Triumph in TriBeCa

Rave reviews are in for Joe Nahem's retro redesign of a family loft

Craig Kellogg -- Interior Design, 9/1/2006 12:00:00 AM

In the video for her smash hit "Be Without You," Mary J. Blige does her breaking up and making up against the backdrop of what appears to be a perfectly lit New York apartment with a skyline view, earthy ceramics, a roaring fire, and the buxom modernist sofa she shares with her on-again-off-again beau. But Joe Nahem might just be her man the next time she needs an interior designer in real life. The Nahem magic is all about flamboyance carefully balanced by pure star power.

Blige hasn't called yet, but an uptown gay couple with a young baby turned to Fox-Nahem Design after buying a loft in a brand-new TriBeCa building with interiors by Alan Wanzenberg Architect. Already in possession of perfectly proportioned door casings and a floor veneered in engineered oak, the owners were wary of any drastic change, but they nevertheless thought the 2,500-square-foot apartment could use a little drama. So Nahem found ways of rendering his trademark modern glamour with gentler gestures—bringing in violet upholstery and window sheers shot through with metallic thread to complement blue-chip vintage furnishings and minor upgrades. "We're in that high-end category but still not crazy or wasteful," he says.

As there was insufficient time for niggling fixes, Nahem's architectural interventions were strategic. In the foyer, he eliminated a door to a powder room in favor of additional wall space, then added a chocolate-brown creased fabric wall covering and a ceiling-mounted incandescent spot to highlight a punchy Keith Haring print. A 1970's Maison Jansen demilune console with a black mirrored top got paired with French 1950's sconces with pebbled-glass shades.

The mix is even more eclectic in the combination living and dining room. Next to a Josef Frank cabinet covered in applied botanical prints, Nahem placed a pair of French 1940's limed-oak stools with pony-skin seats. He re-engineered two mid-century club chairs, stripping them right down to the springs, in preparation for new cotton floral upholstery edged with waxy leather welting. Between the chairs stands an Indian-made carved white marble table by Paul Mathieu. ("Wish I had designed it myself," Nahem says.) Curving around a massive bronze cocktail table—and bridging the modern-traditional divide—is the designer's own asymmetrical tufted sofa. Beneath the dining area's spectacular glowing pendant globe, an American 1960's art-glass piece, sits Eero Saarinen's marble-topped pedestal table and his Tulip chairs.

In the kitchen, Nahem installed a 7-foot-high backsplash of the same highly figured granite that Alan Wanzenberg had used for the counters. The oversize tiles are laid in a running-bond pattern that flows around the existing wall-mounted range hood, which stayed in place during construction. Projecting from the grout joints, Nahem's signature cantilevered stainless-steel shelves break up the stone and add a little decorative storage.

In the study, he skipped bona fide wood paneling in favor of a showier parquetry-veneer wall covering. Vintage accents in this room include an Italian recliner dressed up in violet wool; angular white stools that might be Karl Springer; and a pair of Donald Deskey floor lamps. Nahem's own chubby sofa, upholstered in soft caramel leather, is a favorite of the owners' 10-year-old standard poodle, Zoe. Above hangs a Marilyn by Andy Warhol.

The parade of names continues in the master bedroom, where Nahem affixed Serge Mouille sconces to the slabs of black walnut that bracket the wool-upholstered headboard with integral nightstands. To ground the ensemble, Nahem chose a blue-gray corduroy silk rug, one of the very first orders that he placed upon accepting the job. "You can't rush a Tibetan rug," he notes.

The act of finishing and unveiling an apartment, Nahem says, is like "opening a Broadway play." In preparation for a showstopping installation blitz, his trucker had stockpiled all the furnishings, including a few pieces that were not on the plans. "I know the psychology. It's very emotional," Nahem says of these surprise elements, borrowed on approval. The dining room's 6-foot-high three-panel bronze folding screens, for instance, are surely something neither client ever imagined he needed. Luckily, they proved a hit. Bravo!

Previous spread: In an apartment by Fox-Nahem Design, ceramic sculptures by Reinaldo Sanguino and polyester sheers frame a view of TriBeCa.

Top: The foyer features a 1970's Maison Jansen console, 1950's Jean Perzel sconces, and a Keith Haring print. Center: Stainless-steel shelves punctuate the kitchen's granite backsplash. Bottom: In the living area, a custom silk rug anchors Paul Mathieu's carved marble table and vintage club chairs upholstered in cotton with leather welting.

Opposite: A 1960's pendant globe hangs above an Eero Saarinen table and chairs in the dining area. The bronze screen is vintage.

Left: The living area's custom sofa was designed to wrap around Philip and Kelvin LaVerne's bronze table from the 1970's. Right: French 1940's stools flank Josef Frank's botanical print chest, circa 1949. The watercolor is by George Bahgory.

Top: In the study, a chrome lamp by Franco Albini complements Alessandro Albrizzi's trestle table in plastic laminate and chrome. Center: The master bedroom's custom headboard, upholstered in wool, is bookended by black-walnut slabs that support Serge Mouille sconces. Bottom: The nursery showcases Jane Churchill's wallpaper and a cotton-upholstered rocker.

Opposite: The study's print by Andy Warhol serves as a focal point for a seating group comprising a custom leather-upholstered sofa, floor lamps by Donald Deskey, a recliner by Augusto Bozzi, and tables attributed to Karl Springer.

SHEER FABRIC (LIVING, DINING AREAS): LARSEN. CONSOLE (FOYER): THROUGH COCONUT COMPANY. SCONCES, PENDANT FIXTURE: THROUGH BERND GOECKLER ANTIQUES. CUSTOM RUG (FOYER): TUFENKIAN CARPETS. WALL COVERING (FOYER, STUDY): MAYA ROMANOFF CORPORATION THROUGH ANGELA BROWN. CABINETRY (KITCHEN): POGGENPOHL MÖBELWERKE. RANGE HOOD: GAGGENAU. COOKTOP: THERMADOR. BACKSPLASH MATERIAL: ART DECO. SIDE TABLE (LIVING AREA): ODEGARD. LAMP: THROUGH ROBERT ALTMAN. CUSTOM RUG: SACCO CARPET. CLUB CHAIR FABRIC (LIVING AREA), WINDOW SHADE FABRIC (NURSERY): LIBERTY THROUGH OSBORNE & LITTLE. TABLE, CHAIRS (DINING AREA): KNOLL. PENDANT FIXTURE: THROUGH R.E. STEELE ANTIQUES. CANDLESTICKS: THROUGH BARNEYS NEW YORK. SCREEN: THROUGH KIMCHEROVA. ARMCHAIR (LIVING AREA): THROUGH CENTURY DESIGN. SOFA FABRIC: HENRY CALVIN FABRICS THROUGH DONGHIA. CUSTOM SOFAS (LIVING AREA, STUDY), CUSTOM OTTOMAN (BEDROOM): DIVINE CUSTOM UPHOLSTERY. STOOLS (LIVING AREA): THROUGH 440 GALLERY. TASK CHAIR (STUDY): HERMAN MILLER THROUGH DESIGN WITHIN REACH. DESK: THROUGH LIZ O'BRIEN. DESK LAMP, LOUNGE CHAIR: THROUGH R 20TH CENTURY. SCONCES (BEDROOM): THROUGH GUÉRIDON. CUSTOM BED: HUDSON FURNITURE. HEADBOARD, CURTAIN FABRIC: ROGERS & GOFFIGON. SHEER FABRIC: BERGAMO FABRICS. THROW: ARMANI/CASA. CHAIRS: THROUGH DRAGONETTE. RUG: AM COLLECTIONS. OTTOMAN UPHOLSTERY (BEDROOM), SOFA UPHOLSTERY (STUDY): EDELMAN LEATHER. TABLE LAMP (BEDROOM), FLOOR LAMPS (STUDY): THROUGH RETRO MODERN. ROCKER (NURSERY): NURSERYWORKS. CRIB: NETTOCOLLECTION. WALLPAPER (NURSERY): THROUGH COWTAN & TOUT. CARPET: HARMIL CARPET. TABLES (STUDY): THROUGH MONDO CANE. CUSTOM CARPET: SCOTT GROUP. THROW PILLOW: MICHELE VARIAN. ARCHITECT OF RECORD: ALVEARY ARCHITECTURE. GENERAL CONTRACTOR: CONSTRUCTION BUILDING SERVICES.