This Light and Spacious Sky-High Apartment Celebrates Scandinavian Design
Hannah Doolin
At the mention of hygge—the Danish concept of simplistic comfort and contentment—one might envision a cabin nestled in the woods, flickering with light from a glowing hearth, ample cable-knit throws within reach. Now, take that cozy aesthetic and shift the setting to a gleaming Manhattan skyscraper. The image becomes much trickier to conjure—that is, until you lay eyes on David Scott’s soft and layered designs.
Like a sculptor molding clay, the New York–based designer deftly transforms spaces to suit his clients’ deepest needs and desires—a craft that he’s honed through his firm, David Scott Interiors, over 29 years. With a shiny, New York high-rise at hand, Scott and design director Jim Fairfax set out to achieve an unexpected sense of snugness, serenity, and understated luxury 64 floors above Midtown East. The lofty abode, lined with expansive glass, boasts exposures on three sides, revealing mesmerizing views of the East River, the UN headquarters, and beyond.
Just off the kitchen, Scott carved out an intimate dining area, outfitted with a custom-designed banquette and vintage Onkel Adam lounge chair and ottoman by Kerstin Hörlin-Holmquist. The couple can enjoy meals or hunker down with a book in this cozy corner. “The colors take that room and just grab you—they’re very rich and beautiful,” Scott says of the Jennifer Hornyak oil painting. A PH Artichoke lamp adds a “modern classic” touch.
Scott’s clients, Kathleen Sullivan and Helen Stacy—both practicing lawyers and former professors who split their time between New York and California—were content with the existing layout, but enlisted his expertise to transform the 3,450-square-foot space into a restful escape through redecoration. “We determined that we weren’t going to alter the architecture significantly. Instead, we’d focus on assembling and curating a beautiful collection of furniture and art together,” Scott recalls. He maintained the apartment’s clean and bright look and introduced femininity, warmth, and depth through thoughtful furnishings with fluid lines, a variety of handwoven textiles, and a soothing color palette. “It’s this kind of oasis in the sky, which responds to that cloud-like softness above the city,” he says.
His embrace of hygge was sparked by the home-owning couple’s travels to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, and Helsinki, where they became enamored with Scandinavian design. Sullivan and Stacy fell for “Scandi” style for a variety of reasons: “The simple lines and shapes, the precise quality of the craftsmanship, and the strong tradition of women designers and artists,” Sullivan shares—just to name a few.
This Light and Spacious Sky-High Apartment Celebrates Scandinavian Design
In the entrance gallery of a high-rise apartment in Manhattan, designer David Scott displays an eclectic mix of vintage and contemporary pieces: leather benches by Jean-Michel Frank, a curvy chair from Hostler Burrows and a vintage sideboard, adorned with a sculpture by Dutch ceramicist Babs Haenen. A silk runner from Doris Leslie Blau and a warm Susan Vecsey painting add texture and color. Three Yrjö Harsia Taifuuni pendants hang above.
Lighting designer Nathan Orsman assisted in sourcing fixtures like the pair of Pelle bubble chandeliers in the combined living and dining room. “I love to use lighting as both a real source of light, and as sculpture in the space. With high ceilings, you really have to animate that huge volume that’s left above,” says Scott. In response to the apartment’s curved glass windows, a custom sofa arcs in the opposite direction, facing an inviting pair of soft shearling armchairs. His clients’ appreciation of tactile artwork comes through in the crinkled copper piece by Mareo Rodriguez and textured Larry Poons painting.
The far end of the living room features an elegant collection of vintage furniture and lighting in soft colors: a wingback chair by Børge Mogensen, pair of Björn Trägårdh easy chairs, and a brass Hans Bergström floor lamp. A cast-brass table by Chinese designer Zhipeng Tan appears to melt into the wool-and-silk, hand-knotted rug underfoot. The custom sofa, inspired by Frits Henningsen, features a handwoven and quilted striped fabric from Sam Kasten.
Warm, horizontal-grain walnut panels conceal storage cabinets and appliances in the kitchen. Scott created contrast and the illusion of a box within a box by covering the inset countertops and backsplash in white glass quartz. Fumed white oak and brass Walcott stools from KGBL provide counter seating.
Just off the kitchen, Scott carved out an intimate dining area, outfitted with a custom-designed banquette and vintage Onkel Adam lounge chair and ottoman by Kerstin Hörlin-Holmquist. The couple can enjoy meals or hunker down with a book in this cozy corner. “The colors take that room and just grab you—they’re very rich and beautiful,” Scott says of the Jennifer Hornyak oil painting. A PH Artichoke lamp adds a “modern classic” touch.
In the den, which Scott converted from a spare bedroom, a custom sofa follows the unique angle along the apartment’s western exposure. A caramel mohair ottoman, Scandinavian vintage teak cabinet, and wood and concrete side tables add varied materials and richness to the light and bright room. “Sometimes people are just looking for color and practicality, but Kathleen was really interested in the handmade quality of these things,” says Scott.
A functional office was key for the hardworking, bicoastal couple, and this vintage Nanna and Jørgen Ditzel desk, crafted by Wenge in Denmark, is the perfect centerpiece. “It’s just exquisite,” Scott comments. “The handles are carved in the wood. It’s this incredible Scandinavian craftsmanship that’s just about the expression of modern form.” A vintage Verre Lumiere Studio lamp sits on top. A Salerno grå Kristianstad flat weave rug by Barbro Nilsson and sunny Esteban Vicente painting round out the room.
Calm, comfort, and lightness is what Scott’s clients hoped for, and that comes through in the plush master bedroom, padded with exquisitely soft, handwoven carpet made from 100-percent New Zealand wool. The bed is upholstered in a nubby, striped fabric, offering a graphic and textural contrast to the white walls without straying from the soothing palette. A rare Otto Schulz armchair is upholstered in a dreamy blue from Rogers & Goffigon. Free-form, white oak pendants by John Procario draw the eye upward, then outward to stunning city views.
The serenity of the master suite carries over to the stunning bathroom, boasting a sculptural tub designed by Daniel Romualdez that offers bathers a bird’s-eye view of Midtown Manhattan. Polished white nanoglass tiles the walls and floors, warmed by a vintage Swedish flat weave rug. Wooden accents come from the vanity and a vintage carved teak valet chair by Hans Wegner. The pendant lights are by Alison Berger.
Warm wood tones and pink and beige textiles add feminine flair to the guest bedroom. Scott designed a custom chaise with wood cylinder legs from Anthony Lawrence and fabric by Merry Mullings. Pops of yellow appear in the vintage Swedish kilim rug and Amy Kirchner painting above the caned headboard. The ceiling fixture is from Trans-Luxe.
To kick off the collaborative design process, Scott invited Sullivan to join him on a sourcing trip to Hostler Burrows, a woman-owned store in New York, specializing in Nordic design. “I do that often,” Scott notes. “We go out into the marketplace and I get to see my clients’ reactions—what they find comfortable, what turns them on, what turns them off.” A few enthusiastic purchases from that initial visit established a distinctive mood board for the apartment. The result is a pristine, light-filled home that reflects the colors of the city sky, with each room wrapped in textured fabrics and thick-weave carpets and punctuated with unique art and plenty of antique wood.
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“David’s designs captured perfectly my love of beautiful things that are simple and well-crafted—not showy or ornate—orderly, and fastidious with great quality but without ornament,” says Sullivan. “He designs on his clients’ emotional as well as physical canvas.” And for Scott, that emotional component is precisely what his work is about. “Good design is about reflecting our clients’ desires of how they want to live and how they want to feel,” he says. “Then that richness can come through in everything we do.”
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