Still only in his 40s, designer Rafael de Cárdenas has already amassed an impressive and slick portfolio that includes a Madison Avenue flagship for Baccarat, an English estate’s soaring pool pavilion with a pair of corkscrew waterslides (AD, November 2017), and an ultrahip showroom for boho-chic fashion designer Ulla Johnson. But could de Cárdenas devise a stylish yet livable apartment for a growing family?
“Many of the projects we’re associated with aren’t super family-friendly,” de Cárdenas admits. But his work on the SoHo apartment of Jonathan Perrelli, who works in NYC real estate, and Yasmina Jacobs, an entrepreneur and marketing professional, plus their three young daughters—not to mention two dogs—shows his firm was up to the task. “Here, first and foremost,” he says, “the family-friendliness dictated everything to a strong degree.”
The resulting three-bedroom, 3,500-square-foot home accomplishes the ultimate Manhattan balancing act: It’s a residence that utilizes every square inch of functionality while also achieving a polished, sophisticated glow. “They didn’t want anything formal,” says de Cárdenas, “but we buttoned up everything else as much as possible.”
Even so, it took a lot more than some washable fabric and a beanbag to make this pad fit for purpose. A partition wall that had held a gas fireplace and previously divided the living and dining areas was removed. “It felt out of place and diminished the light,” says Perrelli. This allowed the layout to become more loftlike and created valuable sight lines that allowed the parents to keep their eyes on the kids. “We really love the flow,” adds Jacobs. “It’s a giant loop. We liked leaning into that, and it felt special.”
Having a distinct dining area was important to the couple, but the room’s previous dimensions were out of proportion. They needed extra storage, too, specifically to house about 60 bottles from Perrelli’s considerable whiskey collection. He has an additional 350 or so in storage. “It’s more than he can drink in a lifetime,” Jacobs deadpans. The design solution was to create a series of floor-to-ceiling cabinets along one wall of the dining room, then cover it in a dazzling custom wallpaper from Callidus Guild. “It makes the dining room a bit more dressed up,” says de Cárdenas. “It’s the only thing like that in the space, since the architecture itself wasn’t going to bring that kind of charm.”