{"id":131331,"date":"2026-02-12T15:49:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T15:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/131331\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T15:49:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T15:49:31","slug":"tour-a-four-story-manhattan-townhouse-designed-by-young-huh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/131331\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour a Four-Story Manhattan Townhouse Designed by Young Huh"},"content":{"rendered":"

The inspiration for the house was both defined and sweeping, surefooted and zany, and delivered by the homeowners in three words: The Royal Tenenbaums. <\/p>\n

Designer Young Huh<\/a> was delighted. \u201cHeirlooms, color, individuality\u2026the film reference instantly gave me a picture and a common visual language with this family,\u201d she notes. The now-famed aesthetic arose from Wes Anderson\u2019s 2001 film, which featured at its heart a rambling historic New York City house with rooms as richly drawn as the characters inhabiting them. <\/p>\n

Twee nostalgia and vivid, unexpected color schemes (think powder blue and crimson, amethyst and citron yellow) were introduced with achingly thoughtful, just-so art direction that\u2014together with Anderson\u2019s subsequent films\u2014gave rise to a recognizable graphic parlance among fans. (Unfamiliar? Check out Accidentally Wes Anderson, a long-running Instagram account and book of real-life moments that feel as if they\u2019ve been lifted from his film sets.)<\/p>\n

Huh\u2019s clients are themselves Manhattanites, born and raised in apartments. They never dreamed that they\u2019d raise their own kids in a four-story New York City townhouse. But that doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t prepare\u2014just a little. \u201cMy husband was dead set on having a black-and-white floor somewhere,\u201d says his wife, a lover of color and textiles who came to the project with a handful of family pieces to incorporate, including a purple glass chandelier and a pair of berg\u00e8res.
<\/p>\n

Weaving together the needs of the family (including two young school-age kids) with the art of decoration is the role of a designer. \u201cWhat quickly came together was a quirky, layered, and meandering approach,\u201d Huh says. \u201cWe\u2019re visual storytellers, and this is a project where I could really stretch the color narrative\u2014there are bright rooms, moody rooms, modern rooms, traditional rooms.\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n

\"bedroomJacob SnavelyA symphony of stripes (duvets, Serena & Lily<\/a>) lends a playful spirit to the kids\u2019 red, white, and powder blue bedroom. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a room with canopy beds and a candy-striped ceiling (the kids\u2019 room); one with a headboard reaching dramatically skyward (his and hers); one with a pink, serpentine-back sofa (a parlor); and one colored like an olive and pimiento (a screening room). <\/p>\n

With unconventional color being \u201cyessed\u201d joyfully, Huh presented a kitchen that leaned into richer tones. The clients responded not by countering color, but instead asked for a feeling, a room that was \u201cwarm and calm and bright,\u201d Huh recalls. She replied with the current iteration: a greenhouse-like space with casement windows and a British sensibility rendered in a neutral but complex cabinetry color called Mushroom by deVOL Kitchens. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese were clients who knew how they wanted to feel in every room,\u201d says Huh, who includes this home in her debut monograph, A Mood, a Thought, a Feeling: Interiors (Rizzoli)<\/a>. They\u2019re not alone in the designer\u2019s roster. A few of her self-aware clients include Broadway queen Idina Menzel and couple Zooey Deschanel and Property Brothers\u2019 Jonathan Scott\u2014all people who know what they want. <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a designer is what I imagine being an actor is like. You\u2019re inhabiting these different roles. And sometimes\u2026the role\u2019s not great,\u201d Huh says, laughing. \u201cBut these two had such great personalities and so much joie de vivre, so it was fun to tell their story through the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"parlorJacob SnavelyHuh strategically added a fireplace to the parlor, naturally dividing the grand living space into two intimate seating areas. The purple Murano glass chandelier is vintage. Mantel, Jamb<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no better proof that the design worked than clients using it to great enjoyment and even bending it, breaking it in to make it their own, like an actor inhabiting an accent. <\/p>\n

Upstairs is a parlor\u2014a magnificent modern version of the oh-so-traditional social room\u2014replete with that pink sofa, the family berg\u00e8res, and a dozen other pieces playing harmoniously. It\u2019s a room meant for a party, so that\u2019s exactly where a Yom Kippur break fast happened for the family. It was lively, it was elegant, and it was fitting for its Manhattan location: The clients moved furniture around to make room for a celebration that included family, neighborhood friends\u2014and, of course, bagels. It just doesn\u2019t get more New York than that. <\/p>\n

Sitting Room\"dining<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

A whimsical yellow stripe wallcovering by Jean Monro wraps the ground-floor sitting room and adjoining dining area in radiant color. Table, Hickory Chair<\/a>. Dining chairs, Oka<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"chest<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

In the sitting room, a map of Italy hangs above a hand-painted 1870s Italian chest from the Mercanteinfiera antiques fair. <\/p>\n

Kitchen\"kitchen<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

With newly built casement windows, the kitchen could assume the role of a conservatory. Checkerboard flooring, Paris Ceramics<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"interior<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

Garden\"outdoor<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

The homeowners envisioned a kitchen that spilled out into a garden. The sofa is Brown Jordan<\/a>, and the coffee table is Janus et Cie<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Foyer\"foyer<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

Huh provided not one but two black-and-white floors, including the foyer\u2019s Italian-inspired mosaic tile design (StudiumNYC<\/a>). <\/p>\n

Office\"home<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

Huh oriented the office around the room\u2019s windows to flood his-and-her workspaces with natural light. The walls are painted Benjamin Moore<\/a>\u2019s Teal, with the trim and built-in desk coated in Benjamin Moore<\/a>\u2019s Pearl. The table lamp is from Anthropologie<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Primary Bedroom\"primary<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

A sculptural headboard (fabric, Jasper<\/a>) marries the primary bedroom\u2019s forest green and sky blue hues. <\/p>\n

Primary Bathroom\"white<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

Sapphire mosaic tiles become a graphic backdrop for the primary bathroom\u2019s cast-iron soaking tub. Fixtures, Lefroy Brooks<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Guest Bedrooms\"bedroom<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

\"bedroom<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

At left, a vintage Murano chandelier crowns an apricot jewel-box guest bedroom on the top floor. Drawer hardware, Young Huh for Modern Matter<\/a>. At right, the fantastical florals of House of Hackney\u2019s<\/a> Majorelle pattern bring electrifying color to a parlor-level guest bedroom. <\/p>\n

Bathrooms\"modern<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

\"modern<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

This mahogany-wrapped guest bathroom took its design cue from Milan\u2019s 1935 Necchi Campiglio Villa. Rosso Collemandina marble (ABC Stone<\/a>) clads the vanity and trim. The light fixtures are from Urban Archaeology<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"shower<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

\"view<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

Emerald glazed tiles handmade in Morocco (Ann Sacks<\/a>) climb a walk-in shower\u2019s walls. Shower fixtures, Brizo<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Rooftop Terrace\"rooftop<\/p>\n

Jacob Snavely<\/p>\n

The rooftop terrace offers a verdant escape from Manhattan\u2019s bustle. Terrazzo table, Bernhardt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

VERANDA Design Society Gold<\/p>\n

\"VERANDA<\/a><\/p>\n

Featured in our March\/April 2026 issue. Interior Design by Young Huh; Landscape Design by Manscapers NY; Photography by Jacob Snavely; Styling by Helen Crowther; Written by Sophie Donelson
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