Garrow Kedigian is no stranger to glamour and gentlemanly living, so when an apartment in the famed Carlyle became available, he made his move—literally. He takes us inside for a taste of luxe antiques, alluring art, and gorgeous, glossy walls that we adore.
An Art Deco masterpiece since its opening day in 1930, The Carlyle is something of a Manhattan institution. It’s played host to both celebrities and royalty, from U.S. presidents to Audrey Hepburn to King Charles III and the Prince and Princess of Wales. That’s why Montreal-born interior designer Garrow Kedigian couldn’t believe his good fortune when an apartment opened up in this Upper East Side tour de force—even if it required work.
“Ever since I moved to New York about 23 years ago, I’ve lived in the three-block radius surrounding The Carlyle and have been totally enamored by it,” Kedigian says. “I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to purchase an apartment here, but when it came up, I did not hesitate for one moment.”
To update this classic for a new era, Kedigian employed fearless and grand scale to breathe new life into the apartment. He raised the ceilings over a foot—rehabbing an ill-conceived renovation—and lacquered the walls, adding a high-gloss shine that complements the dazzle of The Carlyle as a whole. He even incorporated the distinctive champagne-yellow hue that’s become the calling card for the legendary Bemelmans Bar downstairs into his living room, while his bold, crimson-colored library is reminiscent of Diana Vreeland’s love affair with red walls.
And of course, it wouldn’t be Garrow Kedigian’s apartment without some deftly curated antiques and powerhouse paintings. Calling these finds “an amalgamation of my adventures, shopping throughout the almost three decades I have been working in the interior design business,” his oversized mirrors, meticulously selected furniture, and “Old Master art,” as he calls it, hail from Paris markets and Chairish alike.
It’s this fresh take on harmonizing between past and present and refreshing toward the future that makes these rooms so visually powerful and stimulating to behold. “It’s good to create a balance between old and new,” Kedigian says—vitally true for interior design, and something that could double as a mantra for The Carlyle itself.
Shop the full curation of pieces inspired by Garrow Kedigian from the latest issue of our print publication, Magazinish. To read all of Magazinish, click here.
All photos by Thomas Loof / Trunk Archive
