Interior Design by Penelope August
Photographer: Devon Banks
Tribeca, Manhattan, New York, NY
This townhouse renovation is built on a calm white shell, but it avoids the usual neutral shorthand by placing color at specific points of use. The kitchen is the strongest example: pale lavender panel-front cabinetry runs wall to wall, a terrazzo counter and backsplash carry black and rust aggregate, and polished copper plumbing warms the long sink run under tall divided-light windows. Centered beneath a vent hood, a saffron range creates a deliberate focal break in an otherwise symmetrical composition.
That same strategy continues in the main living level, where circulation and seating are kept open, then anchored with selective pieces. A curved stair with dark balusters sits beside wide plank pine floors; beyond it, a compact seating group faces a stone fireplace with a woven wall hanging above. Built-ins at the perimeter combine thin white uprights, oak shelves, and red cabinet boxes, so storage reads as furniture rather than a full wall unit.
What keeps the house from feeling precious is the willingness to shift mood by room. A tiny powder room is wrapped entirely in glossy cobalt hex tile, from floor to ceiling, with a white pedestal sink and paired pendants. Nearby rooms move back to soft plaster and cream trim, then switch again to patterned wallpaper, graphic rugs, and mixed artworks around simple fireboxes. The transitions are sharp, but the repeated use of brass hardware and pale timber flooring ties the sequence together.
Upstairs, sloped ceilings and exposed dark beams give the top floor a different scale. Long built-in drawer runs tuck below low eaves, and fireplaces are treated as small color events, including one with a patterned blue surround. In the primary bath, white millwork, a rounded tub, and brass fittings sit against a blue-and-white stone floor, ending the project with the same mix of restraint and personality seen at the entry.
Tags: Penelope August, Tribeca, Manhattan
