“My personal taste is cozy, warm and functional,” said Giuseppe Pica of his 300-square foot upper eastside studio apartment. Now a project manger at design firm Ingrao Inc., this Sicily native came into interior design later in life. He was hired by his employer of 8 years after doing courses at the New York School of Interior Design.

Pica’s greatest challenge when designing his home was to take the small studio and create within it an illusion of space – and to do it at an affordable price. Instead of an open plan, the designer decided to carve out the distinct living spaces found in any home – a bedroom, a living room, a dining area and kitchen. He even crafted an entryway.

An obvious design influence is Pop Art from the ‘60s and ‘70s, various pieces of which Pica had been collecting for a while. The base colors of the apartment are muted – pale grey, white and cream – with bold touches of color infused through deliberate and thoughtful accessories and art pieces.

The living and dining areas were designed with entertaining in mind. Happy to have friends over, Pica ensured that the dining area – which doubles as his work space – could comfortably seat up to 6 people. There is also a retractable white screen over the table that can be pulled down to shield guests from views of the rather impeccable kitchen.

Pica is especially proud of some of his Pop Art pieces. The oversize yellow pencils, bought at New York City store Las Venus ($800 for both) “make the [living room] space taller,” said the designer. “The long vertical lines also add stability and elegance.” Also from Las Venus is the large screw driver ($250), hanging by the refrigerator. The giant whisk ($30 at a flea market) perched atop the dining table “adds humor” to the room.

DAVID ASHEN
“My personal style is very eclectic,” said David Ashen. “People might be surprised that this is my apartment.” Named as one of the 10 designers to watch by New York Magazine in 2004, Ashen is the principal designer of D-ASH, a New York-based architectural firm. From retail space to bars to residences, this designer has worked around the country and the world.
When it comes to designing for himself, however, Ashen’s style is hard to verbalize. “It’s about how you feel sitting in an area,” he said. “I like clean, but comfortable. Spaces with good energy.”

From his Tribeca corner apartment, views of the river and Manhattan are spectacular. Inside, his walls go from white to brown to blue, with art adorning most of them. Each piece of furniture and each accessory in the apartment was carefully hand picked and most have personal meaning. For instance, the paintings represent stages of his life – some were done by his professors at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), some by friends, and some by more well-known names (a numbered lithograph by Gustav Klimt bought on Ebay for about $400).

Ashen likes his bedroom, the space he spends most time in, to be small and cozy, almost a cocoon. The living room, where he entertains, is more an “eclectic mess.” His big investment, the sofa, was purchased from Totem Design a few years ago (as were the dining table and a wooden tower, both in the dining room) and is scatted with pillows ($150 a piece) from a store in Tribeca. The woven wool felt rug was bought on sale at a shop in the Village that no longer exists and the standing lamp that finishes off the look is Andre Putnam (purchased from Pucci for about $1,700).

The designer is particularly fond of some of his more whimsical pieces: an inflatable moose head ($20 at the Union Square Christmas market) and the sniffing dogs sculpture from a gallery on Third Street in Philadelphia (a gift).

MINDY MILES GREENBERG
“My personal space style fluctuates,” said Mindy Miles Greenberg. “It’s because I see beautiful things all the time.” The principal designer of Encore Décor Interior Design was most recently awarded the ‘Best Interior Designer 2007’ title by Citysearch. She also makes frequent appearances on HGTV.

Greenberg described her taste as fairly eclectic and “sometimes chaotic,” like her life. “Clean and peaceful is not how you’d describe my living room,” she said. But, like a haven, her bedroom is more tranquil.

Perhaps the most vital parts of Greenberg’s home are her “areas of inspiration.” In between the clutter of her work space are ensemble pieces that help her see beyond the room she is in, that help her imagination go beyond the four walls. One such arrangement consists of a reproduction ‘40s era vintage chest ($850), topped with metal finials/bookends from a local gift store ($75) and a gold mini bust form (a cool party give away). Above the chest hangs a photo-on-linen of the Eiffel Tower (bought locally for about $275) and the area is illuminated by an industrial rusted lamp ($200 from a flea market).

Another setup is built around an old Indonesian TV armoire ($1,100) that Greenberg uses to store her handbags. Sitting atop the storage space is an Indonesian shoe shine kit from a flea market in Toronto, a Chinese dowry box and a red wicker suitcase from her parents. This arrangement, said Greenberg, helps her draw on inspiration from the past to design for the future.

ERIC LYSDAHL
When Eric Lysdahl of Eric Lysdahl Incorporated, first bought his Upper East Side pad, it was reminiscent of an 18th century period piece, a look he lived with until, one day, he bought marigold-hued paint and transformed the place. “Now it’s younger, edgier, more representative of my work,” said the former New York School of Interior Design student. “It’s like an edgy New York-Paris apartment.”

Gone are the black-and-white toile and the bed hangings (“it was pretty over the top”). In its place are vibrant orange walls and brown taffeta curtains. Out with the ornate fussiness and in with graphic funkiness – there’s a powder blue harpsichord in the living room (Zuckerman in Vermont).

Flanking a wall of 9 framed prints (bought in Paris) are two Angelo Donghia Grande Flute chairs from the 1980s. They go for about $10,000 a piece in the showroom, said Lysdahl, but he bought them at a thrift store in the City for $500 each. “You can find anything at any price in New York,” said the designer.
The fireplace, set into a wall displaying a pair of Brian Tolle paintings, contains a kitschy Chinese pagoda that can be lit from within. The designer sourced this piece at the 26th Street flea market ($300). Sitting on either side of the oriental artifact are antique Louis XIV hair-on cowhide chairs upholstered in Edelman leather (approx. $6,000).

A 1970s French tortoise shell and gilt bronze mantelpiece clock, and a French vermeil and ivory tea service complete the French half of the New York-Paris look.

source : 70.47.124.114