SARTORIAL FLAIR
Aged leather, faded rugs and iconic designs give this fashion executive’s New York home unique charisma
Having lived in London for five years, Joshua Schulman’s previous home of New York beckoned him back with a new job opportunity and the chance to reunite with his partner, now husband, Jim Conley. ‘Jim had been living in my old apartment, so with my return we decided to start looking for a home we could share together,’ says Joshua, who is a long-term fashion and retail executive while Jim works as a marketing executive at Twitter.
‘Like any hunt for property in Manhattan, we had our ups and downs, but as soon as we walked into this house we knew we had found the right one,’ Joshua says of their period townhouse near Gramercy Park, an area known for its brownstone properties and tree-lined streets. ‘The building had started life as a family home that had then been converted into several flats. But fortunately the previous owners had done a good job of reintegrating it into a single house.’
Enlisting the design eye of Cliff Fong, the owner of LA design firm Matt Blacke Inc and the showroom Galerie Half, a meandering and joyful collaboration ensued. ‘The three of us had so much fun hiking through the city scouring out thrift stores and flea markets,’ says Cliff. Having known the couple for decades and with many mutual friends, Cliff had an intuitive understanding of Joshua and Jim’s taste. This enabled him to create an interior that captures the personalities of the couple, although Joshua concedes that his own style has shifted somewhat since working with Cliff. ‘In the past, my aesthetic had been colder with more hard edges, but the house lent itself to a softer direction, mixing different period pieces, rugs, textiles and paints, which Cliff always has a strong opinion about.’
‘A faded rug is like a great pair of jeans,’ says Cliff. ‘You can dress it up or down. It can look luxurious, but still feel accessible. On top of it you can add a wonderful mixture of high and lower-end design, like dressing with a combination of vintage and couture pieces. I’ve always loved textiles and anything that is reflective of brilliant handiwork.’
Careful to preserve the elaborate architectural detailing, the trio spent 18 months on the renovation. ‘It almost felt like an archaeological process where we were chipping away at layers of changes over the years to figure out where the true lines were and what the natural flow had been,’ says Cliff. ‘We painted the stairwell, which acts as a central spine for the entire building, the palest grey. From this soft landing we were able to use more saturated and playful colours in the rooms off it. It was what the building told us to do.’ With Joshua ‘a huge fan of Farrow & Ball’ and later being appointed to the company’s board, the brand was an obvious choice for the period setting. ‘For me, choosing paint colours is one of the most fun aspects of a project,’ he enthuses. ‘It can seem intimidating, but once you get the samples on the wall you can really begin to express the aesthetic.’
Set against a palette of mostly blues and grey variations, the tonalities of aged leather and wood add warmth and depth, balancing out the contemporary pieces. ‘New leather can look flat, whereas when it’s aged it helps validate a room,’ says Cliff. ‘I also wanted to take pieces that are recognisable and iconic out of their normal dialogue to create something unique.’ A chaise upholstered in pinstripe is a nod to Joshua’s career in fashion.
‘I’ve always considered that fashion and interior design are interrelated, sharing much of the same dialogue,’ says Cliff. Like a much-loved outfit, this New York home is certain to wear well.