Antique Praying Buddha

When British-born furniture designer Andrianna Shamaris embarked on a year-long hunt for a New York City apartment, she had two nonnegotiable requirements: The apartment had to be in estate condition and it had to have views of nature. She also made clear that she wanted a restoration, rather than a renovation, project. When she finally found the perfect place on Central Park South, she enlisted architect Thomas Leeser to help her achieve her vision of an organic-modern retreat.

The first order of business was reproducing the original moldings, which were in such bad shape they couldn’t be reclaimed. “I didn’t want the new moldings to be perfect,” Shamaris says. “Try explaining this to a contractor!”

The next step in preserving the character of the prewar home was to reinstall all the original crystal knobs on custom white resin doors, which hang on pivots rather than hinges. In another unique touch, the designer custom produced a wall covered in shell-encrusted teak to divide the kitchen and living room.

“I don’t like the bourgeois look or anything too minimal, as that style lacks warmth,” she says. “So, even though I might say less is best, having a few objects with a story behind them is far more interesting to me than a room full of objects.”

When Shamaris moved into the apartment, in 2008, the fireplace was sealed shut. She and architect Leeser decided to open it up, keeping the original black marble in front and painting the surrounding frame a strong white. “We left it very clean and wabi-sabi so that it blended into the wall,” Shamaris says.

As her apartment attests, Shamaris is a believer in the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, which finds beauty in imperfection. In fact, she has curated an entire collection based on this simple aesthetic and sells it on her 1stDibs storefront and in her New York showroom.

The entire apartment is accented with pieces from Shamaris’s studio in Sumatra, where she lived for nearly a year after a stint in sales at Ralph Lauren's Bond Street flagship. During her travels around the world, she collected antiques along with design inspiration.

Tour Andrianna Shamaris's apartment at The Study, and shop her tables, seating and other furnishings on 1stDibs today.