Yacht-Like Interiors Finish An Elegant NYC Apartment

Deciding to scratch relocation plans and remain in the apartment they’d occupied for 30 years, a couple hired Juan Montoya to revamp and update. He put all their furnishings in storage so he could first address their desire for graciously proportioned rooms.

Opening up the entry hall and corridor to create a spacious gallery immediately accomplished this. Inspired by East River views, he says, “I decided to treat the windows like those on a luxurious yacht, which I did by using a lot of dark woods like Macassar ebony.”

He balanced the potential heaviness with walls and ceilings of escayola — a luminous, buffed Venetian-style plaster — and by using lighter sycamore in the less grandly scaled master bedroom. He then layered in custom lighting and a curated selection of his clients’ Art Deco and modern furnishings, antique rugs and Asian art, mixing in contemporary works he selected to create a sophisticated cosmopolitan interior.

The intriguing mix speaks to the shared interest between clients and designer for world travel and treasures from exotic lands. Take a tour of the home, above.