Inside a Stunning Central Park West Apartment Designed by James Huniford
Three years ago, when interior designer James “Ford” Huniford began conceptualizing a book about his process, he wanted to shift the paradigm from a typical design tome. Rather than present a compilation of greatest hits, he explains, “I wanted to do a book with different chapters about living and making a home.” The resulting publication—James Huniford: At Home, written with Stephen Treffinger and published last month by the Monacelli Press—does just that. In its pages, Huniford explores the concept of interior design thematically, with sections dedicated to scale and proportion, selecting materials and art, and using color in design.
Focusing on themes rather than specific homes meant that Huniford could bring together rooms from different projects. “I think it’s interesting to take the content out of its perspective,” he says. “Like putting this living room and that entry hall and that dining room with other rooms that have the same color, and seeing how they all go together.” But deciding which homes to feature, he admits, was certainly the toughest part of writing the book.
One project that was bound to make the cut was Huniford’s elegant redesign of a sun-bathed, 3,500-square-foot pre-war apartment with views of Central Park West. When Huniford got his hands on the place it was decorated very traditionally. “There were a lot of furnishings that didn’t have a function and made the rooms feel crowded,” he says. His solution was to pare back the amount of furniture and focus on a palette of neutrals with pops of yellow, green, and chartreuse. “I thought it would be interesting to bring some of that color from outside in: the yellows and the greens, and how leaves change from spring to summer and into fall,” he says. “It balances the light from the outside and the proportions of the rooms without feeling jumpy.”
Huniford’s favorite space in the home is the oversized living room, in which punchy artworks by David Hockney and Alex Katz face off among custom furnishings sheathed in luxe textiles. Both paintings add a pop of bright yellow to the space, while touches of green appear in the throw on the daybed, a pony skin chair, and a vintage x-bench. The otherwise neutral palette allows these bright colors to shine without being garish. “I wanted it to feel inviting, cozy, and comfortable; like people actually use it,” he said.
Another reason this project stands out for Huniford: its lack of drama. The bones of the apartment were so flawless, there were no major renovations to be done. “There wasn’t really anything hard about it,” he says of the process. “It was really a very creative, inspiring project for me.”
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
