City Homes
Canadian Designer Garrow Kedigian Brings Daring Colour To A New York City Pied-à-Terre
Updated on May 27, 2026
While browsing real-estate listings in New York City, retired pastry chef Diane Goldman stumbled across a lively prewar apartment on Park Avenue. The interior images featured decorating with a medley of colours, from blue to butterscotch, alongside a heady mix of textures and antiques. The apartment was the former home of designer Garrow Kedigian. Diane was inspired.
“I loved how it was decorated, and I loved the use of colour,” says Diane, who lives with her husband, Nathan, a retired executive, in Jacksonville, Fla. The couple are reverse snowbirds: they wanted to buy a Manhattan apartment to be closer to their three adult daughters and grandchildren. The plan was to zip back and forth every other month to a beloved city the couple knew well — Diane had attended the French Culinary Institute in Soho. Diane and Nathan soon purchased a 3,200-square-foot place in an Upper East Side skyscraper that had three bedrooms, 11-foot-high ceilings, expansive windows and great views. But Diane knew the bare-bones interior could benefit from a designer’s bold vision. Thinking about the decorating in that listing that had so inspired
her, she picked up the phone.
Designer Garrow Kedigian, who trained as an architect in Montreal and now has an NYC office, agreed with Diane’s assessment. “Their apartment was maybe 10 years old,” says Garrow. “It was a vanilla box that lacked architectural detailing.” The designer was hired to bring new life to the pied-à-terre. In no time, he and Diane were having design chats and making joint shopping trips to Stamford, Conn., looking for vintage and antique treasures. They decided the antidote to the flat space would be to bring in architectural details, elegant furniture, and bold colours, patterns and textures, creating a high-style, eclectic mix with mid-century modern elements. “I wanted to capture the mood of a Mad Men set,” says Garrow.
Designer Garrow Kedigian enveloped the foyer in beautiful chinoiserie wallpaper that cleverly conceals the jib door to the kitchen.
The vibe begins as soon as you open the door. “When you enter an apartment, you want to set the stage for something even more fabulous around the corner,” says Garrow. The foyer is wallpapered with an elegant chinoiserie print framed with black trim, complete with a hidden door to the kitchen. “I love how the black mouldings and baseboards set off the wallpaper,” says Garrow. “I hate white trim! To me, it feels like you forgot to paint it.”
The custom sectional has carved legs that imbue formality. Diane’s friend Debby Mathies created the quilted portrait of Bob Dylan in the dining area.
Beyond the foyer, guests are immediately drawn to the open-plan living–dining area, which is drenched in glossy sky blue and punctuated by bold oranges. In the living room, a modern blue sofa and vintage Dorothy Draper chairs are juxtaposed with a custom persimmon-hued sectional inspired by a vintage sofa Garrow had seen at a Paris flea market.
Garrow drenched the living room in high-gloss sky blue. Diane’s vintage Dorothy Draper chairs have been refreshed with new upholstery fabric.
An expanse of mirror behind the sectional reflects the NYC skyline.
Sunflower sconces are zesty notes in Nathan’s den.
The drama continues in the den, where a bright, carrot-coloured ceiling pops against dark blue-grey walls. “We turned the third bedroom into a man cave for Nathan with Mad Men style,” says Garrow. “In Manhattan, it’s good to have a rainy-day room to escape to.” Throughout the spaces, the designer added architectural details and texture, including stepped panelling and bookcases in the living room, and box panelling in the guest room and den. Contributing to the apartment’s vibrant pastiche are custom furniture pieces designed by Garrow himself and built by Quebec fabricator Siècle en Siècle.
The den offers plush seating, a home office area and a near-fluorescent orange ceiling.
Diane loves the addition of unique antique and vintage items from Parisian flea markets and antique dealers. “When your interiors are done by a designer, it gives you access to choices and products that you don’t find in a big-box store or even online,” she says. “I’ve really embraced Garrow’s eclectic mix.
The dining area in the kitchen features a glass table with a scrolled-metal base from an antique shop in Stamford, Conn., and the bar cart is a Parisian flea market find.
Glossy crown moulding and box panelling lend architectural distinction to the compact guest room.
Trevor Parker
House & Home
Garrow Kedigian