06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
This $160,000 Playroom Takes the Neutral Look to a New Extreme
The kids are alright, but they're better next door. That is what the venture-capitalist mother and tech-entrepreneur father of two young daughters discovered when they purchased—and gutted—a 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment that abutted their four-bedroom in the West Village and made it into a playroom. For the interiors, they hired Danielle Schwartz and Guillermo Castello of the New York City—based firm Elmo Studios.
One might expect a fantasia of Crayola hues, plush toys, and hand puppets—a riot of color befitting a child's domain. Instead, at the request of their color-averse clients, the designers embraced monastic restraint, renouncing kitsch and drama in favor of neutrality. 'It's very muted,' says Schwartz. 'It was a response to the original four-bedroom apartment. We wanted to create cohesion between the two.'
