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Interior designers find inspiration in myriad objects—a piece of art, handwoven textile, or antique heirloom, to name a few. But for Augusta Hoffman, inspiration isn’t always so tangible: It can also be a feeling, a memory, or in the case of one particular New York project, an action.
“Early in the planning phase, my client revealed to me that her guilty pleasure is eating ice cream in bed,” recalls the New York-based designer and FREDERIC It List honoree. “The idea of that little luxury had a big impact on the way we approached the redesign of her historic apartment.”
Glass partition doors keep the living and dining rooms feeling open yet defined. The visual weight of the custom sofa’s cognac velvet upholstery balances the wood tones in the adjacent room.
Tim Lenz
Chairs in Claremont’s Faille Carreaux surround a farmhouse table from Rooms & Gardens. The soft white finish and squared raffia shades on a Dana Creath chandelier breathe a lighter air into the more formal space.
Tim LenzOverlooking Madison Avenue, the 2,000-square-foot residence is one of just 14 apartments tucked inside a landmarked Beaux Arts building in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of Manhattan. Its limestone exterior, mansard roof, and lacy cast-iron balcony are drenched in prewar charm. Inside, it boasts highly coveted 19th-century architectural details including handsome oak floors, stone fireplaces, and soaring 12-foot ceilings.
While it’s easy to envision this setting as an elegant backdrop for salons and black-tie dinners in bygone eras, in Hoffman’s hands, it is now surprisingly well-suited for 21st-century living with a young child—including bingeing on ice cream in bed or binge-watching a new series on the couch.
“When designing a city apartment, you must accomplish a lot in a little space,” says Hoffman of the multifunctional living room used for relaxing, entertaining, and working. Coffee table/ottoman, custom design by Augusta Hoffman. Framed photograph by Ansel Adams.
Tim Lenz“After moving from an all-white industrial apartment downtown, my clients were excited to embrace the classical details, Central Park views, and uptown finery this location had to offer,” Hoffman says. “But they wanted to make sure that the space felt homey and didn’t come across as cold or formal. Creating a relaxed vibe was essential, especially for the wife, who grew up in a bucolic area outside of Los Angeles. She is drawn to nostalgic spaces that are personal and meant to be enjoyed.”
The island’s dark butcher-block top, brass hardware, and Waterworks fixtures elevate cottage details like the fluted farmhouse sink and the café curtain in a Jane Shelton Ticking Stripe that hangs below it.
Tim Lenz
A pendant lamp with a ruched linen shade Hoffman designed creates a focal point above the corner banquette. A row of custom Delft-style tiles by KV Tiles frames the banquette and countertops throughout the kitchen.
Tim LenzAchieving this level of livability was a careful balancing act for Hoffman, who strategically composed spaces that read sophisticated but not stuffy, and cozy but not overly casual. She also prioritized comfort, with custom seating designed with the growing family in mind. The generously scaled sofas, chairs, and ottomans feature slightly larger frames to accommodate the husband’s 6’7″ stature, while slipcovers and upholstery in forgiving fabrics stand up to the tiniest member of the clan, the couple’s one-year-old son. These pieces are combined with well-aged antiques and vintage finds like the dining room’s Welsh oak dresser, the living room’s hand-painted Chinoiserie end table, and the bedroom’s Oushak rug that pile on patina, just as jute rugs, linen shades, and rush and raffia accents swathe rooms in texture.
Soane Britain’s Floral Lattice fabric wraps the primary bedroom. A longtime favorite of both client and designer, the print is used throughout the room, creating a cocoon-like effect.
Tim Lenz
Although newly built, the wall-to-wall wardrobe could be mistaken for an original architectural feature. The door curtains feature the same charming print used on the windows and canopy bed. Rug, Patterson Flynn.
Tim LenzAlthough Hoffman is known for her pared-down style and restrained neutral palette, she appreciated that this project called for lots of layers. “My clients love mixing colors and patterns, so we aimed to deliver those while staying true to our studio’s aesthetic,” she says. “By curating a mix of earth tones and floral motifs, we created an atmosphere that felt vibrant but also serene.”
From the jute walls to the sumptuous linen bedding to the Wovn Home curtains in a Schuyler Samperton stripe, the guest room is sheathed in tactile splendor. The vintage rattan and brass chandelier is Swedish; Sisalesque rug by Patterson Flynn.
Tim LenzWarming shades of rust, camel, sage, and ochre invigorate soft white walls and cabinetry, and florals sprout in a garden variety of art forms, like the statement-making set of antique French pressed botanicals above the living room mantel. In the kitchen, a collection of custom Delft tiles borders the range hood and banquette. The client commissioned an illustrator to hand-paint the tiles with many of her favorite flowers, including her wedding-bouquet blossom, the camellia. The primary bedroom is enveloped in Soane Britain’s Floral Lattice, a modern interpretation of an early 18th-century embroidered Indian textile. “My client fell in love with this painterly floral print, so I convinced her to go for it and wrap the room in whimsy,” says Hoffman. “The consistency allows the pattern to remain calming even in large doses and transforms this big-city bedroom into a California countryside oasis.”
