The eight-month renovation was the sixth project she and Oliver have worked on together. ‘We hit the ground running,’ she says. ‘Fortunately, the woman who had lived here for 20 years had exquisite taste, and the apartment had been beautifully maintained. Most of the changes we made were cosmetic.’ Adds Freundlich, ‘The trick was to make the place functional but without losing any of the magic. We didn’t change the layout, though we did a lot of editing, reducing patterns, simplifying, adding storage.’ The kitchen, which is surrounded by its original steel-framed windows, has no upper cabinets, he points out. ‘So we installed an adjacent pantry.’ The angled wall of the primary bedroom made fitting in a closet a challenge. But Freundlich solved the puzzle while retaining room for a king-size bed and enough bare floor for Julianne to practice her beloved yoga.
A ceramic pitcher by Jacques Pouchain for Atelier Dieulefit and a red ceramic bowl by Keiko Hasegawa stand atop the kitchen’s Raoul Guys table.
In the living room, a chair by Massimiliano Locatelli Editions sits beneath a photograph by David Armstrong. In background, a 1972 Richard Etts plaster lamp from Lobel Modern stands atop an OJAS speaker. light switches here and throughout by Forbes & Lomax.
In the new Jesse Eisenberg film The Debut, Julianne Moore plays an unassuming housewife who becomes a passionate, though struggling method actor after being cast in a small role at her local community theatre. The role must have been a stretch, since Julianne has been awarded virtually every major acting honour, including the Academy Award (hers is discreetly tucked away on a shelf in the entry/library). But there is little doubt Julianne would have made a superb interior designer. ‘My taste is consistent,’ she says, ‘though it has evolved. I love modernism. But this apartment is prewar, and you have to address that. It’s not tiny, but it’s not massive, either, so materials and choices become even more important.’ Freundlich weighs in, ‘Believe me, Julie scrutinised every switch and knob.’
On the kitchen counter, a Vallauris lamp from Magen H sits alongside a wooden bowl from Cibone O’te, a vintage American crock holding utensils, and a Japanese iron teapot.
Another view of the kitchen.