Inside the New Manhattan Apartment of Decorating Legend Bunny Williams
Mitchell Owens
New digs, same belongings, different take. “I brought so much stuff up here,” says interior decorator Bunny Williams—first named to the AD100 in 1995 and elevated to its Hall of Fame three years ago—of the Manhattan apartment that she shares with her husband, John Rosselli, the legendary antiques dealer and home-furnishings maestro. “It was just fun to rehang all the pictures, add some new things, and change it up,” she adds. “I can spend hours playing house.”
Tour More of the Home Williams Shares With Antiques Dealer John Rosselli
“I painted the front hall electric-blue because it doesn’t have a window and has no light. It’s so much fun to walk into this pop of very strong color.” Light fixture by McEwen Lighting Studio; antique console, mirror, vase, and dog bed from John Rosselli Antiques; 1930s bronze vulture atop 18th-century marble column.
Williams in the living room.
“I’ve always hated beamed ceilings, but with the picture molding, you don’t notice it as much. I put in the bookcases and raised all the doors; it makes such a huge difference to have eight-foot-tall doors. The ceilings seem higher.” Custom mercury glass panels by Stephen Cavallo line one living room wall. The sofa wears a fabric from Osborne & Little; custom cocktail table by Ironies; Régence armchairs in vintage tiger-print silk.
“In the other apartment, I had silver tea paper in my bedroom. But I wanted something different here—and I wasn’t going to change the bed. Why not pink? It’s actually the wallpaper that Gracie paints its Chinese wallpapers on, so it isn’t a solid color; it looks a bit worn.” 1940s Serge Roche bed with Julia B. linens. Hand-painted floor by Franklin Tartaglione.
“It’s easy to put the big stuff in a room, but getting all the objects, getting the containers for the flowers—things that make a space come alive—takes a while.” The chair and ottoman by Bunny Williams Home are clad in fabrics by Clarence House and Schumacher; 19th-century bookcase.
“We had people for dinner the other night, and I picked up a potpie, made a salad, and opened a bottle of wine. I didn’t have the time to cook anything, but there’s no excuse anymore for that. Every town has a takeout-food place.” The kitchen’s cabinetry is painted a custom color by Donald Kaufman Color; bespoke terrazzo floor by Durite.
“Completely minimalist rooms give me apoplexy. I mean, I intellectually like to look at them, but I can’t live like that. I’m not Zen enough.” A Penny Morrison linen wraps the library; 18th-century French armchair.
“Decorating a room is like making a great salad,” designer Bunny Williams says. “You want interesting ingredients. The little black theater chairs in my living room are not comfortable, but they make me smile. So I put them by the fireplace and stack books on them.” Over mantel, 19th-century gilded faux-bois mirror; antique English stools and theater chairs; custom armchair by Schneller in a Claremont fabric; rug from Doris Leslie Blau.
A hand-painted mural by Bob Christian Decorative Art covers an anteroom’s walls and ceiling. English regency side chairs; wood sculpture by Christopher Hewat; Indonesian soapstone rabbit sculpture; sconce by Hudson Valley Lighting; ceiling light by Alexa Hampton from Visual Comfort; sisal carpet by Stark.
“Our dining room is not architecturally great. It’s too long, so I arranged it for more than one purpose. The table’s my desk when I need to work, and I have a sitting area by the window, so I can have my morning coffee and read the newspaper.” custom sofa with ottoman is upholstered in an Ian Mankin fabric by Anthony Lawrence-Belfair. Vintage throw from John Robshaw Textiles; vintage sari pillows; 1940s hooked zebra rug.
Located on an upper floor of the palatial 1920s French Gothic Revival pile that Williams has called home for decades, the two-bedroom flat fell into her expert hands in 2018, right at the time she and Rosselli began craving something different. “We wanted a little bit more space, and I wanted more light,” she explains. Rosselli, stepping into the library to join the chat, chimes in, “At ten minutes after nine, the sun starts to turn, and this whole section of the building just brightens up.”
Solar desires answered, a swift, smart, inspiring renovation followed. Moldings now ennoble the formerly detail-free walls, an aristocratic marble mantel went into the living room, down went eye-catching carpets old and new (“I didn’t want to do sisal again,” the decorator says), and up went the art, from 19th-century Orientalist paintings (Rosselli’s passion since boyhood) to colorful canvases that only look important. “People say, ‘Oh, your art is so wonderful,’ ” Williams explains with a delicious laugh. “And I’m like, ‘I think I paid $200 for that in a junk shop.’ You don’t have to have a lot of money to have a very chic house.”
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