If there’s one trait that seems to unite all of New York City real estate, it’s the famous lack of square footage—and the kind of creative problem-solving that comes with it. But one family was fortunate enough to enjoy the opposite scenario. “This is a really substantial, sizable apartment,” says designer Elizabeth Bauer Watt of a sprawling duplex in a historic Delano & Aldrich building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. “We wanted to make sure that everything we did in terms of the architecture and design was worthy of the building and the space itself but also made sense for the way the owners live.” Adds architect Sam Mitchell of Connecticut’s Mitchell Studio, “We were aiming to update it in a way that was sensitive to the 1910 architecture but had a bit of a ’30s feel—something that had old New York flavor but with cleaner lines.”

Though the property was already configured to resemble most private homes, with public areas on the main level and private spaces sectioned off from the rest of the house by stairs, the rooms themselves were slightly claustrophobic, requiring walls to be torn down and altered to open up the layout. The floors were replaced with materials that were consistent with the original design, which Mitchell says was the inspiration for every improvement and served as the impetus for research-based deep dives into molding and vernacular history. “It was about making small adjustments and being faithful to the proportions of the original rooms,” says Mitchell.

A wood floor in the kitchen was custom painted by JJ Snyder Studio to resemble a classic checkerboard tile that coordinates with the lacquered black cabinetry. The ceiling fixtures are by Urban Electric , and the hardware is by Hamilton Sinkler .

Still, some existing elements were fixed. Though Mitchell and Bauer Watt decided to remove a second service staircase at the rear of the apartment, the main set of steps couldn’t be reconfigured without compromising the kitchen, which itself couldn’t be expanded more than a foot due to existing plumbing and structural work. A galley kitchen similar to what was already on site was the only solution, but Bauer dialed up the glamour with lacquered black cabinetry, a wood floor embellished in a classic painted checkerboard pattern, and sleek marble and chrome finishes. “We wanted to give the space a weight and grandeur that it didn’t have on its own,” says Bauer Watt.

The rest of the interiors follow a formula that combines practical comfort, period-appropriate detail, and high-drama visual impact for a design-savvy modern family. “I wanted the palette to be soft and quiet but also colorful at times, highlighting the juxtaposition of classic and modern, old-world and contemporary,” says Bauer Watt. “But it’s more about form and texture: Everything has an interesting shape, right down to the sconces.” Case in point: The banquette that snakes its way around the family room is upholstered in an ornate Josef Frank fabric, subtly mirroring the colors found on the spines of the homeowner’s vast collection of books (she is a best-selling writer) while offering stain-masking pragmatism for the whims of three young children. Warm wood paneling in the office provides a moody counterpoint to the crisp formality of an adjacent living room, which is swathed in sumptuous jewel-tone velvets and luxe brass accents. And a powder room injects a dose of whimsy thanks to an eye-popping Pierre Frey wallpaper and a vibrant coral-hued vanity and decorative trim. “The mix of different fabrics and patterns give the home a life of its own,” says Bauer Watt.

The combination reveals an intimate family home that balances public and private moments with a carefully curated mix of old-school reverence and new-school individuality—and feels light years away from its Manhattan address in both style and comfort.

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