A classical-style apartment in the West Village in Manhattan, New York, designed by local designer Gil Schafer. "It's always better to test it on myself than on my clients," says Gil Schafer. He put his love of classical vernacular at the forefront of the creative process. Nowhere is that truer than in one of his homes in Manhattan's West Village. It is a carefully reconstructed Greek revival treasure house, with crown-inlaid panels, wood-patterned mahogany doors, and two stately Ionian columns that enclose the living quarters.

So Gil Schafer didn't hesitate when he decided to redesign the living room floor space with the help of the company's internal department with a more modern lens. "I'm a hopeless traditionalist," he says. "I like layers and things that tell a story. People in this line of work put themselves in danger if they fall in love with someone. But as I grew older, I began to relax my mix of works from different periods and pay more attention to the beauty of lines and the changes of wood colors. As my design thinking developed, it was nice to be able to sketch on this space as a canvas."

The latest renovation of the apartment, which is about 900 square meters, retains its classical foundations while also serving as an experiment in smart renewal. "I wanted to see what would happen if I kept the scope of the space, but only made some influential changes," Gil Schafer said of his low-key approach to editing. 

First, he removed the heavy curtains and mural from his bedroom to give it an ethereal feel, then painted the partition walls in muted blues and beige. Knowing that he would keep plenty of furniture -- collected on professional sleuthing trips and private vacations with his wife -- he made couches out of neutral linen and decorated them with vibrant textiles and throw pillows. A black-and-white carpet in the living room adds a modern and dynamic feel to these carefully arranged antiques. "I wanted it to have a different feel, rather than completely recasting the space," said Gil Schafer.