Designer Susanna Maggard is an expert in blending modern and classic design to create beautiful and inviting interiors. Based in New York, nothing pleases her more than to hear clients say, “We love spending time in these rooms!” Today Susie invites The Glam Pad for peek inside the recent complete restoration of her own Upper East Side prewar apartment.

Located in Manhattan’s Carnegie Hill neighborhood, this one-bedroom apartment boasts a prime location, ideally positioned within the Museum Mile across from the Met and Central Park. Susie wanted to maximize all 650 square feet, creating a unique jewel box that embraced its prewar charm yet is perfectly suited for modern living, working, and entertaining.

Susie combined her passion for mixing objects from the past with conveniences of the present, including restored treasures from her parents’ estates and paintings by her sister, father, and father-in-law, all of whom were gifted watercolorists.

Let’s take a look inside with photography by Kirsten Francis and styling by Kimberly Power.

Other touches include dog-friendly flooring that is practical, yet beautiful, and several cost-effective techniques such as lacquered-look walls, painted floors, and more.

Susie shares a lesson she learned from the project, “I thought this tiny space would be a breeze… Not! I am grateful for Emilie Price, an old friend and colleague from David Easton (we were hired on the SAME day in 1998) who helped with design decisions that I thought would be easy. The project has given me a deeper appreciation for the great responsibility of giving your best work to your client—a client who in this case happened to be me. It’s easier to do great work for someone else than it is for yourself!”

Susie was also able to create a compact office space with many creative storage options. “I hired a professional organizer that used every inch of the apartment,” she said. “I even have a place for my hoarded incandescent lightbulbs!”

Before starting her own firm, Susie received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the New York School of Interior Design and gained valuable experience from several leading interior designers, including David Easton, Alexa Hampton, Charlotte Moss and Bunny Williams.  She is the founder of Susanna Maggard Interiors and member of The Decorators Club, which is an organization of 125 professional women, supporting interior design education in NYC. Founded in 1914, The Decorators Club fosters dialogue and encourages camaraderie among those who work competitively.

Susie’s projects include a complete renovation of an apartment in The Plaza, several NYC apartments, as well as houses in New Jersey, Palm Beach, Vermont, Washington, DC and Watermill, NY. You can learn more at Susanna Maggard Interiors an by following @susannamaggardinteriors on Instagram.

Thank you, Susie, for sharing your home with us today!