1. The “tower room,” which juts
out from the apartment’s main
footprint is lit with natural
light from six arched windows
and provides a quiet space
for morning coffee. The gilded
Guéridon table is paired with
ebonized Regency chairs
Kimberly brought from her
previous home.
A Fresh
Perspective
With views of the New York City skyline (yup, you read that right) and Long Island
Sound, this Greenwich penthouse gives even the chicest Park Avenue apartment a run
for its money, and its new resident, Kimberly Blue, a new lease on life
by Suzanne Gannon photographs by hulya kolabas
st yled by Ronny carroll
O
n a Friday afternoon in mid- “No one can build above this building,” she explains
January when the weather gods as she pulls back the luxuriant draperies that dress a
can’t seem to decide on rain, sleet southwest-facing window, eagerly offering her tourist
or snow flurries, and when the a pair of binoculars she keeps at the ready.
clouds have amassed in ominous Indeed, after tumbling over some nearby treetops
clusters sliced through by rays of and an occasional roof, the eye travels to a distant
sunshine reminiscent of a Turner painting, Kimberly cityscape of astonishing clarity, silvery silhouettes of
Blue is enthusiastically guiding her visitor on a tour the Manhattan skyline rendered in miniature—the
of her new home, a 2,500-square-foot penthouse Citicorp building, the Chrysler building, the Empire
tucked onto the top two floors of a brick building just State—and crowded onto an invisible little island that
off Putnam Avenue’s peak. The chestnut-haired sprite rises out of the metallic flat of the East River and New
is buoyant, animated by the deliberate serenity of her York Harbor beyond.
new aerie, which, with its modern glamour and judi- The distance Kimberly has put between herself
ciously chosen contents, is a metaphor for her life at and that island—and the high-pressure hustle it rep-
this moment: dramatic change in every direction. resents—is symbolic of the miles she has traveled in
After a warm greeting in a tiny foyer into which the last twelve months. After twenty-four years on
one steps directly off the elevator, she leads her guest Wall Street, where she rose to the rank of managing
to a sunken living room that evokes the chic interior director at two prestigious investment banks, she has
of a classic-six on upper Fifth Avenue with an envy- left that world—and her black pantsuits and Manolo
inducing view of Central Park. The vista visible from Blahniks—behind in order to start a new venture, with
this living room, however, is arguably an even more Greenwich gallery owner Zorianna Altomaro, that she
magical one. says marries her creativity and her business acumen

2. The home offers an abundance of
sensual vignettes that make the
connection between aesthetic beauty
and quiet contentment, gracious little
spaces that soothe the soul with the
tranquility that derives from thoughtful
appointments in serene surroundings.
A portrait of a lady and combines the worlds of history and art in a new Tiffany Eastman of Stamford to design it. She moved
with a strand of pearls context. out of the house in Greenfield Hill and into a cottage
by Ukrainian artist
Valeriy Skrypka “I knew it was time to embark on a new journey, owned by friends where she waited for Tiffany to bring
greets visitors in the one which would allow me to explore areas of cre- the vision of her future to life, through furniture, fab-
elevator entryway. • ative interest,” she says. “I decided that the only way rics, wall coverings, and objects.
Measuring roughly
2,500 square feet, the
to do so would be to dramatically change my current “Tiffany was able to see the bones through the mess,”
penthouse includes life, which meant selling my home, leaving a wonder- says Kimberly, adding that the late ’80s ballooning
two floors. ful career and taking the leap into an undefined new draperies with their elaborate swags and jabeaus, the
world.” mahogany kitchen cabinets, and the floral wallpaper
made her feel “claustrophobic.”
Designing a New Life “It was Waverly times a thousand,” adds Tiffany.
Kimberly moved to Greenwich after having spent ten “The attack of the flowers.”
years in an old shingle-style, center-hall colonial in It was not the first time the two had collaborated.
Fairfield’s Greenfield Hill, a house from which, as For five years, Kimberly worked with Tiffany in deco-
an aerial photograph that hangs in her current din- rating her home in Greenfield Hill, a place where her
ing room shows, she could not see a single neighbor. more traditional milieu consisted largely of an unfussy
There, in January of 2010, she found a note in her mix of French and English antiques and maritime oil
mailbox from a couple who asked that she contact paintings.
them should she ever want to sell. She didn’t need The two say their tastes have evolved on parallel
another sign. tracks from classic and traditional to classic with a To overcome the lack
of alignment between
“It was synchronicity that I found this place,” she modern twist. Together they edited Kimberly’s fur- the room’s entryway
says. “It always takes a catalyst to move out of a comfort niture collection down to a few choice pieces—a and the focal point
zone, a nudge to confront the next door and decide Sheridan sideboard, an English grandfather clock with that is the fireplace
the decorator Tiffany
whether to go through it or not.” gold finials, a duo of Regency chairs, a pair of bedside
Eastman centered the
Ten months later, she’d sold the house—and most chests—and supplemented them with mostly new sofa on the fireplace
of its contents, a transaction she found “liberating”— furniture, carpets, vintage objects and other pieces and anchored the
found the penthouse and hired interior designer she’d found at antiques shops from South Carolina room with a large
mirror to the left and
a bench beneath a
painting to the right.
74 GREENWICHMAG.COM march 2012 greenwich 75

3. “My personality is a combination of classic elegance
and a bit of glamour—a little ‘jzuhjz,’” says Kimberly,
channeling the sound of something Zsa Zsa Gabor
would say.
Optical Illusions
The job was not without its challenges. The building
has no proper stairwell for moving furniture and its
only elevator offers a mere eighty-four inches of height.
The staircase to the apartment’s second floor features
a particularly tricky corner, and the several weeks of
installations in the winter of 2010/2011 were some of
the snowiest in Connecticut’s history.
“That sofa came within a quarter-inch of its life,”
says Tiffany. “So we got creative.”
Several of the custom pieces can be dissembled into
smaller parts, and a large mirror that leans against a
wall in the living room rests on a removable stand that
gave the movers a bit of wiggle room. In addition, on
the second floor, where the hallway makes a ninety-
degree turn, Tiffany avoided putting a seam in the
runner by having it cut from the perimeter of the car-
pet she had chosen for the guest room. The result is a
continuity between the two spaces that also protects
inhabitants from tripping.
“There’s not a level wall and there’s no symmetry,”
says Tiffany. “Everything is left of center and so we
had to fudge a lot.”
Overcoming that lack of alignment and oddly
shaped spaces seems to be Tiffany’s strength. Though
the threshold to the living room, which is flanked by
fluted columns left over from the previous owner’s
renovation, is not centered on the fireplace, she was
able to produce a sense of balance by establishing an
Tiffany paired a to Maine—a gilded head of Buddha, alabaster lamps, alternate axis between the fireplace and the sofa. And
Sheridan sideboard driftwood tables, and a gilt mask one would see at to compensate for the fact that the room leans to the
from Kimberly’s
previous home
Carnevale in Venice. left, perhaps because of the seductive views available
with a pair of “We wanted to give this space a little shimmer but from its windows, Tiffany anchored the right corner of
alabaster lamps not make it too glitzy,” says Tiffany. “So we chose a soft the room with a bench with rolled arms and an abstract
and a contemporary metallic theme that you don’t tire of.” painting by local artist Kerri Rosenthal.
painting by local
artist Amy Vischio. • The palette of icy blues, soft grays, muted silvers, In what was a narrow and spare sunroom covered
A mirror in a frame and brushed golds is evident everywhere you look: in with an awkward atrium roof, Tiffany hung floor-to-
of opalescent shells linen draperies that glint with a metallic finish; in the ceiling sheers on a track that travels the length of the
lends the dining
room an extra mirrored bar that houses stereo equipment as well as room and behind the tufted and ribbed gray-velvet set-
shimmer. • Polished liquor bottles; in delicate mesh draperies the color of tee. The sheers soften the space while providing cover
nickel hoops Tiffany zinc; in the gold-leafed chandelier that hangs in the from harsh sunlight—“it can really bake in here,”
likens to “jewelry”
Decorator Tiffany
adorn the backs of
“tower room” where Kimberly pages through the Times Kimberly says—and create a billowing if not intrigu-
Eastman created a “cave” over a cup of coffee; and in the soothing hues she chose ing passage between the apartment’s spacious private
the dining chairs.
of a dining room with
charcoal-gray Venetian for the walls and ceilings, many of them custom blends. deck, which affords a view of three soaring church
plaster on the walls and
a one-of-a-kind plaster
76 GREENWICHMAG.COM
crosshatch on the ceiling. march 2012 greenwich 77

4. “ knew it was time to embark on a new
I
An upholstered headboard is
embellished with nail heads and a journey, one which would allow me
wall of built-in shelving provides to explore areas of creative interest. I
space for keepsakes and art.
decided that the only way to do so would
be to dramatically change my current life,
which meant selling my home, leaving a
wonderful career and taking the leap into
an undefined new world.” —Kimberly Blue
To brighten up the kitchen, a narrow alley with a
breakfast area on one end, Tiffany suggested paint-
ing the dark cabinets a doveish white and replacing
the emerald-green granite countertop with a milky
Carrera marble. For a matching backsplash, she found
petite subway tiles that not only impart a feminine
touch but also show her eye for scale.
“I can’t tell you how many tiles I went through
to match this slab,” says Tiffany. “I am obsessively
meticulous.”
The home offers an abundance of sensual vignettes
that make the connection between aesthetic beauty
and quiet contentment, gracious little spaces that
soothe the soul with the tranquility that derives from
thoughtful appointments in serene surroundings.
The “tower room,” where Kimberly reads her morn-
A luminous angel spires at one time, and its interior quarters. ing paper, is a jewel box of a space that juts out from
by Valeriy Skrypka Despite the apartment’s quirks, its decoration the footprint of the rest of the penthouse and feels as
appears to watch
over Kimberly as she required very few structural changes, with the excep- though it is floating above the ground below. With
sleeps. On the same tion of the powder room on the first floor, which its vaulted ceiling and six arched windows—two on
wall hangs a painting Kimberly gutted. Now warmed by a gray paint with each of its three walls—it’s a room where Kimberly
of a grenade that says
“Sweet Dreams” in gilt a lustrous patina that suggests the texture of silk, it says she feels like Rapunzel. Tiffany ebonized a pair
lettering. • A gray vinyl features a Hudson pearl-marble sink basin on a metal of Regency chairs and accessorized the windows with
bench sits beneath a stand and a white Thassos marble tile floor arranged in sheers that enhance the floating effect. A glass-topped
gilt-framed mirror.
a herringbone pattern. Guéridon table with a gold-leafed bezel and legs serves
78 GREENWICHMAG.COM march 2012 greenwich 79

5. A panel of sheers
runs the length of
the sunroom and
softens the light that
streams in through
the atrium roof. The as a delicate complement to the chairs and echoes the
view of three church
spires, Kimberly patina of the chandelier.
explains, gives her Though she has thrown several successful cocktail
a spiritual sense of parties, Kimberly says she has not yet mastered the art
peace.
of the complete dinner party. But when she eventually
figures it out, the dining room is ready. Arranged to
facilitate comfortable conversation for a gathering of
six, it is an intimate space that feels like a dark cave
where you might be persuaded, with the help of a gob-
let of fine red Burgundy, to impart your most closely
held secrets.
Finished in a charcoal-gray Venetian plaster whose
painterly strokes are reflected in a soffitted ceiling
finished in a hand-painted, one-of-a-kind plaster cross-
hatch, it centers on a highly polished round table sur-
rounded by high-backed chairs that are upholstered
and skirted in a heavy gauge poly-cotton. Little pol-
ished-nickel hoops adorn the backs of the chairs and
mirror the swoops of a contemporary glass chandelier.
A large mirror, whose frame is encrusted in delicate,
opalescent seashells, adds to the room’s luster. Having new lodging has enabled Kimberly to Kimberly on her
“I had a panic attack when I unpacked that mirror,” indulge another budding interest: a passion for art. To spacious terrace •
To update an
says Tiffany. “I have to admit I brought my glue gun.” complement a collection that already includes several ’80s kitchen with
seascapes under moody skies, as well as a pair of emerald-green
Fostering the Future portraits of whimsical imps from a series by Steven granite countertops
and dark cabinetry,
When she’s not working out in her upstairs gym or Hopwood-Lewis entitled “Heroes,” and that she calls the cabinets were
taking in the view from one of her many windows, “Judgment” and “Grace,” she has been drawn to a painted white and
Kimberly says she finds sanctuary in her bedroom, a handful of contemporary Ukrainian artists whose a Carrera marble
seemingly soundproof place located on the first floor. work possesses a striking otherworldliness. countertop and
matching marble
It is arrayed in pillows and awash in shades of white. In the dining room hangs a canvas by Valeriy Skrypka subway tiles cut to
The mirror-fronted armoire features delicate fretwork; that depicts a boy releasing butterflies from his hands; a petite scale were
outfitted with a padded seat, large windows admit in the powder room there is a portrait of a woman installed.
natural light; and a luxurious bed with an upholstered whom Kimberly says is “leaving her past behind and
headboard embellished with nail-heads promises a embracing her future” by Mykola Zhuravel, an artist-
restful sleep. One wall is dedicated to built-in shelv- beekeeper who mixes honeycombs into his works; in
ing that showcases objects that appear to be precious: her bedroom there is a luminous angel also by Skrypka;
a still life of voluptuous roses; a large conch shell; a and in the guest room on the second floor, an etching
childhood portrait of Kimberly wearing white gloves; by Kiev-born Oleksiy Fedorenko entitled “Little Flora,”
a rare cluster of coral. which features a young girl from whose head is sprout-
“You need a retreat from the world outside,” says ing a flowering stalk.
Tiffany. The quiet contemplation the room seems to “She’s dreaming of the future,” says Kimberly.
encourage is underscored by a subtle flourish that Little Flora may not be the only female in this house
Kimberly is eager to point out.“Wait until you see this,” imagining a happy road ahead.
she says as she coaxes her guest into her bathroom, a In Kimberly’s bedroom hangs her proudest—and
twinkling smile on her face. perhaps most provocative— acquisition of all: a white
In the vanity mirror that hangs above the sink and gold hand grenade emblazoned with the prescrip-
appears the reflection of a tapered church spire that is tion, “Sweet Dreams.”
visible through the window on the opposite wall. It seems she’s already stepped through that next
“Isn’t that amazing?” she asks. door. G
80 GREENWICHMAG.COM march 2012 greenwich 81

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