Play with contrasts in color and texture: In this prewar Greenwich Village apartment, Gambrel went for a sophisticated European look. He achieved this through stark contrasts. The apartment entry shows this off beautifully — warm yellow curtains stand out against white, black and gray surfaces, and the lacquered wood floor is amplified by the matte paint on the walls and doors.Tip: Understated European elegance is evident in the door’s color palette, which was painted in three shades of gray after a storefront seen in Paris. To further accentuate the entryway’s architectural elements, he applied thin strips of black paint to the wood paneling.