil shade of sea glass—“the allover pattern helps hide all the weird soffits and jut-outs, which just drive me crazy”—and window treatments in a matching hue. Bright red accents in the glazed floral chintz upholstery, lampshades, and custom-painted mirror offer a jolt of energy that feels both playful and elevateed. “I remember when my mother first saw the room, she said, ‘This is a pretty sophisticated room for a baby!'” Lawrence laughs. “I think it’s my husband’s favorite room too—he loves the wallpaper.”
The best part? The nursery’s decor proved just as captivating for their daughter when she arrived last spring. “She loves staring at the mirror and touching the wallpaper,” says the designer. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but those types of graphic patterns and contrasting pops of red are great for babies! Who knew?”
