New York City apartments have always been a testing ground for bold design ideas. From a maximalist Upper East Side penthouse recently featured in House Beautiful to growing renovation trends across the five boroughs, high-end projects are full of practical ideas that everyday renters and buyers can borrow. You don’t need a designer’s budget to make your space feel special. You just need to know where to look for inspiration and how to translate it.
- A recent Sugarhouse Design penthouse project used bold wallpaper and layered patterns to turn a stale Upper East Side apartment into a theatrical showpiece.
- NYC renovation trends in 2025 and 2026 favor mixing old and new, using multifunctional furniture, and adding personality through color and texture.
- Peel-and-stick wallpaper, vintage finds, and statement lighting can give any rental or starter home a luxury feel without risking your security deposit.
What a Maximalist Penthouse Can Teach the Rest of Us
A few days ago, House Beautiful shared a tour of a 3,100-square-foot Upper East Side penthouse redesigned by Jess and Jonathan Nahon, cofounders of Sugarhouse Design. The husband-and-wife duo were tapped to transform a stagnant property into a transportive haven for their clients, and their guiding North Star was a desire to create an expressive, theatrical atmosphere.
Their storytelling ability is clear right from the entryway, where guests are greeted by bold stripes, squiggle wallpaper, and patterned tiles, followed by a larger-than-life Indian Summer mural that wraps around the staircase. It’s a lot of personality packed into one home, but the takeaway for the rest of us is simple: your entryway sets the tone for everything that follows. Even a small rental foyer can benefit from a single eye-catching print or piece of art on the wall.
As Jonathan Nahon put it, the home “asks you to slow down, look closely, and feel something.” That philosophy of designing rooms to spark emotion is something anyone can apply. Think about what mood you want each room to create and work backward from there.
NYC Design Trends That Translate to Smaller Budgets
Inside iconic NYC apartment redesigns, one recurring theme is the blend of old and new. Home designs are especially open right now, as materials and styles from all eras are mixed and mingled without hesitation. This “Newstalgia” trend gives an interior real personality by pairing modern furniture and paintings from local artists with vintage pieces picked up while traveling abroad or thrifting on the weekends.
That’s great news if you’re shopping at flea markets or scrolling estate sales online. A vintage lamp next to a modern shelf creates exactly this kind of character. NYC apartments also require design strategies that do more with less, and there’s been a big shift toward multifunctional furniture and concealed storage. If you’re in a one-bedroom in Long Island City, NY, or a studio in Astoria, built-in and modular furniture can help you carve out a workspace, a guest sleeping area, and a dining spot all from one room.
Modular furniture makes it easy to rearrange your space on the fly, whether you need a home office during the week or extra seating for a dinner party. Pieces like sofa beds, extendable dining tables, and nesting side tables are showing up in apartments of every size across the city right now.
Renter-Friendly Moves That Look High-End
One of the biggest takeaways from the Sugarhouse penthouse is the power of wallpaper. That project used Pierre Frey wallpaper and custom fabrics throughout, which would blow most budgets. But renters have a cheat code: peel-and-stick. You can get the same look with paint-safe options that require no glue, no paste, and cause no damage. Whether you’re dressing up an apartment, dorm, or temporary space, it installs within minutes and peels off just as easily when you’re ready for something new.
A few other renter-friendly tricks pull from current luxury trends:
- Layer rugs for texture. Rugs are one of the easiest ways to build toward a maximalist look in a rental. Find rugs with rich colors and fun patterns that jive with your other curated or collected items.
- Upgrade your lighting. From oversized pendants to sculptural chandeliers, statement lighting has become a go-to move in apartment redesigns. Swapping a generic ceiling fixture for something with character can change the feel of a room instantly.
- Add removable moulding. Renter-friendly wall moulding ordered off Amazon gives any space added dimension. It took a few hours over three Saturdays to get the project done, cost a couple hundred dollars, and was completely reversible.
Steal the Ideas, Skip the Price Tag
You don’t have to live in a four-bedroom penthouse above Madison Avenue to bring some designer flair into your home. The real takeaway from these high-profile NYC projects comes down to intention. Every room in the Sugarhouse penthouse was designed with a clear purpose and mood in mind, and that approach costs nothing to borrow. NYC apartment design right now is all about layering personality on top of smart, space-conscious choices. The best homes reflect the people who actually live in them.
Pick a color story you love. Commit to one bold pattern in a room that deserves attention. Hunt for a vintage side table that tells a story. Whether you rent or own, your space should feel like yours. Take the ideas the pros are running with and adjust them to your square footage, your lease terms, and your wallet. That’s the real design secret worth stealing.
