Courtney and Nicholas Stern

The four-story 1847 Greek Revival townhouse features high ceilings, a double-height sitting area created by removing a section of the parlor floor, a crystal chandelier, and impressive volume throughout — the architecture has genuine weight without being palatial.

Rich teal velvet sofas, gold silk taffeta curtains, sisal carpeting, hand-painted scenic wallpaper in the bedrooms, and warm wood side tables create a predominantly warm palette with cool accents from the marble mantel and white walls.

Dense layering of Chinese foo dogs, contemporary art by Josef Albers and Frank Stella, crystal chandeliers, patterned upholstery, and chinoiserie wallpaper all in coherent dialogue — every surface activated but with a consistent color story of fuchsia, teal, and gold.

The 1847 Greek Revival structure provides genuine period bones — marble mantels, tall parlor windows, Victorian-era proportions — but contemporary art, modern furniture like the purple club chair, and the deliberate removal of 'fussy' original moldings create clear anachronisms.

The building itself is genuinely old (1847, purchased in 2002 from an estate sale in somewhat ramshackle condition), but the interiors are a convincing designer-assembled mix rather than true generational accumulation — the Chinese stoneware garden stool and vintage pieces are purchased, not inherited.

The double-height sitting area overlooking the garden and the tea-porch concept suggest social use, but the article emphasizes this as a family home for three children with private bedrooms, a play space, and a 300-square-foot penthouse guest suite — balanced between family life and entertaining.

The front parlor with its crystal chandelier, carefully arranged art, and teal velvet sofa commands respect, but the family-oriented layout with children's rooms, play spaces, and the couple's stated preference for 'casual lifestyle' prevent it from feeling intimidating.

Courtney is a professional interior designer and the styled vignettes — the precisely placed foo dogs flanking the fireplace, the symmetrical art arrangements, the coordinated fuchsia-teal-gold palette across rooms — reveal deliberate designer composition throughout.

Named contemporary artists (Josef Albers, Frank Stella, Vik Muniz, Cecil Touchon, James Nares) hang throughout and the Jasper silk velvet and Manuel Canovas fabrics signal knowing taste, but the overall effect serves a family's lifestyle rather than performing wealth for visitors.