Martha Stewart Living's creative director Eric Pike creates a serene retreat with a single quiet color and clever, space-saving solutions.

Groupings of furniture provide for conversation spaces. Here, the settee, chest, and rounded-back chair are Swedish antiques (the chair is signed by Eric Svensson); Eric purchased the other chair at auction years ago and had it copied for the dining room. The tables are vintage pieces he painted himself.

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When he renovated his new apartment, Eric chose soothing shades of gray and made a decorative fireplace a focal point in the living room. The 19th-century French limestone piece was a gift from Martha Stewart.

Eric stands between living and dining rooms of his New York City apartment. His plan evolved to include raising low ceilings and repairing damaged beams.  

Seashells and holiday ornaments served as inspiration for fabrics, paint colors, and stone surfaces.

Since the roof was raised in the back of the house during renovation, the living room -- and its windows -- gained height.

Space in the kitchen is tight, and Eric wanted to keep the counters as clear as possible. Cabinets, therefore, were designed to conceal appliances while keeping them handy; electrical outlets are hidden under the upper cabinets.

Perhaps the most contemporary room in the apartment, the bathroom is luxurious yet basic, with clean lines and an abundance of natural light provided by a skylight. Eric decided on a glass shower without a door to make the room feel as spacious as possible.

With its coffered ceiling, which conceals support beams, this room lacks the height of the rest of the apartment; the skylight, however, opens up the space. A candle lantern hangs above the dining table. The symmetry of the almost-square room reflects the Jeffersonian influence. Eric sought a square pedestal table to complete this room; finding none, he designed one with architect Richard Perry.

A cupboard in the dining room organizes Wedgwood and French creamware.

Four shallow closets can be found through the doorway behind Eric's niece, Sophia.

Between the dining and living rooms, deep doorways allow for closets behind panels; these hold books, electronics, and kitchen supplies.

A television is over the living room mantel; an antiqued mirror lifts to reveal it.

In the kitchen, one wall houses a refrigerator and washer and dryer behind cabinet doors, as well as a toaster and coffeemaker in an appliance "garage" on a tray that pulls out so you can pour in water.

Eric wanted a low bed that wouldn't block light from the window; he and architect Richard Perry came up with this design, inspired by Jean-Michel Frank.

Above the bedroom's fireplace hangs a painting of Daniel Webster, a Massachusetts senator in the mid-1800s and an ancestor of Eric's.

The custom L-shaped desk was created to hide equipment while affording a view.

A linen closet, inconspicuous behind double doors leading into the bedroom, is just deep enough to hold sheets and other necessities.

An antique Swedish desk occupies a front corner of the bedroom; its many drawers keep mail out of sight. The desktop displays some of Eric's favorite possessions. The black-and-white photos throughout the apartment are part of a larger collection, but he prefers not to display them all so as not to crowd the space.