Rejuvenation

An historic home gets a modern makeover

Written by Bridget Williams / Photography by Eric Williams

“I let the majestically proportioned rooms speak for themselves,” said interior designer Kip Rodrigue of the highly edited interior design he created for a condominium carved out of a gracious manse constructed in the 1840s. While the developer was careful to retain historic authenticity on the outside, inside, each condominium has a distinctly modern aesthetic.

Rodrigue became involved in the project from its inception as a design consultant and helped to design a new front portico, select historically accurate paint colors for the exterior and choose baseline interior finishes. When it came time to work on their own condominium, the developers/homeowners (who became husband and wife in the midst of the project) asked Rodrigue to spearhead the interior design, as his style closely matched their own.

A painting by Kathleen Lolly hangs above an original fireplace mantel. The custom cerused oak table matches the vanity in the guest bathroom.

The floor plan is very conducive to casual living and entertaining, as there are no walls that partition off the living, kitchen and sitting rooms from one another. The carefully selected furnishings and accessories in the living room seamlessly meld with the architecture, and the mix of exposed brick, supple leathers and shiny chrome provides a great deal of visual interest. “I am not a big fan of tsatskes,” joked Rodrigue. Indeed, after a quick glance around, you will notice that nothing was added unless essential to the core aesthetic. The windows are purposefully bare to highlight the casing. The room, while modern, is not without subtle touches of glamour, as evidenced in a pair of mirrored side tables and a gleaming vintage chrome and enamel cigarette machine opposite the fireplace.

Windows were purposefully left bareto highlight the architecture.

The kitchen is completely custom-made, from the cabinetry to the gleaming chimney-style range hood. The countertops are Absolute granite that has been honed, rather than polished, so as not to compete with the other lustrous elements in the room. Chrome pendant lights are suspended above the island and act as convex mirrors. Lucite is a common element among Rodrigue’s designs and is represented in this project via the counter stools.

The original fireplace mantel was left in the kitchen, its original aged patina left intact as a unique contrast to the room’s more modern elements. A cerused oak table, centered with the fireplace, is flanked by a pair of wellworn leather club chairs. The chairs are two of the few pieces the homeowners brought from their previous residence. Above the mantel is a painting by Kathleen Lolly, whose paintings have appeared in both Elle and Vogue Japan.

Because the homeowners prefer to dine casually around the kitchen island, what would otherwise be used as the dining room has been made into a comfortable sitting room. A television, tucked into one corner, is almost completely out of view unless you are seated on the persimmon-colored leather sectional. Above the sectional is a contemporary painting by Dave Metcalf. French doors lead to a large covered porch with decorative iron railings.

During the building renovation, a large addition was added to the rear of the home to create two bedrooms with en-suites in all four units. The design and construction were carried out in such a way that the addition remains true to the design of the original structure. Even though the addition is quite large, from the street the building still appears to be a single-family home, albeit a very grand one.

The guest bathroom looks as though it was transplanted from a chic hotel. The cerused oak vanities were designed by Rodrigue and custom-built. Small squares of honey onyx tiles stretch floor-to-ceiling in the Zen-like space.

The master suite is a study in serenity. Above the platform bed is a metal artwork by Tom Dixson. To the casual observer, it appears to be an abstract painting on canvas, but it is actually a piece of steel that was left outside to weather naturally and bent to mimic an artist’s canvas. Rodrigue remarked that it was no easy feat to safely secure the heavy piece to the wall. A floor-length mirror leans against the wall near the door to a second covered balcony. A pair of simple bedside tables and a Peter Protzman credenza, circa 1970, are the only other pieces of furniture in the room.

With nearly every surface covered in a sea of cirrus blue glass tile, it could easily be argued that the master bathroom is the most dramatic room in the home. The space delights all of the senses, with free-floating consoles, a bamboo vessel sink, flush-mounted shelving displaying a carefully selected collection of pottery and antique-style jars, and sleek chrome fixtures.

“This project was just a perfect fit for me,” said Rodrigue. The “quirky sensibility of the clients,” as he puts it, and the ability to juxtapose different materials such as chrome, brick, and steel with contemporary and antique furnishings made the project a particularly satisfying one for him.