West Village Maisonette – NYC

WEST VILLAGE – NYC

Maisonette

This grand-scale duplex apartment in a 1906 building was purchased as a raw space ready to create a home. Glenn Gissler Design was given the task of creating, essentially from scratch, a livable and happy space for a young family while connecting the design to the building’s past. Appropriately scaled architectural elements and moldings were added as well as a grand-scale curving stair. The furnishing and decoration were selected to be cheery and classic, yet strong and bold enough to hold up in these large-scale rooms

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In the living room, bold scale molding and architecture details were added to the bright and sunny room. The decor is a mix of bold furnishings based on classic forms and the fabrics are a mix of Bohemian woven textiles all placed on top of a red and rich chocolate-brown contemporary carpet. The sculpture abstract root-like table lamps are vintage James Mont.

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The entrance vestibule was painted a rich and dramatic aubergine. The contemporary antiqued brass and glass globe light fixture hang in contrast to the patina of the 19th-century Chinese bench and console cabinet. The mirror sconce is custom designed by Gissler.

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Up a few stairs from the front door, the spacious stair hall is paneled in cerused oak adding a light, yet rich surface. The 1940’s French table with a pair the vintage bronze lamps are placed center in the dynamic space serving to anchor the room.

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The newly built curving stair wrapped in cerused oak paneling, appearing as if it had always been a part of the building. An enormous custom Lindsey Adelman chandelier hangs dramatically in the large curved volume.

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In the sitting room, a series of large Walton Ford editions are installed in a grid on the rich green-brown walls. The pair of vintage 1970’s table lamps are the perfect complement to the tailored upholstery in a warm mix of deep browns, greens, and oranges.

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For the draperies of this sitting room, the reverse side of a formal paisley fabric of used to achieve a more vintage handmade affect.

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The warm dining room is enveloped by a commissioned mural by artist Kevin Paulsen, depicting a fantastical landscape of an imagined history of New York City. The large-scale oak dining table was custom made and a pair of vintage Moroccan lanterns and the feeling of exoticism to the room.

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The large custom kitchen was painted a Farrow and Ball ‘Hague Blue’ a deep blue-green. The backsplash is a handmade brick-like subway tile. The island was finished in the same cerused oak to found in other areas of the home.

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The corner banquette and oak pedestal table are the perfect place in the kitchen for a cozy family meal. The chairs are English oak with a unique spindle back

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In the upstairs stair landing the squiggle linear pattern of the contemporary carpet lead your eye to the large-scale Lindsey Adelman chandelier and the canvas by Robert DeNiro Sr. is an unexpected splash of color.

"Glenn Gissler Design did a tremendous job transforming an imposing raw space in an historic building in the West Village into an architecturally beautiful home that is warm and comfortable. Our family will be happy in our home for many years to come!"

– Client

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Formerly an airshaft the focal point of this symmetrical secret garden is the bronze sculpture titled ‘The Elan’ by Bill Barrett which sites inform of a large architectural mirror that reflects light and creates a feeling of openness in the small space. The trellis above gives a sense of enclosure and privacy from above. The garden is filled with green plantings like boxwood, magnolia trees, and climbing vines mixed with perennials

SOHO Loft – NYC

SOHO – NYC

Soho Loft

After living for more than a decade on the Upper East Side, these empty nesters headed a few miles south to Soho to try loft living.  While some items from their expansive classical pre-war apartment made it to the new address, most everything was selected specifically for this apartment.

The expansive very open Living – Dining – Kitchen with 12 foot ceiling and a wall of large windows facing west offering protected views over the landmark district and ever-changing sunset views. 

To create a living area that suited many functions we created a custom 20-foot L-shaped sofa with one end offering ideal TV viewing, and other end creating a seating group focused on the marble-clad fireplace. To amplify and expand the incredible light and views, we had the largest possible framed mirror made that would fit into the building’s elevator. Custom cabinetry combined with steel shelving house the discretely displayed television, books, and ceramic collection.

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View of the living looking directly at the custom marble-clad fireplace with its design roots in early modern architecture, large custom coffee table, a pair of French Art Deco arm chairs with sinuous wood arms, striped custom flat weave rug and the oversized mirror. One can also see the custom lighting made to reinforce the industrial legacy of the space, and to provide proper lighting for the clients’ art collection.

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The elevator opens directly into the Dining Room where the large work on paper by artist Julian Schnabel holds court. The delicate lines of the steel and leather chairs and the steel and light wood table create a casual but chic first impression.

"Glenn has impeccable taste - he was both sensitive to our needs and aesthetic and to the integrity of the space in which he worked."

– Client

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The large main space has an open view from the Living and Dining areas to the Kitchen and the stairs to the second floor beyond. 

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Asymmetrical carpet design inspired by a Gio Ponti carpet made with cowhides with a  center table creates a modern stair hall.

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Hallway to lower bedrooms, powder room and laundry painted dark grey is lined with artwork; a custom ‘X’ base stool anchors the end wall with two works of art.

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A wonderful 1920’s cabinet by Gio Ponti and Emilio Lancia was originally purchased for their ‘uptown life’ was reused in this apartment along with the Herzog and De Meuron ‘Hocker’ stool, a bold work on paper and other decorative objects. 

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Living area detail showing a ‘Hocker’ stool by Herzog & De Meuron, a pair of French Art Deco chairs with sinuous wood arms and an oversized framed mirror hanging over a custom fireplace clad in ‘Grey Goose’ marble. 

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TV corner of the over-sized Living Room sofa with a photograph by Frank Thiel, a detail of peeling paint, and a Toio floor lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1962, and a leather ottoman that works well for feet, books or beverages.

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View over the adjacent low-rise historic district with a view of the residential towers at NYU (with the needle of the Empire State building popping up) and the expanding metropolis at Hudson Yards, in the distance.

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Wide view of the living area looking at the wall of large windows.

West End Avenue Apartment – NYC

UPPER WEST SIDE – NYC

West End Avenue Apartment

Works of fine art by Picasso, Cy Twombly, Brice Marden, Al Held, and Terry Winters hang amid furniture of comparable aesthetic stature in this classic ten-room apartment on West End Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. For the clients, empty nesters, we mixed mid-twentieth century design with traditional forms of furniture that speak to supreme comfort. So distinctive are certain 20th century artifacts–icons of the avant-garde of their time–that they approach the level of fine art.

Seen with a magnificent Sultanabad carpet, c. 1900, deeply upholstered English-style sofas and armchairs, and plain yet luxurious draperies, the contemporary objects such as architect Frank Gehry’s corrugated “Wiggle Chair” take on new resonance and context; just as an Ethiopian carved wood chair, c. 1900, seems mysteriously to fit with the undulating mahogany and brass cabinet by Tommi Parzinger, c. 1950, we chose for this project.

This residence fuses luxury with restraint, comfort with discipline, and fine art of the highest order with consummate works of decorative art. It represents a lively and inspired collaboration between clients and the designer in creating a new collection, and implanting its art and artifacts in a home as livable as it is stylish.

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An eclectic array of furniture marks the transition from living room to dining room, the latter seen through wide French doors. In the Living Room, an antique Italian armchair by Ulrich Guglielmo, Italy from the 1950’s echoes the curves of the Danish Modern rosewood pedestal table, the Frank Gehry Wiggle Chair, and Herve van der Straeten’s “Tornade” lamp.

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Surprising harmonies in rich reds, ebonies and honey tones are exemplified by the custom red wool area rug from Martin Patrick Evan; the Chinese camphor wood altar table from Shanxi Province, c. 1850; and textiles from Donghia and Gretchen Bellinger. An aquatint etching by Cubist artist Jacques Villon is posed on a cast iron artist’s easel.

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Comfort meets culture: above the custom sofa from Jonas Upholstery in Holly Hunt’s “Great Plains Paisley” are two prints by Brice Marden. The custom coffee table is topped in pale gray honed marble; the walls are in a Donald Kaufman paint; and antique Asian modern lamps are from Glenn Gissler Design’s inventory.

The 1947 painting, “Fugue,” by Abstract Expressionist James Brooks, rivets our attention. Poised on the custom coffee table is an ancient work of Pre-Columbian art, a Colima Carinate Vessel, between 300 B.C. and 300 A.D., from Douglas Dawson Gallery. (Second) A corner devoted to interesting early and mid 20th century design: the Vienna Secession side table by Gustav Siegel, c. 1905, accompanies a luxurious tufted custom daybed upholstered in Lee Jofa’s “Tahira Ottoman” fabric. The modernist floor lamp was designed in the 1950s by Austrian designer J.T. Kalmar.

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Picasso’s portrait of Dora Maar of 1939-42 hangs above an Ethiopian carved wooden chair, c. 1900, from Kimcherova. On the adjacent wall, above Austrian designer Tommi Parzinger’s mahogany and brass cabinet, c. 1950, hangs a print by contemporary abstract artist Terry Winters.

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A quartet of bold ink drawings by Al Held defines this space, where a comfortable banquette in a Holly Hunt Great Plains Fabric surrounds a custom table of solid walnut. The distinctive side chairs are by Ico Parisi, Italy c. 1947, from Leon Hamaekers. The milk glass chandelier with Edison bulbs is from Early Electrics.

"A day doesn't go by where I don't find myself thrilled to be in this apartment!"

– Client

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Comfort and earthiness define the Family Room, with two deep, boxy Jean-Michel Frank sofas upholstered by Jonas Upholstery. The rugged central light fixture–a new machine age artifact–was custom made by Daniel Berglund, its frame composed of industrial conveyor belt links. A boldly striped wool rug from Martin Patrick Evan grounds the ensemble.

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Two framed collages by Conrad Marca-Relli from Hollis Taggart Galleries invoke a neo-primitive element. A large Nassau coffee table from Williams-Sonoma invites piles of books. The room’s woody quality is accentuated by vintage or contemporary hand hewn wooden side tables, including the round Heliotrope table from Newman Studio.

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Soft neutrals create an inviting sense of repose. The king sized upholstered bed is by Baker, Knapp & Tubbs, the fabric by Pollack. Contemporary designer Lindsey Adelman’s chandelier is of oil-rubbed bronze with hand-blown glass globes; the unusual floor lamp is by French designer Rispal, 1955; and the bedside chrome and clear glass table lamps are from Saladino.

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A curvaceous Boudin armchair with ottoman, upholstered in Pollack fabric is perfect for reading, illuminated by the Rispal lamp. The sculptural Tetra table is from C.S. Post & Co. Custom flat roman shades in Sahco fabric and curtain panels in Pollack fabric were made by Boaz Sharoni Design. The carpet is from Paul H. Lee.

Michael Kors Penthouse – NYC

GREENWICH VILLAGE – NYC

Michael Kors Penthouse

Since 1987, Glenn Gissler has designed a series of luxuriously minimal apartments and showrooms for fashion designer Michael Kors. The interior design and landscaping of Kors’ most recent residence, which he shares with his husband Lance Le Pere, cover a 2200 square foot penthouse loft with a 1500 square foot terrace in Greenwich Village. The project represents Gissler’s definitive showcase for Kors’ streamlined aesthetic, now realized on a grand scale.

Kors’ taste and design imperatives over his long working relationship with our firm have remained a constant. Kors espouses a disciplined palette of white, black and gray; a vocabulary of materials consisting of polished chrome, stainless steel, marble and wood; a penchant for upholstery using Kors’ own grey flannel suiting fabric, black leather and white canvas.

This design repertoire is handsomely woven into the residence, now furnished with icons of mid century furniture design by Mies van der Rohe, Florence Knoll, George Nelson, Achille Castiglione and Warren Platner. Hundreds of books and silver-framed photographs of friends and family soften the stylish, slightly austere space, expressing ease as well as elegance. The penthouse epitomizes Kors’ hallmark of luxury without fuss.

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The Foyer is classic Kors, the tufted Florence Knoll daybed on steel frame and legs seeming to float against the genuine zebra rug from Global Leathers. The stainless steel and glass “MR Table” is by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, c. 1927, from Knoll.

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A vintage photo of cigarettes by photographer Irving Penn hangs above a simple black granite surround we designed. A 1960’s chrome floor lamp offers light over the Warren Platner chrome and glass side table and the Barcelona Chair and Stool by Mies van Der Rohe.

A spacious orchestration of mid-century classics marks the living room. At left, a suite of Florence Knoll furniture: the tufted sofa, a rectangular coffee table with satin chrome base, and chrome and clear glass side table. At right, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s famous Barcelona Chair and Stool, c. 1929 and Warren Platner’s silvery side table.

"We travel constantly and we live a hectic, fast paced life and needed our NYC apartment to feel like a calm luxurious and sleek retreat. Working with Glenn Gissler was a seamless way to find the balance between clean pragmatism and laid back luxe that we were looking for.”

– Michael Kors & Lance Lepere

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The classic mid-century Florence Knoll sofa and steel and glass tables, and marble column lamps sit in front of a wall of closed storage and open bookshelves with Kors’ collection of biographies, fashion and lifestyle books.

Kors preferred the sheen of the wood floors over any sort of floor covering that helps give the open plan apartment a loft-like feeling. The palate of the apartment is very consistent – grey flannel, black leather, chrome and white, wood Venetian blinds, and wood floors with classic modern furniture and lighting throughout.

"My apartment is clean, spare, and simple, but the pieces have presence and quality, which is the same approach I take to designing clothes."

– Michael Kors

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The polished plainness of this space is notable, as is Kors’ and his husband Lance Lepere’s avowed penchant for ordering in from New York’s finest restaurants. The sleek choice of furniture–the custom Wooster table from Desiron with marble top, coupled with quintessential ’70s Spoleto armless chairs from Knoll–sets a shipshape scene for dining.

We might, echoing Le Corbusier, call Kors’ kitchen a “machine for living,” so pure and unadorned are its lines and volumes, so stark it’s palette, all white except for the shining controls on its Viking 30″ range, and the polished stainless steel and woven black leather of the counter stools.

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Kors’ bathroom is a place of beauty, every inch sheathed in Stone Source’s Calacatta Vision marble, notable for the fine veins of grey in its pristine white surface. The sinks are a triumph of simplicity, the shape and concept ancient in inspiration: Kohler’s “Timpani” vessel sink in stainless steel.

Simplicity and purity abet pure luxury in the master bedroom. The custom king platform bed is in dark walnut with Parsons legs, accompanied at its foot by a three-seater stainless steel and leather bench from Knoll. A velvety custom area rug from Stark, bound in black canvas, creates softness underfoot.

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View looking at the wisteria-covered pergola above the built-in seating area.

Large custom dining table looking East to chaise lounge and oversized square umbrella.

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A modern Wisteria arbor creates a cool shaded place in the hot sun, and a romantic place to sit and gaze at the views south at night.

A bank of potted miniature Japanese maples contrast with a boxwood hedge, all overlooking a magnificent view of downtown Manhattan.

A bank of potted miniature Japanese maples contrast with a boxwood hedge, all overlooking a magnificent view of downtown Manhattan.

Westside Modern

UPPER WEST SIDE – NYC

Westside Modern

Once one passes through the Foyer, this top floor light-filled apartment takes full advantage of the views south over the Museum of Natural history and a broad and expansive view of mid-town Manhattan.  

We reconfigured this pre-war apartment with a more open layout for a cosmetic industry executive. This top floor apartment had a great bonus feature, more ceiling height! The original nine-foot ceiling was removed and the ceiling raised to almost eleven feet creating an enviable lofty experience.

One of our studio mantras is “Storage is a key to mental health!”; the opening up of this apartment did not sacrifice storage – to the contrary, the storage space increased substantially.  Aside from the Kitchen cabinets, there are more than thirty-five linear feet of closet space, a queen-sized Murphy bed, and a washer/drier closet!

In the public spaces, the apartment balances classic modern forms, calm neutrality, and comfort, with some visual excitement. The palette of materials and textiles in the public spaces is a range of grays with blues and some hots pops of red.

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The Dining Area in this open loft-like penthouse apartment has views South over the Museum of Natural History with a broad and expansive view of mid-town Manhattan

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The open loft-like apartment has a kitchen that is partially open to the Dining area allowing the southern light to fill the room during the day.

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Kitchen cabinets are in two different values of grey to add visual layering and to differentiate  between areas of the apartment.

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Living Room seating group with a pair of vintage Robsjohn-Gibbings arm chairs, built-in bookcases, and a striking photograph by Jeffrey Rothstein

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In the 21st century having a television is a common necessity, but finding a convenient and discreet location can be a challenge. The large built-in bookcase and the remarkable view balance the glossy black of the flat screen television, which is a perfect distance and height for viewing.

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The red elements in the artwork tie in with a clear visual line of sight to the red urn in the Living Room. A Lindsay Adelman light fixture marks the center of the room that corresponds to the center of the round area rug below.

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In the bedroom, the owner wanted a calm space with some glamour. The first purchase for this room was an antique Japanese textile with graphic curvilinear shapes on a mottled green field mounted in a gild frame that hangs over the bed. The 1920’s crystal Moser lamps from Czechoslovakia  sit upon custom oval bedside tables covered in an ivory linen. The textile inspired the use of complimentary lavender walls and rich purples, and other green accents.

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A vintage porcelain lamp  sits upon a custom wood bureau with linen-faced drawers. The striking Lucio Fontana work on paper from the 1970’s brings the rich color purple to this corner of the room seen from the bed.

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The Office is open to the Living Room such that there is a flood of light throughout the public rooms due to the unobstructed Southern light. The back wall are cabinets for office storage, out-of-season storage, guest storage and a Queen-sized Murphy bed. The chandelier (one of a pair) are from Schoolhouse Electric.

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Dark slate floors without a curb into the shower and a linear drain help to expand the sense of space in this small interior bath. Graphic marble subway tiles gives the room a lot of visual personality only surpassed by the porcelain enamel vanity cabinet in fire engine red!

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The dark slate floors are used in the Master Bathroom but with a softer veined marble walls and wainscot. An enormous full-height medicine cabinet gave this cosmetic industry executive plenty of room for her lotions and potions.