Riverfront Country House – Nyack

NYACK,

Riverfront Country Home

While throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the riverside hamlet of Nyack, New York, bustled with a thriving shipbuilding industry, today, the locale is better known as a much sought-after community just forty-five-minute from the gridded streets of Manhattan.

Established clients of Glenn Gissler Design were looking for a weekend property when we found a newly-built architect-designed shingle-style Colonial Revival home on the Hudson River. The rooms were gracious and well-detailed yet not ostentatious, with remarkable river views, presenting the perfect backdrop for a restrained mix of contemporary, vintage, and antique furnishings.

A color palette of tempered marine blues, celadon, and sophisticated neutrals was chosen, paying homage to the verdant landscape and gleaming water beyond the structure’s facade. The resulting spaces are comfortably classic and ideally suited to the stunning naturalistic panoramas.

With the interiors complete, the focus turned to the client’s wish for a pool and cabana, presenting a daunting set of challenges. Working closely with an engineer, landscape designer, and an experienced pool builder, the team moved the earth–quite literally–to create a plateau for a resort-inspired infinity edge pool. The resulting terrace appears effortlessly carved into the landscape—as if it has always been there—the ultimate hallmark of successful exterior design.

Glenn Gissler - Sharpe Nyack - New York State
Chiseled into the sloping terrain between the main house and the Hudson River, the newly constructed terrace with its infinity edge pool and cabana provides a superb respite from the bustling streets of New York City, less than an hour away.
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A backless, streamlined daybed allows a view of the crackling fireplace throughout the fall and winter seasons. The painting over the mantel is by American Abstract Impressionist Richard Pousette-Dart’s 1969-1970 Untitled (Radiance). Pousette-Dart is a widely recognized member of the New York School of painting, creating a poignant relationship between the artist and this Hudson River home.
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A stylized Chinese-inspired chain-link motif unfolds across a custom-designed area rug, establishing a colorful dialog with two armchairs in the style of Jacques Adnet, upholstered in similarly-hued paisley. Two lean classical end tables, a custom-colored linen table at the center, and a cast bronze thorn-leg table by Herve van der Straeten provide gracious space for a pair of white crackle-glazed lamps, drinks, books, and cherished mementos.

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Three pendant lights are hung from a blue ceiling in the dining room, lending rhythmic gravitas to the room’s lighting. Lush linen curtains frame the windows and French doors. Subtle curves define the suite of chairs, while Winged Creature (2014), by Frank Bowling, takes pride of place above the marble-and-millwork mantle.

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The patinated oak finish and graphic contours of the 1940’s pecan-toned sideboard by Parisian furniture maker Charles Dudouyt lend a historical note to the dining room, while Hale Woodruff’s Landscape No.2 (1966) hangs above, referencing the lush landscape beyond.
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To one side of the living room, en route to the paneled library, a second seating area invites casual conversation with its armless sofa. The coffee table and chairs are French, with silhouettes establishing a note of continental modernity. Completing the tableau is The Studio, a 1952 canvas by female Abstract Impressionist Yvonne Thomas, who has garnered considerable attention in the years since her death.
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Three handsome barstools, clad in a burnished blue-grey textile, add a colorful counterpoint to the kitchen’s celadon-and-off white palette. A small yet striking painting by Franz Kline, Untitled 1960, is perched on the counter, underscoring the homeowner’s interest in modern abstraction.
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The custom millwork, marble, slate, and subway tile in the expansive, perfectly appointed chef’s kitchen are softened by several unlined Roman shades tailored in a handsome Zimmer + Rohde stripe.
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In the library, pine paneled walls strike a stately note; their color echoes on a caramel leather club chair and vintage coffee table. A melange of slate blue textiles, both plain and patterned, perfectly balances the atmosphere. The painting over the mantel is Bradley Walker Tomlin’s Number 19 (1952-53).
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A subdued palette in the primary bedroom, similarly hued yet softer than the rest of the home’s interiors, hits just the right chroma-note for encouraging a peaceful night’s rest. The textural rug and curvaceous settee mimic the undulation of the Hudson river just below the room’s adjacent terrace. Rock-crystal lamps and the sculptural ‘Supra Bubble’ chandelier provide ambient light.
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A crystal chandelier from the 1960s by the influential Venetian architect and designer Carlo Scarpa hangs above a decidedly feminine bath adjacent to the primary bedroom. Marble mosaic tiles and custom built-ins meet creature comfort in a lavishly upholstered sling-backed slipper chair, while an abstract geometric embroidered linen fashioned into a Roman shade diffuses the afternoon light.
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A study in perfect contrast, the home’s entryway is at once stately with its double-height ceiling and understated in its elegant simplicity. The monumentally-scaled canvas by Frank Bowling emphasizes the grand sweep of the staircase from above, while the angular Chinese Chippendale fretwork railings sway in juxtaposition to the perpendicular lines of the slate floor.
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In this vignette, a Gustavian chest, one of a pair flanking a custom upholstered bed, is coupled with a cylindrical, mother-of-pearl inlaid side table. The rock crystal lamp is ingeniously produced from the detritus of larger crystal cuttings wired together, from CL Sterling & Sons.

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Playful polka dot curtains and a gestural line-drawn garden scene rug–rendered in tones of pink, rose, and cream–add to the joyful atmosphere in the daughter’s bedroom. And because it’s never too early to expose children to art, Winter Rose by Kikuo Saito hangs above a diminutively-scaled Chesterfield sofa, chair, and elephant side table.
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The infinity-edge pool, cabana, and multiple seating areas for al fresco dining are visible from nearly every room in the home. An adjacent boat launch provides private access to waterside recreational activities.
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The cabana, open on three sides to circulate river breezes, draws its architectural inspiration from the shingled house above. A suite of chaise lounges and umbrellas are oriented to capitalize on the remarkable views.
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A teak table and fretwork chairs, which allude to the stair railings in the home’s entry, are arranged on a bluestone terrace just off the kitchen, providing seating for an intimate meal.

Senior Designer Craig Strulovitz
Photos by Peter Murdock

Riverfront Loft – Tribeca

TRIBECA – NYC

Riverfront Loft

Glenn Gissler Design transformed this 2,500 square-foot, 2-bedroom loft apartment in Tribeca for a family of three. Located in a freshly converted former warehouse building, the loft’s principal rooms enjoy Hudson River views and an abundance of natural light through six large west-facing windows, making the remaining walls ideal for displaying a newly acquired collection of fine art.

Gissler worked with his clients to acquire a number of artworks by recognized leading American Abstract Expressionist movement artists to be placed within the calm background. A large, lively canvas by Larry Poons hangs above the living room sofa, while striking works by Theodoros Stamos and Milton Resnick are seen in the entry off the dining area.

A large, lively and colorful canvas by Larry Poons hangs above the sofa, flanked by Ombre Italian Lamps from the 1950’s in acidic yellow and greens that add an element of surprise to the room’s palette.

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The soft green treatments mimic the hues of the Hudson River and frame the view. Anchoring this end of the room is a pair of Roman Thomas chairs upholstered in a Pollack fabric. A 19th Century Uzbekistan Suzani embroidery placed on the purple ottoman adds a layer of history and decoration.

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The upholstered furniture is tailored but welcoming, covered in warm-hued fabrics—greens, beiges, and purples—that use texture or unassertive pattern to create additional visual interest. Tables, chairs, and case goods in solid dark-stained wood offer strong, graphic silhouettes. Walls are painted in warm and soothing, yet art-friendly shades of taupe.

"We are grateful we selected GGD and would certainly recommend them to others. "

– Client

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The symmetrical Dining Area has a pair of large framed mirrors to create the feeling of openness in the room. Above the dining table hangs a branching bubble chandelier by contemporary designer Lindsey Adelman. A large Amethyst specimen is displayed prominently as the centerpiece on the dark-stained dining table from Holly Hunt.

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The first view of the apartment is of Theodoros Stamos painting from 1946 title ‘The Sacrifice’ hung above circa 1830 Chinese Alter Table.

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The entryway and dining area have a bold mix of objects but the focus of on the rich painting by American Abstract Expressionist painters Milton Resnick and Theodoros Stamos.

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In the master bedroom the palette is a combination of soft green and pale peach and the light reflecting off of the Hudson River sparkles in the Mercury Glass Lamps and 1960’s Venini Chandelier.

Senior Designer Craig Strulovitz
Photos by Gross & Daley