from Classic to Contemporary ─ Decorating with Cullman & Kravis

Interior design firm Cullman & Kravis infuses traditional interiors with a modern perspective, embracing historicism and referencing a wide range of cultures and contemporary design motifs. In From Classic to Contemporary: Decorating with Cullman & Kravis, Ellie Cullman and Tracey Pruzan explore the lessons from modernism that add a new and welcome dynamism to the firm’s most recent projects, both traditional and modern.

“We believe in the alchemy of old and new,” observes Ellie Cullman, founder and principal of Cullman & Kravis. “We approach every project with the rigor of a jigsaw puzzle, but with the desire to create a magnificent tapestry.”

Cullman and Pruzan share how the venerable interior design firm applies principles of modernism to add a new and welcome tension to their more classical work, while in their more modern schemes, the classic principles of design guide their process.

The fourteen distinct projects in this book are collaborations between Ellie Cullman and her partners Lee Cavanaugh, Sarah Ramsey, Claire Ratliff, and Alyssa Urban. Running the gamut from modest revisions to ground-up construction and complete renovations, these interiors include a sumptuous New York City duplex that is a clever mix of traditional furnishings and an impressive contemporary art collection; a glass-clad modern Miami villa with vivid colors and bold prints; an oceanfront Palm Beach house with museum-quality art and antiques; an historic Westchester estate once owned by Brooke Astor; and Ellie Cullman’s own home, whose “refresh” illustrates how to renew, modernize, and reinvigorate any project.

Ellie Cullman is a long-time designer and founding partner at Cullman & Kravis. Acknowledged for her expertise researching, authenticating, and documenting art and antiques, she has been included in the Architectural Digest AD100 list since 2000 as well as the Elle Decor "A" list. A founding board member of Friends of Florence, Ellie also sits on the boards of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club. In 2016, she was honored with the Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award by the New York School of Interior Design.
Tracey Pruzan has been a senior designer at Cullman & Kravis for more than twenty years. A collector of contemporary art, she writes and lectures extensively on antiques and interior design. Tracey is also the co-writer of the first and second books from Cullman & Kravis: Decorating Master Class and The Detailed Interior.