They would’ve wanted something that was ultramodern,” the wife says of the sleek kitchen, clad in Calacatta marble and reflective brass. While the laboratory-like space might initially seem at odds with a preservation-minded renovation, it perfectly embodies the owners’ guiding philosophy. The original flooring in the entry hall—an early point of debate—ultimately stayed at the wife’s insistence. Louis XV gilt-bronze sconces and a Patrice Dangel patinated-bronze torchère cast a warm glow over a Gaetano Pesce Nobody’s Perfect chair. “We didn’t see it as our right, frankly, to dramatically alter the home,” adds the wife of their approach.