Casa Apicii

Working within this historic townhouse was inspiring; there was always a sense of awe when one walked into the dining room. The vaulted ceiling and historic oval skylight, which are extremely rare to find in New York, gave Dutch East Design an amazing starting point. The existing wall paneling, floors, windows, and bar details needed only slight modification to meet the lighter, modern Italian design direction.

Inspiration was found in classic Italian speedboats and cars for the layering of sleek lines, rich woods with brass inlay, and quilted leather interiors. 1960s mod fashion introduced vibrant colors, textures and fabrics. Furniture and lighting selections provided the curved profiles, softer lines and luxurious textures of the Italian inspiration.

Creating a unique experience in such an iconic space was the greatest challenge of the project. It was frequently and exercise of evaluating existing architectural features to determine which elements worked with the new concept, and which could in turn influence the concept.