A 1957 New York apartment Eszter Haraszty designed for herself

8/27/2025 12:08:00 AM

Nature and decoration agree that colors of equal value-equal in clarity and strength can be harmoniously combined. To give her New York apartment contemporary character, interior designer Eszter Haraszty experimented with sharp, poster colors against a neutral background. She chose dominant colors that could be replaced for a quieter effect. A vivid blue Bertoia chair has a removable cover; striped spread and pillows are easily changed. For softening influences, she relies on flowers, accessories, plants, candles in chandeliers and bottles (the color scheme requires subdued lighting) and her collection of contemporary chairs, many of them classics. Everywhere color is used for dramatic effect: one blue wall in the hall, orange banquettes in the kitchen dining area, apothecary jars filled with colored water on shelves in the bedroom.

In the living room color is splashed against a background of white and off-white (walls, curtains, area rugs) in conversation groups at opposite ends of the room. Siamese Pink, red and orange stripes of a woven cover on the guest bed are picked up in throw pillows on the sofa, which is upholstered in natural raw silk. A wall storage unit for bar, hi-fi and china has bright blue and black drop-shelf doors. Vivid enamel ash trays, flowers, green and blue bottles are foils for white surfaces. The arresting shapes of a black chair by Le Corbusier, a Thonet lounge chair upholstered in leather and orange felt, sculpture, an old Greek iron chandelier and a Japanese lamp caged in a Portuguese fish trap are accentuated by the use of clear colors and horizontal planes.

Venture into space: In this two-room apartment the living room and bedroom are treated as a single unbroken unit. Shades of white and off-white used on walls and for curtains, rugs and major upholstered pieces make the limited area seem much larger than it is. Conversation, music and study areas within the living room are defined by the furniture arrangement. Draperies with strong vertical stripes of blue and green combine the main components of the color scheme and help to set off the dining corner. A collection of Bristol blue glass supplies the dominant color accent.