Nate Berkus Shows How to Use a Kaleidoscope of Colors and Still Keep Your Scheme Feeling Calm in This Greenwich Village Apartment

living room with white rug, yellow arm chair and green sofa

(Image credit: Donna Dotan)

‘I’m noticing deeper, earth-rooted colors coming back in a more nuanced way, paired with materials that show their age honestly,’ Nate Berkus told Homes & Gardens earlier this year. So it’s perhaps no surprise that his redecoration of the penthouse at The Katherine in Greenwich Village, New York, features a palette of earth-rooted colors paired with materials that show their age honestly.

In fact, what Nate has done in this grown-up yet playful space is show that if you pick the right tones, you can introduce all sorts of colors and still ensure the overall effect is grown-up, sophisticated, and even calm.

Yellows, greens, and rusts sit alongside brass accents, plush rugs, and deeply veined marble – an eclectic mix that he manages to make feel like one cohesive color scheme.

two shots next to each other. On the left, the exterior of an apartment building in Manhattan. On the right, an entryway with a black and white checkerboard floor — Vintage Mirror and Console, for similar try 1stDibs.

This is, in fact, the first time Nate Berkus has designed the entirety of a residential building, working alongside the meticulous restoration of The Katherine – a landmark property built in 1910.

Approach the elegant, classic pre-war façade with its setback garden, restored windows, and new awning, and make your way to the top floor, where the first thing you see in this penthouse is the impressive black-and-white checkerboard floor in the entryway. Along with the rococo flourishes of the console and mirror, Nate has nodded to the Gilded Age and the period leading up to when the block was originally built.

two shots next to each other of the same living room from different angles. On the left, a gray sofa on a cream rug, on the right, a black chair against the wall

Immediately off the entryway is this elegant reception room, which doubles as a dining area. Admittedly, Nate’s use of color starts off slowly, easing you in with a muted palette of a gray sofa and cream rug. But there is also a vibrant piece of art behind the dining table and a mustard throw pillow on the couch, hinting at what is to come – the earthier tones of bold colors used liberally to lift the penthouse’s cream walls.

Notice the introduction of marble in the coffee table, a material that comes into its own later in the project. ‘I’m drawn to stone with irregularity… things that tell a story. That’s exciting to me,’ Nate told Homes & Gardens. ‘We’re craving meaning again. Provenance matters. Patina matters. Objects with stories matter.’

two shots next to each other of the same kitchen from different angles, showing bar stools and a wood island and a shapely hood above a range cooker

Beyond the formal living area is an impressive chef’s kitchen, outfitted with LaCanche, Sub-Zero, and Bosch appliances beneath Arabescato marble countertops, overlooking the Village through two windows.

Nate has utilized all the light that pours in through the large windows by painting the walls a warm off-white, matching the cabinets in exactly the same tone. It’s a neat trick that helps make this busy, functional space seem more seamless than it actually is.

two shots next to each other of the same living room from different angles, showing a green sofa, cream rug and yellow chair

Once you get to the main living room, you’re already so relaxed by Nate’s natural palette that he’s able to introduce color almost without you noticing. A mustard accent chair calls back to the mustard throw pillow in the reception room. The green used for the sofa is just as muted as the yellow used for the chair. And rust-colored stools bring a touch of warmth to this otherwise off-white room – a space where the color is enlivening but not overpowering.

two shots next to each other of the same large bedroom with patterned wallpaper behind the bed and a large cream rug on the floor

Yes, there are stairs leading up from the main reception, but the bedrooms are on the same level as the living areas – we’ll go up in just a minute.

Notice how the rust color of the stools in the living room is picked up in the throw pillow used here, which gives a richer tone to the rest of the room’s palette of cream and wood. The small repeat on the wallpaper makes for a backdrop that seems almost subtle – a polka dot you don’t realise is flowers until you look really closely.

two shots next to each other the same sun room from different angles. On the left, a view out across Manhattan, on the right, a patterned rug and light pours in

Upstairs from the living room, you’ll find the upper-level recreation room, bathed in light from expansive floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s the jewel in this apartment’s crown – a private, living-room-sized terrace accessed via large French doors, offering inspiring light and southern views all the way to Wall Street.

Nate has introduced yet more color here while staying true to his beliefs about earthy tones. The acrylic, rust-colored side table refracts the light onto a rug that catches the green of the sofa downstairs. It’s clever because, by this point in the apartment, you’re so lulled and charmed by his softer choices downstairs that it doesn’t jar to suddenly be met by this much pattern – especially as the colors here are already used in a smaller way elsewhere.

Conveniently located where Greenwich Village meets the West Village, this sprawling penthouse could easily have played it safe, allowing the views and neighborhood to bring the excitement. But instead, Nate has run riot with color in such a subtle way that it blends into the cream walls and comforting surroundings – a masterclass in muted maximalism.

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Pip Rich is an interiors journalist and editor with 20 years' experience, having written for all of the UK's biggest titles. Most recently, he was the Global Editor in Chief of our sister brand, Livingetc, where he now continues in a consulting role as Executive Editor. Before that, he was acting editor of Homes & Gardens, and has held staff positions at Sunday Times Style, ELLE Decoration, Red and Grazia. He has written three books – his most recent, A New Leaf, looked at the homes of architects who had decorated with house plants. Over his career, he has interviewed pretty much every interior designer working today, soaking up their knowledge and wisdom so as to become an expert himself.