Kitchens & Bathrooms

“I’m drawn to opposites, things that sit in contrast” jenna lyons

The sumptuous SoHo loft of illustrious New York tastemaker Jenna Lyons is a multifarious mix of styles and eras. “[It’s] a compilation of all my favourite things,” Lyons says. “I am drawn to opposites, things that sit in contrast — shine against matte, hard against soft, new with old, traditional with unusual.”

Lyons employed designer Gray Davis of Meyer Davis to reimagine the space, though the bones were already there. “The loft had beautiful windows, tons of light, but no warmth,” she says. “My biggest aspiration was to create a warm, highly personal home.” The result is a richly layered, idiosyncratic space.

The large kitchen and living space intertwine — the goal to have them feel like one room with distinct elements talking to each other. Take for example the reclaimed marble fireplace, and the marble top on the kitchen island — a vintage slab Lyons found at Galerie Half in Los Angeles, which she combined with an equally thick piece of birch to extend its length. She also placed the exquisite vintage Italian Murano glass chandelier over the island to further blur the boundaries, and the brass splashback reflects a touch of sparkle back into the living room. A plush pink velvet sofa anchors the space. “I had seen a photo of a pink couch in some rock star’s home, and I was in love,” she says. “It was irreverent, playful and in a very grand setting. I promised myself one day I would have a pink couch.” In the bathroom adjoining her bedroom, Lyons wanted the same singular room feel, with a glass door merely nodding to the designation of space. Clad in Breccia Paonazzo marble, it’s an ode to some of her favourite 1970s Italian bathrooms. “There is something brutal and beautiful about it,” she says. “It’s so aggressive but somehow romantic to me.” Lyons commissioned jeweller Philip Crangi to create the decorative and intricate bronze vanity legs in perfect proportion to the scale of the vanity and the bespoke mirrored medicine cabinets.

Not one to shy away from patina, Lyons has a deep appreciation for the ageing process of beautiful materials. “All the surfaces are unfinished, the marble is honed, the brass unlacquered, the floors unsealed,” she says. It’s a fitting philosophy for the creative who is all too aware of the transience of trends. ››

THIS PAGE, FROM LEFT in the bedroom, raw oak-panelled walls by Dean Fine Building; custom chandelier; Candida Höfer photograph; in the adjoining bathroom, bespoke bronze vanity legs by Philip Crangi. In a detail of the bathroom shelves, honed Breccia Paonazzo marble from SMC Stone; Astier de Villatte Marguerite incense holder (top shelf, third from left).