CHARM SCHOOL

In the hands of Ashe Leandro, a historic New York City house gets a delightful makeover

- MICHAEL BOODRO

It's the quintessential Greenwich Village townhouse, on one of the most coveted blocks in one of Manhattan's most coveted neighborhoods. It stands solid and straightforward, neither grand nor prepossessing. Its five stories contain a gracious parlor floor and five bedrooms, not to mention terraces and a back garden. It is the kind of place that generations of New Yorkers have dreamed of.

Inside, it held surprises both good and bad. Originally built in 1830, almost all its period details had been stripped away in favor of expanses of white cabinetry and molding.

The new owners, a family based on the West Coast, faced a bit of a dilemma: "We wanted to respect the history of the house," says the wife, "but with five kids and a dog, utility was also important." On the advice of their real estate broker, the couple reached out to AD100 firm Ashe Leandro. Known for their sensitivity to history, Ariel Ashe and Reinaldo Leandro infuse each of their projects with spare elegance and understated luxury, evident on every page of their new book, Ashe Leandro: Architecture + Interiors (Rizzoli).

The owners already possessed an impressive collection of artworks and furnishings, including paintings by Alice Neel, a Brutalist console by Paul Evans, and original Pierre Jeanneret chairs from Chandigarh still sporting their inventory numbers.