The Chelsea offices of Heiberg Cummings Design function as work space by day, art gallery by night.
The entire New York staff of six, collaborates at a shared work station.
Cummings and Heiberg (in red)
A clean-lined Parsons table furnishes a compact study.
A work on paper, by Edvard Munch
Scandinavian-style wall racks display Bernt's plate collection.
A painting by Eva Faye hangs above a bench fitted with hand-tied, linen-covered cushions.
A ceramic sculpture echoes the form of a ball-point-pen composition by contemporary American artist Barbara Monoian.
of

chelsea peers

At work and at home, design partners William Cummings and Bernt Heiberg balance minimalism with the human touch
Type: 
Interior Design
Author name: 
Heiberg Cummings Design
Type: 
Text
Author name: 
Marjorie E. Gage
Type: 
Produced By
Author name: 
Elizabeth Sverbeyeff Byron
Type: 
Photography
Author name: 
Wouter Vandertol

Equal parts American practicality and Scandinavian charm inform the signature work of Heiberg Cummings Design.“I guess our approach could be defined as post-modern,” says William Cummings, who founded the New York and Oslo–based interior design firm with partner Bernt Heiberg 10 years ago. “We are drawn to clean lines and a pure palette,but there are cultural, historical, and personal references in everything we do.The human
touch makes modern spaces comfortable and memorable.”

The mix of contemporary and classic,light and dark, industrial and handmade is evident in the designers’ West 25th Street offices. “We like to keep our workspaces free of distractions,” Cummings explains.“This is where we meet with clients to develop ideas and make presentations,so we consciously avoid having too many images around to compete with their vision.”

At home in their Chelsea duplex, built in the late-19th-century, strict minimalism freely yields to serendipitous decoration. Here, Cummings, a native Californian, and Norwegian-born Heiberg experiment with arrangements of furniture, art, and antiques found in their travels.“Bernt is a natural-born collector, but not a clutterer,”says Cummings.“The backdrop stays neutral and calm, while the contents reflect our personal story, not just our sense of style.”

Resources:

William Cummings and Bernt Heiberg of Heiberg Cummings Design, 420 W. 25th St., #1C, NYC 10001; 212.337.2030; hcd3.com.