It’s All NeoTrad Glamour At This Actor’s Posh Manhattan Pied-à-Terre

You’d think that with its classic layout and gracious interiors, this pied-à-terre might reside in an iconic Manhattan haunt imbued with decades of character. Instead, it lives within a masterful new building by architect Robert A.M. Stern—the home’s seeming patina the work of designer Thom Filicia, who prioritized warmth and a fresh take on tradition for his clients, actor Sean Hayes and composer-producer Scott Icenogle.

“They love traditional architecture and lean toward a more classic sensibility,” Filicia says of the L.A.-based couple, whose style the designer observed firsthand years ago when they met through mutual friends. Hayes and Icenogle sought a comfortable, restful place of their own when work brings them to New York, and the building, with its timeless ethos coupled with modern-day amenities, “gives them the best of both worlds,” Filicia observes.

“They asked me to add charm,” continues the designer, “so we did really great wall finishes, beautiful millwork with sconces, an antiqued mirror in the dining area and new pulls, faucets and paint in the kitchen. We basically took the bones and brought them up a notch.”

The couple’s list of specific needs helped direct organization at the outset: a dining area for up to six, a secretary, because they wanted a work space that was also discreet, and a TV in the living room (essential to their work). Lacing together these disparate functions, Filicia composed a sophisticated palette of creams, putties and gray-greens, which together provide a clean, nuanced foundation for contrasting pieces—see: the living room’s caramel tufted-leather ottoman with a black-iron base and warm brass lamp with a black shade—to pop.

The designer’s sensitive approach to balancing tones, textures and patterns distinguishes the residence in full. Custom plaid draperies in the living room strike a “tailored and masculine” chord, says Filicia, while a blown-up map of London—framed in segments on the wall—lends a sense of history. The living room and kitchen walls are covered in a strie wallpaper to add depth, and the plaid of the draperies recurs in different colorways to further unify the unit—such as on the backs of the dining chairs, on a framed mirror in the foyer and on the primary bedroom window treatments. There, Filicia again indulged “diverse materiality” with linen walls replete with nailhead trim and an upholstered walnut bed frame crowned by a modernized candle-style chandelier.

Working largely remotely over the course of a year heightened the drama of the initial showing. “It was a little bit like a TV show, because we had a big reveal,” Filicia recalls. Of course, the end result, with its comforting cocktail of old and new, was exactly as the couple had hoped. “They’re really excited about New York City and Broadway opening up, and how it’s starting to thrive again,” notes the designer. “This is going to be a great backdrop for them to be able to be a part of that and help push it forward.”