Vibrant Jewel Tones Enrich This Parisian-Chic Condo In Manhattan

“I would say their primary request was just to have a lot of color and personality,” shares Kevin Dumais, the designer of this artful Greenwich Village residence. Dumais’ clients—a couple with two young children—had outgrown their former white-on-white apartment in both space and style and were seeking something “cheerful, fun and a little more unique,” he notes. Their wishes fell upon him like pixie dust. The result is a jewel-toned, Parisian-inspired condo that deftly mixes new sculptural pieces with fine antiques, contemporary art and statement lighting, achieving, undeniably, a certain je ne sais quoi.

Set within a boutique, new-construction building, the condo had many enticing assets upon purchase. See: a gracious foyer leading off the central elevator bank, a sensible layout of common areas to the south and private quarters to the north, and expansive windows running the length of the living, dining, and family rooms. Still, certain improvements would align it better with the aesthetic and functional goals. In collaboration with general contractor Zach Rockhill, Dumais reimagined the kitchen with forest-green cabinetry, brass hardware, creamy marble countertops and an oak-topped eat-in island. Additionally, the residence was given a fresh lighting program and new millwork throughout, from sleek, recessed bookshelves in the family room to built-ins in the bedrooms.

Dumais began his ensuing decorative efforts underfoot, selecting rugs to create intimacy within the grand floor plan and ground the vibrant milieu to come. Take the living room, where an enormous celery-silk number with a watercolor-like band of purple down the center echoes the similarly sinuous lines of a Vladimir Kagan-inspired sofa joined by vintage Scandinavian club chairs. Or the primary bedroom, where a patterned shag-and-flat-weave rug provides a nubby, neutral counterpoint to a blue tufted headboard that runs the length of the space. Texture and color enrich the family room as well, with its enveloping, smoky-green walls, pink-mohair sectional and tangerine-leather reading chair. Hints of persimmon continue into the children’s bedroom, where a palette of orange, soft aqua and sage is drawn from the graphic-print curtains with Picasso-like faces.

That fabric was chosen to celebrate the siblings’ love of art projects and underscores Dumais’ commitment to crafting a fun, freewheeling family home, despite its fancier attributes. The living room’s thoughtful floor plan offers another example with its fireside games table and cuddled up sitting area, which were chosen not for the sake of formal entertaining but because “this is a ‘games and puzzles’ family” the designer says. “When you walk into our apartment, you might not immediately think, ‘Oh, this is family friendly,’” shares the wife. “But everything is low-maintenance and very comfortable. Every chair is a cozy place to put a kid in your lap and read to them.”

Throughout, a Parisian sensibility—refined, collected, composed with ease—imbues the design, but in a subtle fashion that feels thoroughly apropos for a modern family at home in Manhattan. In Dumais’ view, it’s “the scale and soft curvature of everything” that lends this flavor, as well as the exacting eclecticism of the mix. “We strove to pick pieces that don’t quite go together in theory yet somehow do, perhaps because the scale works or because the composition of materials is complementary,” Dumais explains. Thanks to this approach, the entirely new interiors feel “curated and not one-note,” he adds.

“When you envision a Parisian apartment, it doesn’t look like your grandmother’s house, and it’s not white-box-modern either,” the husband elaborates. “It looks like a place where you could throw an elegant dinner party or just be sitting around reading together, which is the balance we wanted.” Now settled into their new home, the family delights in the versatility of their environs, not to mention their aesthetic appeal. “I remember my reaction when we first saw Kevin’s design,” the wife says, “and it’s the same thing I say to myself all the time: I can’t believe we get to live in this beautiful place.”