Today I’m excited to share my favorite room in the 2017 Holiday House NYC – the gorgeous sitting room by Alyssa Kapito Interiors. Alyssa is a master of minimal spaces that do away with bells and whistles in favor of creamy neutrals, layers of touchable texture, beautiful warm wood tones, and elegant accessorizing. Nothing is superfluous – every piece Alyssa picks serves a purpose in the overall design scheme and has something that makes it quietly special. She has an incredible talent for space planning, taking this cavernous room and creating a unique, non-obvious floor plan – for example, rather than orienting the seating arrangement around the fireplace as most people would, she created a focal point with the sofa and massive piece of art by William McClure. The steel coffee table is Alyssa’s own design and I’m obsessed with it…so good.
This is what the room looked like before:
Pictures hardly do this room justice, because a lot of the magic is in the texture. These chairs by Roman Thomas are done in a silk by Rogers and Goffigon, while the sofa (also custom from Roman Thomas) is upholstered in a boucle wool from Holland and Sherry. These textures are everything when doing a neutral room. Alyssa also added a subtle piping from Samuel and Sons to the sofa…these tiny details make such a difference, adding depth and dimension to a space that appears simple from afar. The closer you get, the more there is to see…and the better it gets! So not easy to do.
How great is this vintage Italian bar cart from the 1950’s? I absolutely love it. As my Mom pointed out, it’s shaped like an abstract swan…do you see it? (I didn’t!). It can be purchasedย here from Converso Modern.
The wood finish on the Jules Leleu desk is stunning…beyond elegant. Alyssa accessorized beautifully with sophisticated brass touches, along with a bronze lamp provided by Gallery Bac. The c. 1950ย Gustav Axel Berg chairs were generously provided by Hostler Burrows, while the sisal floor covering is from Stark Carpet. The sisal adds another wonderful texture to the room, as well as a naturalness that helps to keep the room from feeling too formal or icy. The wood pieces throughout the room also lend that warmth and natural aspect to counteract all of the ivory in the space.
Isn’t it cool how Alyssa’s able to mix these wood tones, and they just work together? It creates a layered look whereas I think matching woods would just be boring and matchy-matchy. The art deco chairs provided by Newel contrast beautifully with the deeper tone of the round table.
I love the touch of nickel added in through the sleek pharmacy lamp.
The steel sculpture above the desk was custom made by Jonathan Nesci.
Regrettably I didn’t have my wide-angle lens with me so if you want to see wider shots of the room (which you should definitely see!) head on over to Alyssa’s portfolio.