Robert Couturier

For their duplex apartment overlooking Central Park, celebrity hairstylist and entrepreneur Frederic Fekkai and wife Shirin Von Wulffen chose a designer who could meld their sophisticated multinational backgrounds with the appropriate mélange of design elements to make them feel at home. Robert Couturier’s vast design vocabulary and joyful enthusiasm for creating exceedingly livable, warm and glamorous homes was the perfect choice. Antiques and vintage pieces selected with the couple on buying trips to France, 1960s Pop Art-influenced furnishings, Persian carpets from Shirin’s family and bold contemporary artwork came together in a home imbued with globe-trotting sophistication and a sense of fun and adventure. 



Boléro, 1983, a painting by Jean Dubuffet, dominates one end of the living room. A pair of armchairs by the great 18th-century Paris chairmaker Georges Jacob, dressed in ruby velvet, face across a cluster of “Polyhedral” cocktail tables by Mattia Bonetti, from a 2004 edition of 24, which are designed to fit together as a puzzle, or split apart to be used separately. The table lamps are cloisonné, from the 1950s. 


At the opposite end of the living room, a pair of vintage chrome-back Milo Baughman swivel chairs in rust silk velvet play off the tones in the 19th-century Oushak rug. The tripod side table is “Epines Mordorées” in patinated bronze with glass top, by Hervé van der Straeten. An 18th-century daybed is covered in a Pop art-style graphic black and white pattern. An antique marble mantel is outfitted with a gas fireplace.



left:  Contrasting styles combined into a stunning and cohesive design: Classical crown molding and roman shades are elegant counterpoints to a playful pair of Pop art lips, modern artwork and striking sculptural tables. right: At left, a large scale image by German photographer Candida Höefer, known for her hauntingly beautiful images of empty interiors, with meticulous focus on architectural details and atmosphere, and are notably devoid of people. The dining table is Italian, from 1988, the Louis XVI-style suede-covered chairs are from Maison Jansen and the “Cyclone” chandelier is by Hervé van der Straeten. 


In the office/library a vintage 1960 Maurice Calka Boomerang desk radiates a pop-art vibe, in stark contrast to the hand-carved 18th-century French chestnut boiserie that envelops the walls and ceiling. Above the fireplace is a portrait of Frederik’s son and above that, Yves Saint Laurent’s 1976 Love Card, one in a 30-year series of cartes de voeux by the designer that were sent to welcome the New Year. It is of particular significance to Shirin, who was U.S. director of PR for YSL, and whose wedding gown was a custom creation by the designer. The vintage 1965 aluminum and leather armchair and ottoman are by Walter & Moretti.



left:  The entryway features intricately stenciled floors. The console is mirror-polished stainless steel by Hervé van der Straeten, Console Passage 357, from an edition of 20. The geometric beveled mirror, made of individual beveled pieces around a central beveled mirror, is model #208 designed circa 1950 by Tommi Parzinger for his New York company Parzinger Originals. right: At the top of the stairway, a stunning oversized bronze and rock crystal pendant, zebra-patterned carpet and custom geometric iron railing combine to dramatic effect. The painting is by German artist Amelie Von Wulffen.



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