With Benjamin Moore’s Super White on the walls—which are adorned with artwork by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Michael Seif—the new layout gives the family plenty of room to unleash their imaginations while maintaining a sophisticated aesthetic that’s reminiscent of the iconic galleries and artists’ studios nearby.
“Versatility was the most important design feature,” says Reese of the dining room, where a custom banquette lifts to reveal storage for art supplies used to create everything from kids crafts to sketches for Flack’s candy-colored Prozac pendants, Wellbutrin cocktail rings, and SSRI bracelet charms, all highlighting and raising funds for social issues and mental health awareness. “It was important for the main spaces to feel cohesive and comfortable to use in a flexible way, whether for family activities, entertaining, work projects, or holidays, so we took any opportunity we could to give more than one function to an area in the home,” the interior designer adds.
While creative expression in all of its forms was often the guiding force in many of the spaces, so was comfort and ease. Reese incorporated low-profile furniture to enhance the home’s flow and maximize sight lines and airiness, as well as durable, high-performance fabrics like linen and wool to encourage a sense of elevated serenity. Antiques collected by the couple over the years, including vintage Italian movie posters and musician portraits (Josh is a huge blues fan), lend soul and a sense of age. Furnishings in wood and stone, like the Henning Kjaernulf razorblade chairs in the dining area and a pair of vintage Italian onyx lamps in the living room, balance the crisp white foundation with an infusion of warmth.
The combination makes for a home that is at once visually stimulating and exceedingly calm, fostering inspiration as much as relaxation. For all of their creative vigor, Charles, Flack, and their children sometimes find themselves cuddled in the primary bed (with their eight-pound Havanese named Zeus) or vegging out on the same sofa that served as a catcher’s mitt earlier in the day. Flack says, “After all the hustle and bustle, it’s so important to have a place to decompress.”
