Best of Design Awards
March 1990, pp. 49-51

     Even though the size of the house was doubled during a recent renovation, Architect George Hopkins is pleased that it still retains all the beauty of a "villa in a garden setting." The facade is not altered. All renovation-consisted of adding a wing onto the existing structure. Much of the uptown house's original architecture is retained on the first floor with the entrance hall, living room, dining room and setting room. The latter was originally a screened-porch. It was enclosed to create a windowed sitting area that affords occupants a full view of the garden and dining room while those in the dining room have a panoramic view of the garden. The furnishings in the dining room are inherited antiques along with many of the lovely pieces throughout the house. Gerry Bremermann of Hickey , Bremermann, Saer et Cie, redesigned the mirror above the mantelpiece in the dining room to correspond in size with the chimney and mantelpiece. The chandelier is original to the house. Along with collecting English antiques and porcelains, the family's interest in the works of the 19th century ornithologist-artist J.J. Audubon is evidenced from works in his elephant folio bird series found in many rooms throughout the house.

     One of the most delightful areas in the new addition is an upstairs sitting room opening out onto a roof terrace that looks out over the rear garden. Hopkins designed one wall of the room to afford maximum light, especially afternoon sunlight, with a window wall. As this room is a passageway connecting the bedrooms in this wing of the house, it also is used as a cheery sitting room/work space.

     Bremermann introduces an easy informality in the decor of the sitting room using a small-patterned chintz on the sofa and wall covering of warm beige. The renovation is a happy blending of the old with the new. Family heirlooms and formal rooms mix beautifully, accommodating the lifestyles of a large, active family.

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