Project Spotlight: Our Blanket Collection Wows in a Harlem Townhouse

December 16 2016

We love seeing where our wallcoverings end up. No two projects are alike, and each completed room gives us new perspective on our collections and ideas for the next ones. Recently, one of our clients, Joe Human of Designs by Human, shared with us a stunning space he designed for a New York City couple who’d just purchased a townhome in up-and-coming East Harlem.

The couple was after a masculine aesthetic that felt cozy, clutter-free, and modern, but paid homage to the building’s historic architecture. Joe incorporated our Blanket wallcovering, a collaboration with designer David Rockwell, in the master bedroom to results that we are so enamored with that we had to find out more about the room...

MR: Can you tell us a little bit about the overall design of this home?

JH: This home is a townhouse located in East Harlem originally built in the late 1800s. Unfortunately it was renovated in the 2000s where all the interior character was stripped out with the exception of the main entrance door.  We wanted to keep the overall design clean and masculine but bring in a slight hint of the building's past.

Why did you choose to go with Blanket in the master bedroom?

The Blanket wallcovering is so unique and so masculine, reminds me of a perfectly tailored suit (which I love!). The rest of the home is more modern with light walls so we wanted the master bedroom to feel cozy and have a unique texture on it that you typically would not see. Since the clients wanted an uncluttered space, this wallcovering paired with the other minimal accents allowed for a fully designed space without needing a lot of items in the room.

What about the beautiful mural in the room? Can you tell us more about that?

The wall mural is a custom wall covering we had made from a satellite image from the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The client wanted to wake up each morning and have a refreshing feeling and they both loved satellite images. We experimented with a bunch of different images but wanted one that wasn't directly referential (say a zoomed in shot of New York City or Italy). It was important to position it properly and include an image with the right amount of blues and browns so it would also complement the Maya Romanoff wallcovering.

How did the wallcovering inform the decisions in the rest of the room?

We really wanted the wallcovering to be a neutral in the room to the map and they both had to work well together. All the other finishes were to have nice complementing wood and metal tones to help complete the masculine look. With it being dark we also didn't want any of the other choices to be overly dark to keep the space feeling bright but wanted to introduce several simple layers.

Great job, Joe! To see the entire Blanket wallcovering collection, click here.