In a metropolis as compressed as New York City, the value of a serene escape is hard to overstate. Cue the Park Slope Townhouse; a renovated home located within the leafy Park Slope neighbourhood, multidisciplinary design practice Billy Cotton has applied a meticulous eye for detail and in doing so, has created a home that acts as a reprieve from the chaos of daily New York City living that lies beyond its walls.
For a practice with such an all-encompassing range of design disciplines, Billy Cotton’s work is strongly linked by a thread that blends lived-in warmth with disciplined precision. The Park Slope Townhouse showcases this studied mix on a backdrop of heritage features including bevelled archways and ornate marble fireplaces. These elements lay a robust framework of luxury and elegance that allows for more playful and unpredictable design highlights, found in the home’s light fittings and furniture selection.
In the kitchen, a customised version of Billy Cotton’s Pick Up Stick Chandelier demonstrates his ability to find whimsy in the practical, hanging like a piece of contemporary art over a marble bench and matte-black cabinetry. Moving into the dining room, sconces by Jacques Dumond punctuate the walls, adding balance to a central delicate black sculpture supported from the ceiling. In the all-white master bedroom, a commanding chandelier by Moonlight de Stilnovo is suspended over a custom bed. Softly rendered Murano lamps from JF Chen and a Franco Albini chair add to the room’s tactile warmth.
Within the home’s library, a large cream rug by Holland & Sherry creates a plush canvas on which Billy Cotton has layered a glossy red coffee table by Sabine Marcelis, custom black bookshelves and a chrome side table by Phillipe Starck. No detail is spared, with a Tolomeo desk lamp designed by Michele de Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina for Artemide and a black, mesh waste basket by Richard Galef.
Dotted throughout Park Slope Townhouse are furniture pieces designed by Billy Cotton himself. This includes an all-black lounge chair, large square dining table and desk chair; each of which highlight form and function in equal measure and accurately reflect the entire Billy Cotton oeuvre. The Park Slope Townhouse showcases how a measured hand can achieve a space where nothing is out of place and nothing is forced. In a city built on hustle and bustle, this is a balance worth pursuing.
