HOME TOUR | Contemporary Japandi NYC Apartment by Interior Designer Robert Passal

Our design aesthetic is really based on classicism and timeless design. My goal for each and every project is really to return five, 10, 15 years later and for it to still be valid and amazing and a truly timeless interior. My name is Robert Pasal. My company is Robert Pasal Interior Design. We're based in New York City, but we do projects both nationally and internationally. I often say that art and accessories are what make a house a home. That's what breaks interest to a space. We do lots of beautiful custom rugs and custom upholstery. We're just about really turning houses into homes. So currently we are on Lower Fifth Avenue in New York City. It's a building that is in the Flatiron District of New York City. It's across from Madison Square Park. It has incredible views and incredible light and there's incredible architecture all around us. This building was originally a printing press, I believe, and has been converted several years ago into a very luxurious condo. The brief that the client gave me was that they wanted it to be soft and approachable, yet chic. He wanted a space to watch the game, to work from home. She wanted pretty, but not too pretty. She's an avid reader, so she wanted spaces where she could just curl up throughout the apartment, go through a book, and have a day to herself. We took on this project. It was what we call Builder Ready. We came in and re-sanded the floors and really created the architecture that you'll see throughout the space. My job was A, to create an architectural environment, and then two, decorate that environment. The kitchen is done in a blonde bleached wood. There's a bit of a Scandinavian feel to it. Island is somewhat cantilevered. It does have a base, but it projects far past the base. Since it is so pale and the space is so pale, we paired it with barstools that have this really beautiful, soft, pistachio-toned leather. It just quietly sings in the space. The living room dining room is really created as a contemporary space where it's all in one living. It's not as though you have a private dining space and a private living space. This is a peer-to-peer, so the client visits maybe once every other month. So what we did was we floated a center hall, a library, dining table in the middle of the space. Right now, it's loaded with books and accessories. And living in Manhattan, you have to be multifunctional. This table has two leaves and can seat eight for dinner. So there are basically four chairs and two ottomans that pull up to the table, and you can easily have six to eight for dinner. If you are entertaining or if you just have one guest, you have an intimate space like this. It also opens up to really having a party or having multiple people here. Incorporating televisions into living spaces is really not one of my favorite things, but we have found a way to do it where it looks great, it's functional, and it makes everyone happy, including myself. So this is a Sura. Sura is the name of the brand. It's a mirror. When you turn the TV off, this is a 55-inch television. It's a custom frame that we make, but you can frame it with any frame from a standard framer. And it's just a wonderful thing because it makes everyone happy. When we're working with couples that have opposing tastes, we try to incorporate a little bit of each of their interests. So sometimes we have a husband who's a modernist who doesn't want too much clutter, and then the wife will be a traditionalist or she wants just softer and prettier. And so we're really great at juxtaposition. For me, it's the perfect formula to have people that are kind of polar opposites. This is the media room of the home, and it is one of those monochromatic spaces where we repeated the same color or tones of the same color. So the bleached walnut was done in a tone that basically balances all the chocolate brown, and then it's layers and layers of the same color. My client really wanted the bedroom to be a sanctuary. She wanted to just be enveloped in it, to have this cocoon is exactly what she asked for. So we did that by creating the space that is almost uniform in color. So the walls are done in a silk fabric that we had paperback, and we made the curtains in a similar fabric. It's a wool, but it's a very, very similar tone. And the chaise lounge and everything in the room, very, very warm cream colors. And it just creates this beautiful, beautiful, soothing, cocoonish environment that you almost never want to leave. When we're designing window treatments, I always feel like it's one of those things that can make or break a space. So we designed three layers. The actual curtains are black outlines. So if the client wants to sleep in or really wants to have a very private moment, they can close the curtains. The Roman shades are what we call belly Romans, and they're mostly decorative. And we install them to really take the edge off of all the angular architecture in the space. And then below the Roman shade, we have this really beautiful woven shade, which, A, provides privacy, which is really important when you have a building, you know, 30 feet away. But it allows the light to filter through. So it's one of those things that is really, really functional and is an essential when you're living in New York City. So the primary bathroom, you have this floating tub in the middle of Manhattan that literally faces, you know, another building where people can see right in while you're bathing. So that's kind of fun. My client loves pearls. And so it was her birthday. We had looked at this chandelier and her husband, he was like, let's get her the pearl chandelier for her birthday. Let's not tell her. And when we do the reveal, you'll surprise her. So that's what we did. And it was really fun. We had it custom made. It looks like a beautiful strand of pearls. So this dressing room was originally a white box that was slated to be a walk-in closet. Women and men these days really love a dressing room. So what we did was we created, basically half closet, half dressing room. And we did that by creating these linen wrapped panels. All the panels have an inset mirror and a little bit of a brass detail. We used a gray mirror so that the mirror wouldn't be so overwhelming. And this is the cabinetry that is wrapped in linen and lacquered and like turned out beautifully. But basically I lost a lot of sleep over. It is a lovely home that people feel comfortable in. It is so curated and it is so detailed, yet it's so approachable, you know, and it's so personal.