A Dazzling Duplex

Star hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai doubles the glamour at

his family’s Manhattan duplex.

Newly married, the couple turned to the French-born,

New York–based interior designer Robert Couturier

for help in fusing their tastes while giving their home a modern touch.

From the ruby silk-velvet wall covering above the library’s fireplace

to the Louis XVI–style dining chairs in citrine suede, the interior

decoration is based on a color scheme of jewel tones that radiate

warmth and glamour throughout the space. “There is such a tendency

to do beige in New York,” Fekkai says. “It’s safe and beautiful.

But growing up in France, we always had color. I wanted that same

rich, cozy feel.”

For Couturier, a home’s palette is arrived at through a process

of deduction. Here he sought out colors that would work with

the urban architecture and bring life to the rooms in both winter

and summer. He candidly admits he also searches for hues that

will flatter a room’s occupants—which posed a challenge in this

case, since Von Wulffen’s pale blond good looks are the yin

to her husband’s olive-skinned, dark-haired yang. “I believe that if

a person doesn’t look good in a certain color, then they won’t

be happy in their space,” Couturier says. The apartment is one

of seven two-story units in a small Upper East Side building.

“We were looking for a townhouse but were concerned about

the amount of time we spend traveling,” Fekkai says. “So we found

an amazing compromise: a duplex apartment with a townhouse feel.”

Inspired by the layered look of Parisian apartments, the couple went

on several trips to France to buy furniture and art. There Couturier

and his team led them to a Jean Dubuffet painting for the living room

(in Franco-American red, white, and blue), a modern Hervé Van der Straeten

steel console for the hallway, and a 1960s Maurice Calka “boomerang”

desk for the library, which doubles as Fekkai’s home office.

“Robert made the whole process fun,” Fekkai says.

“He invited us to collaborate and take part in creating

the decor. And while he has a great sense of culture,

he doesn’t take himself too seriously.”