Greenwich Village
Architect Peter Pennoyer and interior designer Shawn Henderson devise a dazzling reinvention for an 1850s Greenwich Village townhouse.
The desire to preserve historic buildings in their original state—a commendable impulse—sometimes runs into challenges that simply cannot be resolved satisfactorily. In the case of an 1857 New York City townhouse bought by a publishing CEO and his hedge-fund-manager husband several years ago, the interiors had been so altered and had fallen into such a woeful condition that there was little left worth saving. The four-floor Italianate redbrick building, in Greenwich Village, had long before been sliced up into separate apartments, and most of the original architectural elements—including the stoop leading to the main parlor-floor entrance—had been removed or damaged. “It was a disaster,” the publisher says bluntly. “But we had a lot of trust that the home could be developed into our kind of vision.”
It was a project that called for poetic ingenuity, and for help the pair turned to architect Peter Pennoyer. Known for his elegant classical work and love of period details, Pennoyer was perhaps a less-than-obvious choice for a couple whose sensibilities skew contemporary—especially when it comes to art and furniture—despite the publisher’s self-professed “obsession with old homes.” He adds, “I knew in hiring Peter that there would be a healthy, positive creative tension between us.”
When Pennoyer first toured the house, in 2010, it was clear they would have to start from scratch. “I usually like to keep the old materials, the beams, at least,” the architect says. “But this was unsalvageable.” Thus began a three-year project to completely gut and reconstruct the building as a single-family home, retaining only its landmarked front façade, part of the rear elevation, and two marble mantels, which were diligently restored and installed in the library and master bedroom.
The residence’s footprint remained the same, but its height was extended by erecting an airy fifth-floor penthouse space, an addition that was allowed by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission after detailed negotiations, with the stipulation that it be set back and not visible from the street.
The project's interior designer, Shawn Henderson, outfitted the rear parlor as a dining area, with a midcentury Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce chandelier, vintage French sconces from Elle W Collection, a glass-top table by Silas Seandel, and vintage Paul Evans chairs covered in a Castel fabric. Flanking the mantel are artworks by one of the homeowners (left) and Mark Titchner; the banquette is upholstered in a Pollack velvet.
Meanwhile, the homeowners enlisted interior designer Shawn Henderson, who had decorated their previous apartment on lower Fifth Avenue, to create forward-looking rooms within Pennoyer’s classical framework, incorporating their impressive collection of artworks by Cindy Sherman, George Condo, Matthew Barney, and others. Rounding out the design team were landscape firms Madison Cox Associates and the Organic Gardener, who masterminded a lush but low-maintenance rear garden and plantings for the terraces in the front and back of the new top floor. The result is a supremely chic contemporary take on a 19th-century townhouse.
Perhaps the home’s most dramatic change is its serpentine interior staircase. “A lot of Italianate Village houses have narrow stairways that ascend from the front door, as this one did,” says Pennoyer, who credits Gregory Gilmartin, his firm’s design director, for the brilliant revision. “The rounded staircase is more compact, and the stair hall is more generous.” It’s more graceful, too. Illuminated by a skylight, the stair’s lyrical curves are traced by a dark-walnut handrail atop trim spindles, while its off-white plaster walls are embellished with subtle texture and flecks of silver leaf added by Henderson. “It goes all the way to the top floor,” the decorator says. “It’s a giant gesture, so we really labored over it.”
Throughout the dwelling, Pennoyer installed bespoke millwork, most elaborately on the parlor floor, where the paneled walls and arched doorways are joined by intricate plaster cornices and fluted Corinthian columns—all informed by 19th-century pattern books. Despite these traditional touches, overall the house has a crisp, tailored feel with minimal visual clutter. Wherever possible, the paneling houses hidden cabinets or closets that open with a click of the finger, while numerous pocket doors tuck neatly into walls. “I don’t think there’s ever been a house with more pocket doors,” the publisher jokes.
Every room is stylistically distinct, but they flow harmoniously from one to another, a Henderson signature. For example, the twin parlors—the one in front composed as a sitting room, the one at back as a dining area—are linked by several matching components, including midcentury Arredoluce ceiling lights, white antique-inspired marble mantelpieces, ink-blue curtains with metallic stripes, and patterned carpets by Henderson, who designed many of the house’s furnishings. “To me, it’s about the right combination of elements—color, fabric, texture, and form—that all complement each other,” he says.
Adjacent to the rear parlor, a discreetly walled-off vestibule with a wet bar leads to a small ironwork balcony with a spiral staircase that descends to the garden terrace—a setup that’s ideal for entertaining. “We love to host dinner parties,” the publisher says. “Drinks in the garden or on the roof in summer, or with fires going in the dining room and parlor in winter.”
For the master suite, Henderson devised a cosseting scheme in a dusky pewter color—a wool wall covering, curtains embroidered with an exquisite geometric motif, and plush 1960s seating. A vintage starburst ceiling light caps off the air of moody modernity.
The penthouse, on the floor above, was conceived as a lighter, casual refuge for relaxing and entertaining, with sliding doors that offer access to the rooftop terraces. The inviting outdoor spaces, boasting spectacular views across the city, feature weathered-copper planters filled with undulating boxwood hedges and slender linden trees. Notes the publisher, “We can wake up, bring our coffee out to the terrace, and enjoy the morning air.”
In the end, the townhouse completely exceeded expectations. “There’s not one thing I would change,” he says, adding, “and I’m very fussy.”
