It’s in the eclectic Greenwich Village in New York that we can find the Contemporary house of Rafael de Cárdenas, founder of the study “Architecture at Large” and top interior designer. The sophisticated interiors were designed, undoubtedly, by himself, the modern apartment brings back the elegance of the ’80s, with nude domination and a meticulous eye for details, finishes, furniture, and design. The neutral shades mean a lot to Rafael. It is the colour of his childhood. “It is the colour that reigned in the movies at that time,” he says.

“I was very impressed by the Giorgio Armani costumes worn by Richard Gere in the American Gigolo movie (1980) and the Gianfranco Ferré commercials printed in the magazines. The 1980s are often associated with bright colours, but elegance was represented by whitish, sand, light brown, raw and grey elements before it became fashionable in the 1990s, “explains the New Yorker, who worked at Calvin Klein when he fell in love with the world of architecture and interior design and decided to change from the industry.

This is the reason why his contemporary apartment in Greenwich Village in New York is monochromatic. But, thanks to the smallest design details observed in every corner, the interiors are far from being seen as boring. On the opposite, they are as full of life as a technicolour house.

“I did not want to leave them neutral, but rather create variations on different materials. This colour can bring a lot of movement and sensuality, “says the author and resident, pointing to the textured ceiling of the room. “These references emerged naturally, “he says, assuming himself once again a good son of the 1980s.