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Stacey’s 40s-Inspired Bedroom by Patrick J. Hamilton

Aaron Able
Aaron Able
updated May 8, 2019
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(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Name: Stacey
Location: Union Square, NYC

Designer Patrick J. Hamilton sent in Before & After images of his client’s bedroom — and included one of the most thorough list of resources (and links!) for nearly everything in Stacey’s Union Square bedroom: After surviving a stressful apartment renovation and a year of health concerns, Stacey was ready to take her life off hold, updating her long-loved and makeshift furnishings to reflect a more sophisticated — and well-deserved — time of her life. But she didn’t know quite where to start, and the renovation’s year of agonizing decisions left her design-weary.

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AFTER (Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Then, at the party for the first Bloomingdale’s Big Window Challenge, Stacey crossed path’s with long-time AT-er and Interior Designer Patrick J. Hamilton. Casual conversation about modernizing a room while keeping a traditional area carpet lead to a design partnership, and a whole apartment design plan, adding art, lighting, color and a dash of glamour to the 1BR/1B unit on a tree-lined block steps away from Union Square.

The client’s previous renovation had already given the home’s good bones even more charm, with bright white crown molding, functional window treatments, and a lovely wall color palette that shimmers from pale yellow-green to aqua as the daylight shifts. Regarding the bedroom, “She always wanted white furniture, but was afraid it would be too juvenile,” said Hamilton. “And she mentioned on many occasions, that the Forties in New York were, to her, the epitome of grown-up intelligent glamour.” These were the style cues Hamilton followed, taking even more inspiration from Stacey’s aquamarine eyes. “Eye color is my secret weapon for color selection, especially in bedrooms! She looks AMAZING in this room!” shares Hamilton.

To the tiny space, Hamilton added bold art, surprisingly-scaled dresser and fully upholstered bed, lighting, and a “finishing layer” of stationary silk panels. “Fabric on the windows is a must to have room feel complete, and generally expands the feel of the windows in most rooms,” says Hamilton.

A few months of planning, some smart spending (using AmeEx points accrued from the prior year’s healthcare expenses, an eye on sales, and the client’s stash of Pottery Barn gift cards) and a carefully orchestrated one-day installation turned the room from empty to elegant virtually overnight.

The final mix is what Hamilton calls his signature “Invest, Save, Splurge” strategy: mixing high and low, reproduction and original art, sale finds and carefully “mined” fines from retail sources and websites.

With its cool colors, limited palette, and a flipped furniture arrangement (to take advantage of an enviable Cinderella-esque clock tower view), the room helps take the edge off life each time Stacey enters. What more could a New York bedroom do, in any decade?

BEDROOM SOURCES


After Images: Jody Kivort

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Bedroom
Before & After
Interior Design