Journey

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the excitement of the hunt for beauti-ful and exceptional things made me want to do more work. I was beginning to learn that I liked decorating and, more importantly, that I was good at it! Around that time, I received a commis-sion from a wonderful and intellectual Manhattan couple who had lived at the Beresford for the past decade in an apartment they had remodeled in the 1980s. Architecturally, they had taken apart the apartment and cre-ated an open floor plan that made it extremely contemporary and gave it a recognizable, though dated, eight-ies look. The couple was restless and curious, wanting to reconstruct and begin to assemble a thorough and im-portant collection of french Art Deco furnishings. They were familiar with the influential apartment Jed and I had created in the early 1990s for Maureen and Marshall Cogan. We researched the original layouts of the apartment. With regards to the decor, nothing had really been decided except for three key signature pieces: a screen by Jean Dunand, a marble and iron console by Edgar Brandt, and an exceptional sec-retary by Sue et Mare. These were “big-shouldered” and iconic pieces from the early part of the Art Deco period. When advising a client in starting a new area of collecting, I always advise them not to worry too much about the first things they buy, but rather to just go ahead and follow their hearts.

for obvious reasons, after Jed died I was reluctant and circumspect about engaging in the areas of design that were in his scope of work and that might appear to challenge his unique sensibilities regarding decorative treat-ments, for instance, or his exceptional talent in building a collection for a client. however, by the late 1990s, I had made numerous trips to Paris, largely to assemble a wonderful col-lection of Art Deco furniture for a family in Sydney, Australia, where I had worked on a scholarly reconstruction of an old British Colonial home in the Eastern Suburbs. Experiencing the wily ways of Parisian antique dealers and

me, he had taken many vof the iconic luxury materials and modernized them with a subtle reduction in their applica-tion. The dining room is a good ex-ample. The early key pieces included a suite of chairs by Emile-Jacques Ruhl-mann, a wonderful pair of Jean Royère chairs, bought from the great Parisian dealer Jacques Lacoste, and a beautiful rug by Marian Dorn from V’Soske. Col-lecting for me has always been about

That was the thinking with regard to these three pieces. The apartment was reconstructed to be similar to its original layout. formality returned, and rooms were planned with the specific intent of housing their evolving col-lection. But significantly, new and far more luxurious materials—satinwood, parchment, afromosia floors, and white statuary marble—were introduced into this design scheme. As in the past, my challenge was to take a relatively small handful of edited materials and rework them expertly into a highly refined interior. As evidenced by earlier work, each material is subordinated to an overall composition that reflects refine-ment, hierarchy, and a great restraint in their use. As we began to collect vari-ous pieces of furniture from the period, I looked a lot at french designer Jean Michel frank’s wonderful and highly influential interiors. I also made a point of considering other designers. one in particular was Paul Depré-Lafon. for

having confidence in what one acquires and how one displays it. We once assembled, at the client’s request, a collection of beer bottles for the owner of Twin farms. I believe you can take many things that might be dispa-rate from each other and, with a show of confidence in the display, have the collection come across with a remark-able impact. Subtleties also come into play. A beautifully vetted collection can be enhanced with one or two things that are totally anonymous, and from another era. I also believe that not every object has to be exceptional. A good example of this are the four Alex-andre Noll chairs we purchased for the breakfast area in the apartment. Rare and exquisite, the chairs also point to another area of collecting in that they date from post-World War II france. I encouraged using the unique designs in this everyday way, as it shows the clients’ confidence in repurposing the chairs as completely casual objects.

As in the past, my challenge for this apartment was to take a relatively small handful of edited materials and rework them expertly into a highly refined interior.

ART DECo TREASuRES IN A PRISTINE MANhATTAN APARTMENT

Superb Art Deco secretary is a 1923 Sue et Mare design.

Maison Jansen’s luxurious 1937 bed-room for Helena Rubinstein had a gold satin bed in a quilted satin alcove.

The graceful contour of classic French Art Deco furniture is reinterpreted in this sketch for a custom-made chair.

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the excitement of the hunt for beauti-ful and exceptional things made me want to do more work. I was beginning to learn that I liked decorating and, more importantly, that I was good at it! Around that time, I received a commis-sion from a wonderful and intellectual Manhattan couple who had lived at the Beresford for the past decade in an apartment they had remodeled in the 1980s. Architecturally, they had taken apart the apartment and cre-ated an open floor plan that made it extremely contemporary and gave it a recognizable, though dated, eight-ies look. The couple was restless and curious, wanting to reconstruct and begin to assemble a thorough and im-portant collection of french Art Deco furnishings. They were familiar with the influential apartment Jed and I had created in the early 1990s for Maureen and Marshall Cogan. We researched the original layouts of the apartment. With regards to the decor, nothing had really been decided except for three key signature pieces: a screen by Jean Dunand, a marble and iron console by Edgar Brandt, and an exceptional sec-retary by Sue et Mare. These were “big-shouldered” and iconic pieces from the early part of the Art Deco period. When advising a client in starting a new area of collecting, I always advise them not to worry too much about the first things they buy, but rather to just go ahead and follow their hearts.

for obvious reasons, after Jed died I was reluctant and circumspect about engaging in the areas of design that were in his scope of work and that might appear to challenge his unique sensibilities regarding decorative treat-ments, for instance, or his exceptional talent in building a collection for a client. however, by the late 1990s, I had made numerous trips to Paris, largely to assemble a wonderful col-lection of Art Deco furniture for a family in Sydney, Australia, where I had worked on a scholarly reconstruction of an old British Colonial home in the Eastern Suburbs. Experiencing the wily ways of Parisian antique dealers and

me, he had taken many vof the iconic luxury materials and modernized them with a subtle reduction in their applica-tion. The dining room is a good ex-ample. The early key pieces included a suite of chairs by Emile-Jacques Ruhl-mann, a wonderful pair of Jean Royère chairs, bought from the great Parisian dealer Jacques Lacoste, and a beautiful rug by Marian Dorn from V’Soske. Col-lecting for me has always been about

That was the thinking with regard to these three pieces. The apartment was reconstructed to be similar to its original layout. formality returned, and rooms were planned with the specific intent of housing their evolving col-lection. But significantly, new and far more luxurious materials—satinwood, parchment, afromosia floors, and white statuary marble—were introduced into this design scheme. As in the past, my challenge was to take a relatively small handful of edited materials and rework them expertly into a highly refined interior. As evidenced by earlier work, each material is subordinated to an overall composition that reflects refine-ment, hierarchy, and a great restraint in their use. As we began to collect vari-ous pieces of furniture from the period, I looked a lot at french designer Jean Michel frank’s wonderful and highly influential interiors. I also made a point of considering other designers. one in particular was Paul Depré-Lafon. for

having confidence in what one acquires and how one displays it. We once assembled, at the client’s request, a collection of beer bottles for the owner of Twin farms. I believe you can take many things that might be dispa-rate from each other and, with a show of confidence in the display, have the collection come across with a remark-able impact. Subtleties also come into play. A beautifully vetted collection can be enhanced with one or two things that are totally anonymous, and from another era. I also believe that not every object has to be exceptional. A good example of this are the four Alex-andre Noll chairs we purchased for the breakfast area in the apartment. Rare and exquisite, the chairs also point to another area of collecting in that they date from post-World War II france. I encouraged using the unique designs in this everyday way, as it shows the clients’ confidence in repurposing the chairs as completely casual objects.

As in the past, my challenge for this apartment was to take a relatively small handful of edited materials and rework them expertly into a highly refined interior.

ART DECo TREASuRES IN A PRISTINE MANhATTAN APARTMENT

Superb Art Deco secretary is a 1923 Sue et Mare design.

Maison Jansen’s luxurious 1937 bed-room for Helena Rubinstein had a gold satin bed in a quilted satin alcove.

The graceful contour of classic French Art Deco furniture is reinterpreted in this sketch for a custom-made chair.

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Journey

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