House Tour: A Relaxed, Colorful Manhattan Townhouse
A woman wary of anything but white is surprised to discover that the consummate colorist Katie Ridder is the ideal designer to reimagine her family's townhouse
A woman wary of anything but white is surprised to discover that the consummate colorist Katie Ridder is the ideal designer to reimagine her family's townhouse
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120th Century Studios
When Katie Ridder first met her clients at their townhouse on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the interior designer was greeted at the door by a bloodhound, a black Labrador retriever, and a Labra doodle. Beyond the foyer, two Maine coon cats and a tabby lazed about while a pet rabbit padded around the kitchen.
"We bonded over animals," says Ridder, who that morning had witnessed a robin abandoning the eggs in its nest. "The wife talked about how pets need to be able to roam freely in a house, that no sofa was too precious."
The library of a Manhattan home decorated by Katie Ridder. The sofa and club chair, both by Anthony Lawrence-Belfair, are covered in Holland & Sherry wools, the side table in the corner is one of a pair from Niall Smith Antiques, the camel side table is from John Rosselli Antiques, and the curtains are in a Quadrille fabric; the walls are painted in C2Paint Luxe in Bewilder.
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220th Century Studios
Hall
Given their brave policy on pets, it makes sense that the couple, parents of three teenage children, chose Ridder to turn the five-bedroom limestone building into a home. Ridder is a native Californian who, despite a long-standing New York address, understands a thing or two about a relaxed vibe. The affable designer is also possessed of a certain fearlessness. She is an intrepid colorist, as fond of peacock blue and emerald green as she is tangerine and lemon yellow.
In a hall, a photograph by Sohei Nishino hangs above a sofa from Lucca Antiques; the rug is an antique Agra.
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320th Century Studios
Kitchen
But to anyone who had visited the couple's prior homes near Geneva and in Los Angeles, the match was not an obvious one. "I never had a wall in my house that wasn't white," says the wife. She called on Ridder after visiting friends who are also clients. "I couldn't believe how much I loved their lavender walls," she recalls. "And their art looked fantastic on that color."
The kitchen table is a custom design, the banquette's cushions are upholstered in a Lulu DK fabric, the walls are sheathed in tiles by Mosaic House, and the rug is Moroccan.
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420th Century Studios
Living Room
Blame it on conventional decorating advice the couple took decades ago when they began collecting black-and-white photography. Today, Vik Muniz's series of athletes depicted in chocolate hangs on Ridder-designed patterned wallpaper over a saffron banquette in the dining room. Photographs by Tina Barney, Robert Frank, and Adam Fuss pop off aqua silk, tropical floral, and graphic wallcoverings. And a golden landscape photograph is set on an ethereal blue wall in the living room just above a kelly green settee.
A pool table by Lutyens Furniture in the living room; the sofa, in a Holland & Sherry wool, and the pendant lights are custom designs, the bench is covered in antique Moroccan fabric, and the walls are painted in Farrow& Ball Estate Emulsion in Pale Powder.
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520th Century Studios
Dining room
Such a dramatic decorating about-face usually results in push-back and even regrets, but Ridder describes her clients as dream collaborators and remarkably decisive. "She wanted very clear color," Ridder recalls. "When I showed her options for the living room carpet, she chose the brightest yellow. Even I got nervous." So much so that the designer took a photo of it next to a lemon to emphasize just how vivid the color was going to be. "She didn't waver for one second," Ridder adds.
The dining room banquette is upholstered in leather with trapunto embroidery by Penn & Fletcher, the table and chairs are antique, the photographs are by Vik Muniz, and the rug is by Stark Carpet.
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620th Century Studios
Powder Room
Indeed, there's no lack of confidence here. It takes self-assurance to paint a library aquamarine—appropriately enough, the color is called Bewilder—and pair goldenrod curtains with turquoise walls in the master bedroom. Situating a pool table (this one is topped in pale blue felt) in the middle of the living room requires a certain insouciance, as does putting a plush hot-pink-and-orange rug in front of the kitchen fireplace and preparing dinner on cobalt-blue countertops. And this is a family that cooks. "My daughter may be the only teenager in New York City who doesn't like takeout," says her mother.
Sconces from Liza Sher man Antiques flank a custom-made sink in a powder room; the antique wallpaper is from Second hand Rose.
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720th Century Studios
Master Bedroom
It's the couple's small menagerie of pets, though, that really brings out their relaxed approach to risk. No piece of furniture is off-limits: not the powder-blue boiled-wool sofa or the grass-green quilted-cotton settee in the living room; not the white sofa in the library; not even the teal mohair chaise longue in the master bedroom. The bloodhound's preferred lounging spot happens to be the custom banquette in the dining room. Ridder, who is known for her love and liberal use of craftsmen and artisans, commissioned trapunto embroidery on the orange leather that the beloved dog chewed a hole through only a week after it was installed. "The client just had us patch it up, because she is sure it will happen again," says Ridder.
In the master bedroom, the custom bed is upholstered in a Fortuny fabric and dressed with linens by Leontine Linens, and the chaise by Anthony Lawrence-Belfair is upholstered in a Rogers & Goffigon mohair; the walls are covered in a de Gournay silk, the curtains are in a Holland & Sherry wool, and the shades are in a fabric by Chelsea Editions.
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820th Century Studios
Daughter's Room
Most designers would insist on re-covering the piece entirely, but Ridder isn't interested in perfection. "It's just so charming when you walk into the house, because it's filled with life. It doesn't feel like a museum," she says. Not that she isn't nuts for impeccable details. Triple-weave stitching, decorative nailheads, embroidered curtain trims, silvered ceilings—all the hallmarks of the designer's work show up throughout the house. Her affinity for combining chinoiserie, Moghul-style flowers, and Provençal accents surfaces subtly, giving the rooms a whiff of exoticism without courting cliché.
Indeed, no two Katie Ridder homes are alike. "I've now been in three others that she's done, and I don't feel like mine is at all like any of them," the wife says. "What she completely got was that we have loads of guests, and of course, there are all the animals. I can't wait to do it again."
In the meantime, designer and client are tweaking a few things. "We're rethinking that white sofa in the library," Ridder says, laughing.
The bed, canopy, and curtains in the daughter's room are in a fabric by Muriel Brandolini, which also sheathes the walls; the lamp is by Christopher Spitzmiller.
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