Star hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai doubles the glamour at
his family’s Manhattan duplex.
Newly married, the couple turned to the French-born,
New York–based interior designer Robert Couturier
for help in fusing their tastes while giving their home a modern touch.
From the ruby silk-velvet wall covering above the library’s fireplace
to the Louis XVI–style dining chairs in citrine suede, the interior
decoration is based on a color scheme of jewel tones that radiate
warmth and glamour throughout the space. “There is such a tendency
to do beige in New York,” Fekkai says. “It’s safe and beautiful.
But growing up in France, we always had color. I wanted that same
rich, cozy feel.”
For Couturier, a home’s palette is arrived at through a process
of deduction. Here he sought out colors that would work with
the urban architecture and bring life to the rooms in both winter
and summer. He candidly admits he also searches for hues that
will flatter a room’s occupants—which posed a challenge in this
case, since Von Wulffen’s pale blond good looks are the yin
to her husband’s olive-skinned, dark-haired yang. “I believe that if
a person doesn’t look good in a certain color, then they won’t
be happy in their space,” Couturier says. The apartment is one
of seven two-story units in a small Upper East Side building.
“We were looking for a townhouse but were concerned about
the amount of time we spend traveling,” Fekkai says. “So we found
an amazing compromise: a duplex apartment with a townhouse feel.”
Inspired by the layered look of Parisian apartments, the couple went
on several trips to France to buy furniture and art. There Couturier
and his team led them to a Jean Dubuffet painting for the living room
(in Franco-American red, white, and blue), a modern Hervé Van der Straeten
steel console for the hallway, and a 1960s Maurice Calka “boomerang”
desk for the library, which doubles as Fekkai’s home office.
“Robert made the whole process fun,” Fekkai says.
“He invited us to collaborate and take part in creating
the decor. And while he has a great sense of culture,
he doesn’t take himself too seriously.”
