Josh Greene is standing in the kitchen of his recently decorated apartment, preparing to welcome 40 guests for cocktails, when he suddenly realizes he forgot to buy ice. Nevertheless, the AD100 designer remains the picture of calm and cool, right down to his cozy house slippers. “I didn’t want my home to be stuffy,” says the California native. “But I still wanted it to feel polished and stylish.”
Greene began looking for a New York City address with a well-honed wish list: a prewar building, a wood-burning fireplace, and a proper entry and dining room, all in estate condition. Though he had lived downtown for over two decades, he was less fussy about the location. “I was very open to going anywhere,” he says. “I just wanted to love the apartment.” Then he came across an unusually spacious one-bedroom in a 1928 Georgian-style building by Van Wart & Wein on the Upper East Side. The listing ticked all the boxes, save for that separate dining room. He snapped the place up, setting to work on making it his own.
His signature, celebrated approach—inviting, tailored, at times a tad retro—is evident upon stepping foot into his entry, where parchment-colored Gracie wallpaper serves as a backdrop to a Bieke Casteleyn table, a Louis XV chair clad in Japanese fabric, and a 1970s Italian ceiling light. Call it a Greene-ian mix. “I wanted friends to come over, take off their shoes, and order Chinese food,” he explains of the vibe.
