A dynamic design duo from Westchester, New York dreams up a cool twist on the traditional sleep space.
Designers Remy Crisci and Mariel Goodson don’t have a traditional design pedigree and maybe that’s what brings a fresh, distinct layer to their spaces. Crisci attended FIT in New York and worked in fashion, for Chanel no less, before transitioning to interiors. After working for designer Katie Ridder, she teamed up with Goodson, who had spent years in the magazine world, holding editorial posts at Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes & Gardens, and Redbook while restoring and renovating a 1938 Center Hall Brick Colonial and a 1908 English-style Arts & Classical.
Soon after hanging their shingle, the duo was getting noticed for curating colorful, eclectic, and classic spaces. Their name, Brass Hill Design, comes from Crisci and Goodman’s shared home base, a charming village 20 miles north of New York City.
Scrolling through the firm’s Instagram feed echoes the designers’ love of thoroughly modern interiors that blend classical features with fresh and fun touches. One master bedroom particularly caught our eye.
The Manhattan townhome boasts high ceilings and detailed millwork—lovely for sure—but not always conducive to creating a modern, cozy sleep space. While preserving the architectural integrity and original details, the designers beautifully blend the old with the new, the soft with the structured, fulfilling the client’s wish to keep it timeless.
"They wanted a serene, sophisticated space,” says Crisci. “This is their first home as a married couple and they wanted it to reflect this new phase in their life. They wanted it to be a space they’d love now and love later.” We’re equally smitten.
Read on to see how the design pair pulled off this fresh and cozy master in the heart of New York City.
If this bedroom had a name, what would it be?
"Young Traditional.”
How did you land on this cool, elegant palette?
"Our clients love color as much as we do, which is always a blessing, and we used saturated tones throughout the entertaining spaces in the home. In the bedroom, we wanted to infuse the space with color but in a way that felt restful and relaxing. We wanted to envelop the room in such a way that it felt like you were being wrapped in a blanket of calm.”
Talk about that great wallpaper.
"It really launched the look for the room. It’s called “Endimione” by Charlap, Hyman & Herrero for Schumacher and has a matching fabric that allowed us to ensconce the room in the print. It’s a very traditional pattern—trellis, botanical—but done in a way the feels young, fresh and clean—it has almost a Swedish vibe to it. When we saw it, we stopped in our tracks; it was the perfect foundation.”
There is a lot of pattern here but it never overwhelms.
"We always work with a ton of pattern and color, so we rely on strategic repetition; here, we repeat the pattern on the walls and window treatments; we repeat a large-scale print on the bed bolsters and the bench; and then we weave in smaller scale fabrics throughout to push the palette forward. In some rooms, we use color and pattern to excite and stimulate, but here we use it to collect and calm the space.”
And what about texture?
"At the end of the day, you’re living “in” the room, not just looking at a photograph of it, so by layering texture, we’re helping elevate the experience of the space. The vanity chair is in a really decadent nubby velvet; the area rug is a soft flat-weave wool; the bedding is crisp Egyptian cotton. In a master bedroom, everything has to feel really good.”
"In the bedroom, we wanted to infuse the space with color but in a way that felt restful and relaxing. We wanted to envelop the room in such a way that it felt like you were being wrapped in a blanket of calm.”
We love the striking shapes at play here. What’s the key to keeping it balanced?
"It’s another way to add interest to the room. We wanted to balance the curve and height of that headboard with the clean, architectural lines of the Maggie Cruz bench at the foot of the bed. The graphic fretwork on the base of that Shanghai vanity desk is softened by a pleated skirt on the chair and a rounded silhouette on the seatback. We wanted to echo ceiling medallions found elsewhere in the home by enlisting a pair of Aerin’s Hampton Chandeliers, which feature similar detailing. It’s always a game of push-pull—more than once, one of us has chimed in with “too many rectangles!” Part of what makes decorating so interesting and personal is the way in which you engage these various silhouettes and lines to tell a story about the home or the person living in that room.”
"Part of what makes decorating so interesting and personal is the way in which you engage these various silhouettes and lines to tell a story about the home or the person living in that room.”
Any traditional bedroom design rules you like to follow or break?
"We don’t pay too much attention to rules in general. That being said, we believe in keeping bedside tables at around the same height as the mattress, simply for ease of use and positioning lamps for comfortable reading. But beyond that, we largely ignore “do’s and don’ts.” One thing we did do that was a bit unusual here was that because this expansive bedroom featured a cased opening that divided the room, we used it to add coziness to the room by creating a bed nook that was visually differentiated from the rest of the room’s living space. In that enclave, we papered the space and used drapes in the same fabric to cocoon the sleeping area. Then in the broader living space, we enveloped the room in Farrow & Ball’s Parma Gray, which is a dreamy blue that we used to coat the walls and all the millwork. The windows were then dressed with Romans instead of drapes. It gives you a sense of two separate but complementary spaces in one room.”
Can you share some of your ideas for recreating this look?
Go Tonal
"If you’re new to mixing colors, a great place to start can be a multi-toned fabric that you’re drawn to. You can use that as your palette from which to pull tones and guide you as you weave in a variety of colors. Schumacher's “Persian Lancers” fabric which is upholstered on the bench cushion, and bed bolsters incorporates many of the tones we used throughout the room—soft blues, citron, taupe, aqua, and leafy greens—it ties it all together.”
Color Therapy
"To create a cozy bedroom ambiance, we love to paint out all the trim, millwork and walls in the same color to visually wrap the room. It has a very calming, cohesive effect that we love for bedrooms and libraries—places where relaxing is the endgame.”
On Repeat
"Repetition of pattern on wallpaper and fabric is another way to boost the comfort factor.”
Accessorize!
"Without that last layer, the room just won’t feel warm and personal. Greenery—fresh-cut, potted or preserved—is a quick and easy way to instantly add softness and life.”
"To create a cozy bedroom ambiance, we love to paint out all the trim, millwork and walls in the same color...It has a very calming, cohesive effect that we love for bedrooms and libraries—places where relaxing is the endgame.”
Tell us a bit about the bedding you chose. Why was it right for this space?
"We ultimately selected the Lowell duvet and pillowcases. We rely heavily on crisp, clean, bright white linens but loved the subtle touch of the earthy taupe tone along the border. The euro shams and coverlet are from the Costa collection in Wedgwood. Again, they pushed the palette forward while creating a lot of really subtle texture thanks to the matelassé effect. It’s a bed you just want to dive right into. Matouk bedding feels as good as it looks. It’s classic. And we love all of the opportunities to customize and tailor it to a client’s taste.”
