keeping it current
In the main seating area of a New York apartment, interior designer John Saladino sparks a conversation between the modern and the classic: His high-back Trunk and skirted Villa chairs join his Summer sofa and a pair of honed marble Three-Legged Tables of his own design. The well-worn rug inspired the palette.
artful layers
Beneath a Chinoiserie mirror, a concave-shaped Rococo English console stripped of its finish straddles a Chinese lacquer chest.
relaxed refinement
Draped chains and grommeted quilted fabric (this photo) curtain two walls.
artful layers
Neoclassical wallpaper panels back up a mahogany Empire table, where a collection of alabaster ware is displayed on an artfully draped paisley throw until it’s time to dine.
relaxed refinement
Gauzy silk softens a modern console in the foyer.
changing with the times
Repurposed as a den, a spare bedroom better suits the owners’ needs. Built-in bookshelves and Roman drawings, grouped as an ensemble, create vertical interest behind a custom daybed with Saladino’s signature “cowboy roll” topper. The Chilean leather chair is vintage.
cool, calm, classic
Affixed to the master bedroom wall, a platinum-blue upholstered screen provides a plush backdrop. Paired with an ottoman, the Trunk chair appears here in a nubby/smooth combination.
of

space in time

When John Saladino updates a mid-century Manhattan apartment, things take a classical turn
Type: 
Interior Design
Author name: 
John Saladino, Saladino Group, senior designer/project manager Ivan Chatman, Saladino Group
Type: 
Text
Author name: 
Elizabeth Gaynor
Type: 
Photography
Author name: 
Peter Margonelli

“It's a constant checkmating, as if I'm playing chess in three dimensions,” says interior designer John Saladino of the juxtapositions he employs (and enjoys) in executing his signature interiors. The apartment here, a typical two-bedroom in a luxury white-brick 1960s high-rise, was opened up so it could be reimagined as a contemporary living environment defined less by convention and more by wall treatments that act as foils for unexpected pairings of furnishings.

The clients requested a warm habitat for their Manhattan pied-à-terre. Saladino complied with warm color and classic architectural elements: He used their nicely worn carpet, faded to an appealing shade of tomato bisque, to develop a palette for the living, dining, and entry areas that open onto each other. Cocoa walls softened with a “veil” of draped chain create a bit of mystery in a diminutive foyer distinguished by an 18th-century Ionic column. In the latte-toned main living area, standard eightfoot ceilings and limited window surface begged deft sleights of hand: The designer pushes the envelope with lighting techniques and by exaggerating the room’s verticality. A series of floor-to-ceiling silk panels is hung on tracks along the window walls, behind the seating. The panels are backlit either by natural or soft incandescent light, depending on time of day, to create the illusion of continuing space. A “modern tapestry” of velvet and leather on another wall zones one end of the room for a long table with pull-up chairs. Suspended from a steel rod via lacing, the fabric hanging also serves to quiet the spot—both figuratively and literally. Two tables are, in fact, worked into the open plan—accessorized in ways so that neither shouts “dining”—to make it possible to take meals for two or in greater numbers, but not sequestered in dedicated rooms of limited size and service.

In the cool blue master bedroom, a high upholstered screen visually stretches one wall, suggesting comfort. It is an elegant solution that precludes the need for a separate headboard. The second bedroom, converted to a smart, tailored den, serves as sitting room suited to the occasional overnight guest. Like a fine couturier, Saladino takes pride in his role of dressing a home to take full advantage of its best features while playing down the less desirable or functional features. “My approach is to create a reality that is better than the one I’ve been given,” he says.

Resources:

John Saladino of Saladino Group & Saladino Furniture, 200 Lexington Ave., Suite 1600, NYC 10016; 212.684.6805; 212.684.3720; saladinostyle.com. All modern furniture is from Saladino Furniture Inc., and all the custom pieces are by Saladino Group.