This Texas couple wanted a taste of the big apple, and their goal was an Art Deco Pied-a-terre that would combine sparkling urban glamour, with home-style Southern comfort. This diamond in the rough was a rabbit warren of dark spaces off Sutton Place.

The first order of business was to recreate the period features of this charming prewar apartment atop a boutique apartment building. Of course, Gleicher Design always maximizes the available sunlight and as the apartment has a large terrace, and windows facing south, east and west, we installed large steel-cased full height terrace doors which swing open to the outside, flooding the apartment with an exuberance of sunshine. Gorgeous plantings just outside the glass doors give you the feeling of living in a garden in the sky. Inside, rich wood paneling embraces you upon entering the apartment and offsets the smooth and silky Venetian plaster walls throughout the rest of the apartment. Beautiful cerused oak kitchen cabinets and recycled aluminum backsplash tiles (we always add green elements to our designs) are used in the bright and airy kitchen. The Study is wrapped in beautiful rusticated leather wall panels. Dentil crown mouldings and coffered ceilings anchor the space and give it a feel of old world elegance. The highly polished sterling silver door hardware and faucets turn that diamond in the rough into a sparkling gem alongside the beautiful marble and onyx finishes.

Completing the home is the central wood-burning fireplace with its marble mantelpiece from England and herringbone brick firebox. This jewel of an apartment is a testament to its exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail. The couple is spending more time in New York than they expected, as this pie in the sky masterpiece is hard to leave.