This Sophisticated Home Strikes the Right Notes in ALL the Ways
The dining room was deadly—and not in a good way. It was a vibe killer so virulent and alienating that Alissa Leiser and Patricia Walsh avoided it completely while spending time at home. “They never used the dining room,” says Alexandra Pappas, one half of Pappas Miron, who lives in the same building. “It just felt very cold.” So when Leiser and Walsh hired the ELLE DECOR A-List firm to help with an invigorating redesign, everyone knew where to begin.
Walsh and Leiser, a lawyer and a concert pianist, respectively, were looking for a transformation. Their place at Butterfield House in Greenwich Village had otherwise good bones and had already undergone a great architectural renovation, but the space lacked warmth and personality. Pappas and her partner, Tatyana Miron, immediately saw the potential.
The redesign quickly extended beyond the dining room. The living room, originally divided by a half wall, was opened up to create a more spacious area. “Where the piano is now, there used to be a sectional with a television on the wall,” Pappas says. “The living room is so bright, we liked the idea of going into a warm, dark space. We used the same lime plaster finish as the dining room in a rich taupe.”
Foyer
The foyer of a Greenwich Village apartment designed by Pappas Miron.
Living Room
The carpet is an 1880s Oushak, the custom sofa is in a Rogers & Goffigon mohair. The yellow chairs, originally from BB Italia and belonging to the client, are in a Rose Uniacke linen. The vintage bobbin chair from Antique & Artisan is covered in Clarence House Oakpark fabric. The floor lamp is a vintage Caprani. The custom cocktail table is made of bronze and back-painted glass.
Recital Room
A pair of vintage chairs from Antique & Artisan are covered in Claremont Serge Antique fabric with Aquitaine bouillon fringe from Samuel & Sons. The carpet is a custom mohair piece from Woven. The copper sconces are vintage.
Bar
The custom millwork features a bronze mirror by Capitol Glass. A vintage lantern made of rayon was sourced from Roskar. The stonework is by BAS Stone. The barware is vintage. The drapery hardware is crafted by Morgik Metal. The curtain fabric is a wool sateen from Holland & Sherry, in the Blue Glace color.
Dining Room
The table is a vintage piece by Paul Frankl. The chairs are the client’s own from DWR, with new Dualoy leather seats. The light fixture is by Pinch. The sideboard is a vintage item from the Flat in Westport, Connecticut. The lamp is vintage.
Kitchen
In the kitchen, the Cassina stool is vintage; the brown quartzite countertops are by Artistic Tile, Elegant Brown quartzite; the subway-tile backsplash is by Ann Sacks, the Cassina stool pendant is vintage.
Primary Bedroom
The bedside chests, chair, sconces, side table, and lamp are vintage, as is the Ponce Berga ceiling light. The curtains are made from Holland & Sherry wool sateen. The coverlet and custom shams are from Studio Ford.
Office
The ceiling light is a custom piece by Apparatus. The custom desk is by PMD. The desk chair is a Herman Miller Executive model. The walls are upholstered in Claremont Milano linen.
The couple’s must-haves for their home were carefully considered. The living room needed flexible seating for the salons and music recitals Leiser frequently hosted. “The room is long and narrow, which didn’t lend itself to two spaces,” Miron says. “We added a custom bookcase to hold all her sheet music, crafted by a woodworker in Brooklyn.”
In the office, a custom oak desk was built to meet Walsh’s specific needs, including a good Zoom background and cozy, sound-absorbing upholstered walls. The entrance foyer, with its dark herringbone stone floor, features wood paneling that leads into the revived dining room, whose walls make a powerful statement. “Red isn’t really our color,” Miron says. “But Alissa really gravitated to the color, so we just went with it.”
As far as Leiser and Walsh were concerned, Pappas Miron’s work seemed more like an exorcism than a renovation. The entire apartment—not just the dining room of their dread—was miraculously morphed into something warm and cozy, a harmonious space that reflects the couple’s lifestyle. “The whole thing went really seamlessly,” Miron says. “We’re still waiting to be invited to a recital, though.”
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