Elle Decor 01-02-2006

dazzling
colors
WhatsHot Now!
Dramatic Details and
Exotic Flourishes
Designers at Home:
Their Secrets to Living Well
High Style in Toronto
The 10 Coolest Club Chairs
Lamps Youll Love
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006
USA $4.50/CANADA $5.50
ELLEDECOR.COM
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HAPPENINGS
ADVERTISING & PROMOTION EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES

THE FOURTH ANNUAL ELLE DECO INTERNATIONAL
DESIGN AWARDS CELEBRATION
ELLE DECO INTERNATIONAL

DESIGN AWARDS 2005 WINNERS
BATH: .25 Collection by Shelton, Mindel & Assoc. for Waterworks
BEDDING: John Robshaw Textiles
FABRIC: Hable Construction
FLOOR COVERING: The Rug Company
FURNITURE: Victoria Hagan Home
KITCHEN: GE
LIGHTING: Alison Berger Glassworks
The U.S. winners of the fourth annual ELLE DECO International Design
Awards were honored during a special ceremony hosted by editor in chief
Margaret Russell at Christies New York. The ELLE DECO International Design
Awards recognize excellence in design in 10 home-furnishings categories
including the designer of the year. Sponsor Bombay Sapphire presented
the second annual Bombay Sapphire Rising Star Award to up-and-coming
designer Jason Miller.
TABLETOP: John Derian

WALL COVERING: Allegra Hicks
DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: Barbara Barry
Photo 1: Lisa Kravet; Tracy Gavant, vp/publisher, ELLE DECOR; Cary Kravet, president/ceo, Kravet Inc.
Photo 2: Left to Right-Top Row: Karen Marx, home accessories director, ELLE DECOR; Paul Klein, gm brand & advertising, GE Consumer & Industrial; John Miller, senior vp,
group publishing director, womens service & shelter, ELLE DECOR; Allison Eckelkamp, public relations program manager, GE Consumer & Industrial}; Chris Drago, strategy
supervisor, OMD.
Bottom Row: Jamie Goodwin, associate director of strategy, OMD; Melissa Warshaw, strategy supervisor, OMD; Sarah Wehrili, strategist, OMD.
ELLE DECORS DINING BY DESIGN CHICAGO LIGHTS UP THE MERCHANDISE MART

ELLE DECORs Dining by Design Chicago, presented by GE, brought the
design community together to raise funds for DIFFA (Design Industries
Foundation Fighting AIDS). Resplendent tabletops designed by talented
local and national designers were the centerpieces for the event, which
was held at the Merchandise Mart.
Photo 1: Gigi El Gazzar, regional sales manager, ELLE DECOR; Doug Wilson of TLCs
Moving Up and Trading Spaces; Naomi Cooper, marketing director, ELLE DECOR.
Photo 2: Amy Hillsman, senior marketing manager, Delta Faucet; Anne Beriault,
senior vice president, director of account services, Young and Laramore.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Winter Antiques Show
January 2029
ELLE DECOR returns for its sixth year as the exclusive media sponsor of the prestigious
52nd annual Winter Antiques Show, uniting the old and new generations of collectors and
philanthropists at one of the most respected shows in the country.
PROFILES
Winter Antiques Show Designer Night

January 20
Hosted by Editor in Chief Margaret Russell in the Tiffany Room at the Seventh
Regiment Armory in New York City, the evening includes book signings by Bunny
Williams and Michael Smith. Designer Night is attended by top inuential designers
and decorators in the industry.
Note: Dates and markets are subject to change.
Editor in chief Margaret Russell and

Proles president James Druckman
co-hosted a cocktail reception at the
Proles showroom at the New York
Design Center.
For the latest event updates, sweepstakes, and promotions, visit elledecor.com.
elledecor.com
Whatever moves you

We made it movable
Danish Design since 1925
Small enough to move. Big enough to move you. Inside the slender
BeoSound 3 resides a range of sophisticated features including digital
memory card playback, radio and a rechargeable battery that lasts
up to 10 hours. Fitting that something this mobile is creating such
a movement. Find your nearest Bang & Olufsen showroom at
www.bang-olufsen.com or call 888 625 3421.
The new BeoSound 3
contents
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 VOLUME 17 NUMBER 1
On the Cover
The living room of Muriel
Brandolinis Manhattan townhouse. Singular Sensation,
page 64. Photography by
Pieter Estersohn. Far left:
The dining room of Geoffrey
Ross and John Dransfields
house in the Hamptons. Below: Ernest de la Torres 19thcentury Chelsea apartment.
110
6 ELLEDECOR.COM
WILLIAM WALDRON (2)
Departments
16 Editors Page
By Margaret Russell
18 Mailbox
Our readers write
21 Whats Hot!
Dispatches from the world of design. By Julie V. Iovine
26 New York shops adopt a European focus. By Vicky Lowry
28 The Winter Antiques Show draws a new crowd
30 News flash. By Jessica Romm
32 Trend Alert
Indian prints proliferate; red revs up. By Anita Sarsidi
36 Everything You Need to Know About Maria Pergay
The French designer makes waves with steel. By Marc Kristal
40 Designers Dozen
The 12 things Marcel Wanders cant live without.
By Julie V. Iovine
42 Truth in Decorating: The Ten Coolest Club Chairs
Designers Katie Lydon and Jay Jeffers take a seatand a
standto rate ELLE DECORs cushiest choices. By Julie V. Iovine
46 Great Ideas
Chic storage solutions come out of the closet
48 Daniels Dish
Spicy chili takes the chill off winter. By Daniel Boulud
52 ELLE DECOR Goes to Toronto
With its dramatic setting and lively cultural scene, the city is
thriving indoors and out. By Michael Grant Jaffe
118 Resources
Where to find it. By Molly Sissors
124 Etcetera
Doorknobs add quiet dazzle to any room. By Alison Hall
92
WWW.ROLEX .COM
NEW YORK
For an Official Rolex Jeweler call 1-800-367-6539. Rolex
Oyster Perpetual, Lady-Datejust and Pearlmaster are trademarks.
contents
Features
63 ELLE DECOR Style

64 Singular Sensation
Muriel Brandolinis New York townhouse is an invigorating mix
of bold colors and innovative craftsmanship. By Julie V. Iovine
76 True Blue
For T. Keller Donovan, a small apartment becomes a laboratory
where order and a navy palette prevail. By Michael Boodro
82 Split Personality
A quirky house from the 60s inspires two Toronto designers to
forsake abstract purity for charm. By David Colman
92 Dowtown Revival
Ernest de la Torre gives a modern edge to glamour and grandeur
in his belle epoque Chelsea apartment. By Everett Potter
96 Shopping: Go for the Glow
A beautiful lamp lights up a room in more ways than one,
adding as much character as illumination. By Anita Sarsidi
102 Corporate Takeover
Eric Cohler reinvents a former Upper East Side office, transforming it into a refined and art-filled duplex. By David Colman
110 Artful Spirits
Geoffrey Ross and John Dransfield fall for a Hamptons cottage
with good bones and an even better past. By Kathleen Hackett
82
102
64
10
CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT: WILLIAM WALDRON (2); PIETER ESTERSOHN
Clockwise from above: The

fireplace in the Toronto home
of designers George Yabu
and Glenn Pushelberg. Muriel
Brandolini and her daughter,
Filippa, in the front hall of
their Manhattan townhouse. A
corner of Eric Cohlers Upper
East Side duplex, formerly the
offices of an investment firm.
Ketel One Vodka distilled from wheat. 2006 Imported by Nolet Spirits U.S.A., Aliso Viejo, CA. All rights reserved. 40% ALC/VOL. www.KetelOne.com
Dear Ketel One Drinker

If only everyone had such
good taste.
Sleep naturally.
We live in a world of things made by machines from artificial
materials. Sometimes you long for something thats truly natural.
It may be closer than you think.
Hstens beds are the only beds in the world made exclusively
by hand from natures own materials.
Wool keeps you warm when its cold and cool when its hot.
Horsehair ventilates away moisture. Flax prevents static electricity. Cotton makes it all soft. And a frame of pine from trees grown
above the Arctic Circle makes your bed as sturdy and durable as
possible.
Little wonder that in a Hstens bed, sleep is a gift of nature.
Los Angeles, CA The Hstens Store 310 945-5418

Chicago, IL The Hstens Store 312 527-5337 New York City, NY The Hstens Shop at A.B.C. Home 212 473-3000
Boise, ID The Hstens Shop at Scandinavia Today 208 327-3552
The Hstens Shops at Scan Design, Florida:
Miami 305 944-8080 Lauderhill 954 742-4911 Orlando 407 862-9775 Jacksonville 904 731-7877
Palm Harbour 727 784-6353 Tampa 813 805-2777
Greenwich, CT Svenska Beds 203 422-2324 Stamford, CT Sleep Etc 203 323-1509 Norwalk, CT Sleep Etc 203 846-2233
Fairfield, NJ House of Norway 973 227-3367 Howell, NJ House of Norway 732 886-5200 Maui, HI Scandinavia Today 808 877-3456
Dallas, TX Danish Inspirations 972 490-9141 Houston, TX Kuhl-Linscomb 713 520-7691
(866) 50-Hastens
www.hastens.com
editors page
John Robshaw, winner

of the 2005 ELLE DECO
International Design
Award for bedding,
with me at our awards
ceremony in October.
When it comes to inspiration, Ill opt for extravagantly dramatic over quietly tasteful every time. It seems
that as a middle childwere supposed to be the
calm peacemakers in a familyand the younger
sister of a somewhat high-strung aspiring actress,
my few attempts at youthful theatrics were soundly quashed by my parents. So its no surprise that
now, when confronted with stacks of projects to
consider, Im usually not thrilled by the subtle, multishades-of-beige condo apartments, but by the
spaces that are artfully composed, truly inventive,
and maybe even a tad over the top.
Dont fret. Im well aware that our average reader
has little desire to live like a maharaja, and were not
very keen on decor best suited to a theme park. But
this month, by synchronicity, not plan, we feature
homes owned by designersall distinctively dramatic, though for different reasons.
For instance, T. Keller Donovans solution for living in a small space is the bold, exuberant use of a
single color, a crisp, nautical blue that expresses
both confidence and conviction. Ernest de la Torres
bedroom, in a 19th-century row house, is a dark,
glamorous haven sheathed in velvet the depth and
hue of strong espresso. And George Yabu and Glenn
Pushelberg transformed a 1960s Toronto house
with scant architectural integrity into a modernist
paradise perched on a ravine overlooking a dense
16 ELLEDECOR.COM
forest. Their master bathroom is sublimemy favorite photo in this issue.

John Dransfield and Geoffrey Ross dressed the
bedrooms of their Greek Revival cottage on Long
Island in couture-quality, ball-gownworthy bedding
of their own design, and Eric Cohler thoughtfully tailored a former commercial space, using the living
rooms towering 20-foot windows to create a sophisticated showplace for his extensive collection of
paintings, photography, and furnishings.
And who would imagine the riot of color, pattern,
and verve that exists behind the mousy-brown faade
of Muriel Brandolinis Upper East Side townhouse?
From the drawing rooms standout rock-crystal, jade,
and pearl chandelier to the utterly chic Martin Szekely
perforated-Corian desk in her sons room, Muriels
striking style and flair are unmistakable. Her home is
very decorated, but it isnt a stage set or show house
its where shes raising her family. Her place, like all
those in this issue, proves that a bit of drama doesnt get in the way of day-to-day life; it only makes it
richer and far more interesting.
Margaret Russell, Editor in Chief

mrussell@hfmus.com
GABRIELA MAJ/PMC/ PATRICK MCMULLAN
drama school
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mailbox
Hurricane Relief
I really enjoyed Margaret Russells column (Editors
Page) in the November issue. Its almost impossible
for me to express the depth of my sadness, anger,
and empathy for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Fortunately, her words speak for me. I agree with her:
We have to send a message to the people we empower that we will not tolerate this level of calamity.
I am glad that she took time out to remind us that
the beautiful things that surround us are here to enhance our lives. They dont define us.
Rayman Boozer, New York, NY
Camera Ready
I have enjoyed Pieter Estersohns work in your pages
for years and have always slightly envied the opportunities he has had to see the world and document
so many beautiful houses. Now I am jealous of his
ability to stay home. His duplex in the November issue (Eastern Influences) is both chic and fascinating, layered with evidence of his travels and wide
curiosity and his passion for good design. Yet his loft
also works so well as a family home. This story is proof
that the man is as stylish as any of the places he has
photographed for your magazine.
Robert Dean, San Diego, CA
From top: Pieter Estersohns duplex
in Manhattan. The November cover.
Rave Review
Ideally, a home-design magazine can inform as well
as entertain; the November issue does this and so
much more. The featured homes were fresh and
intriguing rather than trendy or tired. There was so
much to be inspired by, but also so much that was
just plain fun. All around, a home run!
B. Levin, Cambridge, MA
Mid-Century Memories
I was born and raised in Palm Springs and the article in your November issue ( ELLE DECOR Goes
to Palm Springs) captured the current city beautifully. My father, Charles Red Lackey, owned small
hotels there, so I came into the world at a hospital
designed by Albert Frey. I grew up playing in amoebashaped swimming pools, frolicking among adults
sipping martinis, and listening to Frank Sinatra records. Cigarette smoke swirled freely. Even if youre
not a mod-com (what mid-centurymodern fans
proudly call themselves), Palm Springs has much to
offer. Keep up the good work.
Terri Lackey-McMichael, via e-mail
18 ELLEDECOR.COM
London Calling
The London home decorated by Jeffrey Bilhuber
and photographed by Simon Upton (English Class,
October) is, hands down, the most luscious ever
shown, period. It was transporting.
Phyllis Buck, Ashland, Oregon
History Lesson
The story on Oakley Farm in your October issue
(Grand Revival) is missing a charming detail. Im
pretty certain that Jackie Kennedy resided there on
weekends during her husbands presidency. I believe the late Mrs. Onassis, with her exquisite taste,
would have approved of the renovation!
Scott Honeyman, Toronto, Canada
Actually, we learned that the Kennedys used to visit
Bunny Mellon, who owns the property next door,
and eventually built their own house in the area.
Jacqueline Kennedy may have gone on fox hunts
at Oakley Farm but she never lived there.
Send Mailbox your lettersbut keep them short and to

the point (we reserve the right to edit for length, clarity, and
style). The address: Mailbox, ELLE DECOR, 1633 Broadway, 41st
floor, New York, NY 10019; e-mail: ELLEDECOR@hfmus.com.
To subscribe to ELLE DECOR, to order a gift subscription, to

change your subscription address, or for any questions
regarding your subscription, e-mail elledecor@neodata.com.
Please be sure to include your mailing address and all pertinent information for your subscription; you may also call
850-682-7654. To order a back issue, call 800-333-8546.
FROM TOP: PIETER ESTERSOHN; GREY CRAWFORD
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006
I just wanted to tell you how moved I was when I

read the fantastic editors letter in the most recent
issue of ELLE DECOR. I am from Louisiana, so it truly
touched my heart. I appreciated and totally related
to everything Margaret said about the feeling of
helplessness and the realization that none of what
we in the design business do is worth a penny in the
face of the reality of what is happening in the world.
Monelle Totah, via e-mail
Seashell Chic
Theres a pirate splendor to Olys Jenny

chandelier with its dashing swags
of pearlescent shells culled from the
beaches of Indonesia and then linked
by hand and draped from antiquedsilverfinished hoops. The fixture is 22"
in diameter and 30" in length, takes
four 60-watt bulbs, and costs $1,850.
Go to olystudio.com for stores.
Whats Hot!
KANA OKADA
Dispatches from the world of design

Text by Julie V. Iovine
Produced by Anita Sarsidi
21
whats hot!
1 Pillow Talk
Known for bold graphics rendered via
granny-age techniques, textile designer
Judy Ross has branched out into abstract
botanical prints. The Fauna pillows of chainstitched New Zealand wool ($190 each)
are handcrafted by artisans in India who
decide the direction of the stitches for
themselves. I never know if theyre going
to outline the pattern or create leaf veins,
says Ross. It adds a whole dimension.
Call 212-842-1705; judyrosstextiles.com.
2 Penned in Style
Acme Studio has made its reputation producing small objects designed by very big
names. Its collection of pens, wallets, and
card cases spans an extraordinary A-list of
designers from Frank Lloyd Wright and
Verner Panton (his Geometri pen, far right)
to contemporary talents, including Marcel
Wanders (Colori, left) and Gene Meyer
(GM Horizontal, middle). The roller-ball
pens cost $55 each. Call 808-878-2541 for
stores; acmestudio.com.
3 Bedside Manners
Namb, a name once synonymous with
buffed metal bowls from New Mexico,
has long since expanded into a wide range
of porcelain, crystal, and glass tableware.
But its dedication to purpose with
beauty has remained unchanged. The
Bedside decanter is neatly stoppered
with its own water glass and costs $75.
Call 800-443-0339; nambe.com.
4 Bespoke Notes
Friend to dukes, doyennes, and debutantes,
Mrs. John L. Strong set up shop as a social
stationer in 1929. Her company has
equipped the desks of the discerning with
hand-engraved calling cards and notepaper
ever since. The 2006 calendar on a brass
easel is stamped in gold with selections
from the companys renowned collection
of 19th-century metal dies. It sells for $95
at the Mrs. John L. Strong shop at Barneys
New York. Call 212-833-2060; barneys.com.
KANA OKADA
22 ELLEDECOR.COM
2005 Sharp Corporation
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LIQUID CRYSTAL TELEVISION WILL DELIVER IT WITH TRUER COLOR, GREATER DETAIL AND INCREDIBLE SOUND. EXPERIENCE
A TRUE HD WORLD WHERE THERES ALWAYS MORE TO SEE. TO LEARN ABOUT AQUOS, VISIT MORETOSEE.COM
whats hot!
1
1 Steeping Hot
Whether the sun is up, and so are you,

or down, and so are you, a teapot adds
charm to the day. This bone-china Goldfish pot, $135, by Shanghai Tang, holds
just enough tea for two. Matching cups
($45 a pair) are sold separately. Call 212888-0111; shanghaitang.com.
2 Rock Steady
You dont have to be a mineralogist to love
the feel of crystal in your grasp. Craftsman
Carl Martinez creates hardware that puts
the mineral in hand. From left, rock-crystal
spear pull with light-bronze base, $650;
2" quartz-crystal doorknob with polishedsilverplated base, $745; 1" pink-quartz
pull with 24K-goldplated base, $325; 1.5"
smoky-quartz pull with satin-nickelplated
base, $545. Call 800-411-6515; vivre.com.
3 Skin Tight
Python plates bring a bit of danger as well
as graphic punch to the table. They are
made in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, by Kiln
Design Studios husband-and-wife team,
Elissa and James Leritz, who use enamel
techniques that date back to Byzantium.
The pattern was inspired, says Elissa, by
my husbands awesome snake belt. The 15"
plate costs $280, the 9.5" is $130, and the 6"
is $70. Call 718-456-6722; kilnenamel.com.
24 ELLEDECOR.COM
What says Hollywood better than a mirror? No wonder mirrored pieces conjure
visions of big-screen glamour. In his LaZ-Boy collection, fashion and furniture
designer Todd Oldham gives Parsons-style
legs to his accommodating 16" Sparkle
Square Bunching table, $299. A matching 32inch-long cocktail table is $359; lazboy.com.
1 3: KANA OKADA
4 Reflections of Glory
2005 Kohler Co.
KALLISTA VIR STIL COLLECTION BY LAURA KIRAR 888.4KALLISTA KALLISTA.COM/kirar

TM
whats hot! shops

Mod French furnishings from
the 1960s and 70s are the specialty of Demisch Danant
gallery, including such pieces
as this stainless-steel daybed,
center, by Maria Pergay.
Below, right: Owners Stephane
Danant and Suzanne Demisch.
eurocache
Two new design galleries in New York
highlight pivotal periods in Europe
By Vicky Lowry
Demisch Danant
This Chelsea gallery, co-owned by Suzanne
Demisch and Paris-based dealer Stephane
Danant, spotlights high-style French
furnishings from the 1960s and 70s by notable artists and designers such as Pierre
Paulin and Franois-Xavier Lalanne, whose
experiments with new shapes and materials were encouraged by the government.
It was a decade that enabled designers to
steer away from form follows function,
explains Demisch, and inject frivolity
into objects of daily life. Hence, such offerings as Lalannes life-size camel seat
and Roger Tallons M400 stools.
Prague Kolektiv
Clockwise from near

left: The Prague
Kolektiv in Brooklyn.
Serving carts and
desks and chairs in
chrome and wood,
and lighting are
among the offerings
in the 3,000-squarefoot showroom.
A lacquered desk and
chair with chrome
tubing and a steel toy
car. See Resources.
26 ELLEDECOR.COM
JOSHUA MCHUGH
Czech furniture, glassware, and lighting

from the 1920s and 30s are the focus at this
industrial storefront in Dumbo, Brooklyn.
Czech artisans radically embraced modern design after the republic gained independence in 1918, says Barton Quillen,
who met his co-owner, Giovanni Negrisin,
when they were both living in Prague.
Czechs wanted forward-looking settings
at home and in the office, he adds.
Many of the pieces, which are scarcely
known in the U.S., were inspired by
Wiener Werksttte and Bauhaus designs,
but are available at a fraction of the cost.
whats hot!
The Eruption of
Vesuvius, early
19th century, from
Hill-Stone Inc.
Dove of Peace weather
vane, circa 1787, from George
Washingtons Mount Vernon
Estate and Gardens.
show pieces
However refined and rarified its reputation, the famed
Winter Antiques Show is still working to attract the next
generation of collectors and dealers. One of the new
exhibitors is Charles Pollak, a 25-year-old Brown graduate, Olympic-class rower, and the youngest person
ever to be invited to participate. I have a lot of college
friends, hedge-funders, and high-finance types coming
in and they are very responsive, says Pollak, who will
be presenting a collection of 18th- and 19th-century
American stunners that range in price from $2,000 to
$750,000. Inviting young exhibitors is only part of the plan. While this
years loan exhibition is devoted to items from Mount Vernon, the Winter
Antiques Show is also expanding its focus beyond traditional Americana
to include Vienna Secession and Swedish Moderne pieces. At the
same time, its encouraging dealers to mix in less expensive objects.
We want to keep the range wide but still unique, says the shows
executive director, Catherine Sweeney Singer. For instance, Robert
Young Antiques wont be showing any American items at all. Instead,
the London dealer is bringing English (even Welsh), Scandinavian,
and Central European folk art and furniture, much of it retaining its
original paint and surface treatments. Reed Krakoff of Coach, the
cochair with his wife, Delphine, of Young Collectors Night on January
26, thinks of the show as a perfect learning opportunity. Its quite
rare to see so much thats so different but still at its best, he says.
You can really compare and learn. Krakoff and his wife, both insatiable collectors, are boning up on new eras and styles, including
18th-century French furniture. Its a period thats been ignored for
so long, but it also produced many of the iconic pieces that everyone else copied later. And some of those originals are now cheaper
than the reproductions, Krakoff adds. We want to be ready and
well informed enough to make smart buys. Julie V. Iovine
28 ELLEDECOR.COM
Regency courting
seat from Robert
Young Antiques.
Jersey Blue
by Charles Spencer
Humphreys, from
the Schwarz Gallery.
Bracket clock,
circa 1730, from
Kentshire Galleries.
Regency oak bergre,

circa 1810, from
Dillingham & Co.
Portland-stoneurn finial
from Barbara Israel.
English Arts and

Crafts Donegal
carpet, circa
1900, from
Keshishian.
Japanese lacquer
cabinet, early 19th
century, from Mallett.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEALERS; SEE RESOURCES
With an infusion of younger

dealers, the Winter Antiques Show is
expanding its range and
enlivening the scene
whats hot! news

2
1 Floor Plans
Diversity is the watchword at Madrids
sleek Hotel Puerta Amrica, where a dozen
design firms have each created a floor,
ranging from Norman Fosters leather-clad
rooms to Zaha Hadids white undulating
surfaces to Marc Newsons marble bar,
above. At 41 Avenue Amrica; call 011-3491-744-5400; hotelpuertamerica.com
2 Street Scene
Lower Manhattan was an incubator for
innovation from 1974 to 1984 despite a recession and the onset of AIDS. Keith
Haring, Nan Goldin, Cindy Sherman, and
Karen Finley all flourished amid the rise
of political activism and the emergence
of industrial chic. The Downtown Show,
at NYUs Grey Art Gallery and Fales
Library and at Parsons, surveys the scene.
Sketch by Stephen Sprouse, 19741976.
January 10 to April 1. Go to nyu.edu/greyart.
3 Top Shelf
In Thrown Rope (Princeton Architectural
Press, $30), landscape artist Peter
Hutchinson offers a visual diary of his fanciful gardens. The Furniture of Carlo
Mollino (Phaidon, $75) surveys the career
of the Italian architect whose curved
bentwood chairs and plywood desks were
inspired by his love of the nude female
form. Chinese Houses (Tuttle, $60) examines traditional dwellings from a Ming
dynasty manor to Maos boyhood home.
The new Mediterranean restaurant 5 is

doing its part to glamorize Denvers Wild
West image. Inspired by vintage James
Bond movies, decorator Jeffrey Elliot went
for a masculine, clubby look with dark
floors and black walls set off by gleaming
mirrors and contrasting white furniture.
At 1475 Lawrence Street; call 303-260-7505.
By Jessica Romm
30 ELLEDECOR.COM
1: RAFAEL VARGAS 2005; 4: ESTETICO
4 Mile-High Style
trend alert
Indian Prints
The traditional botanical patterns of
southern Asia are branching out,
becoming an inspiration for both fashion and home
Produced by Anita Sarsidi
6
7
4
1 Jaipur* linen by Peter Fasano from John Rosselli.
2 Marbella* linen by Raoul Textiles. 3 Ceylan Cotton
Print* cotton by Brunschwig & Fils. 4 Jaipur Toile*
cotton by Charles Burger. 5 Pondicherry Lake* linencotton by Raoul Textiles. 6 Konstantine Gardenprint
dress by Diane von Furstenberg from fall 2005.
7 Amita Metis* linen-cotton by Manuel Canovas from
Cowtan & Tout. 8 Harmony rayon-polyester by
Waverly. *Available to the trade only. See Resources.
32
STILL LIFE: KANA OKADA
trend alert
Left: Icaria* silk-wool

by Designtex. Right:
Bergamo* wool-cottonpolyester from Pollack.
Red velvet dress

by Roberto Cavalli
from fall 2005.
Red-lacquer
ballpoint pen by
Elsa Peretti for
Tiffany & Co.
Filumena* cotton by Bises

from Bergamo.
Roma cotton
sheets and
Royal cotton
pillow sham
by Olatz.
Beekman crocodile clock by Ralph

Lauren Home.
Real Woven* calfskin
by Edelman Leather.
Imperial Damask
cotton-linenviscose by Ralph
Lauren Home.
Red
Its the most passionateand

dangerousof colors, the ultimate hue for Princes Corvette
and the lipstick of Helmut
Newton blonds. Diana Vreeland
reveled in her scarlet Billy
Baldwin garden in hell living
room. And as designer Roberto
Cavalli can attest, if you wear
red, you really have to mean it.
STILL LIFES: KANA OKADA
Five Side
lacqueredwood boxes
by Pacific
Connections.
*Available to the trade only. See Resources.

34
everything you need to know about ...
Maria Pergay
Endowing an industrial
material with sweeping elegance, the French designer
brings sex appeal to steel
By Marc Kristal
The designer
with a sofa she
created for
Pierre Cardin,
circa 1970.
The term meubles de stylefurniture in the style

ofrefers to well-made reproductions that can be
found under many labels the world over. But what
about meubles de steel, crafted from that most forbidding of materials, yet sensuous in form and executed with an artisans sensitivity? For these, the
foremost name is Maria Pergay. In the 1960s and
70s, Pergay designed stainless-steel furniture that
is eagerly sought after by collectors today.
Now 75, Pergay was born Maria Alexandrovna
Kachnitskaya in 1930. She fled the instability of her
native Moldavia at the age of seven and settled with
her mother in Paris. There, following the war, she studied set design and sculpture. But it wasnt until the
mid-50s, when a friend asked Pergay to develop window displays for couture houses, that her unique talent found its form. The designers response was giant
birds, made of forged iron; they proved so popular
that she was asked to reconceive them as decorative pieces. Inspired, Pergay next created a series of
contemporary silver objects that were marketed by,
among others, Herms and Dior. By 1960, she had
opened a gallery in the Marais, at 2 Place des Vosges,

and displayed her own collection among superbly
judged arrangements of fine antiques and Asian art.
In 1967, Pergay received the proposition that would
change her lifefrom the steel manufacturer Uginox,
which was seeking to expand its market. Would she
consider producing pieces in stainless steel? Pergay
loved the material, but considered the small scale
she was working in inappropriate. Might
she design furniture instead? The company agreed, and the results so impressed Jean Dive of Galerie Maison
et Jardin, that he presented them as
a collection, opening on May 13,
1968, the day Parisian youth
A lounge chair
from the 1970s.
36 ELLEDECOR.COM
CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT: MARIA PERGAY ARCHIVES/COURTESY OF DEMISCH DANANT; CHRISTIES IMAGES LTD.
A stainless-steel daybed
designed by Maria Pergay
in 1968 for her first
collection of furniture.
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Steel floor lamp

with bronze
skull, circa 1970.
The Wave Desk

at Pergays
first exhibition
in Paris, 1968.
The 1970s
Ring chair.
took to the streets, demanding, as one poster put

it, a new and original world.
A sense of those times is essential to understanding Pergays oeuvre, believes Suzanne Demisch,
of New Yorks Demisch Danant gallery. Everyone
wanted to see what was going to come next, she explains. People werent afraid to try new things. This
passion for change galvanized designers and gave
rise to a new clientele, a younger generation that grew
up with antiques and had money, but wanted something contemporary, says Demisch.
Create, Maria, Pergay recalled her clients saying, and she stormed the barricades with work that
bristled with dynamism and originality: a Flying Carpet daybed; Ring chairs that resembled targets; a
magazine holder folded like origami. All shared a
purity of form and expressed the designers talent
for confounding expectations.
When you think of steel, the Bauhaus aesthetic,
it has a coldness to it, says Richard Wright, whose
Chicago auction house recently sold a Pergay table
for $126,000. But she had a masterful way of handling the metal that made it very warm and human.
The key word is handling: All Pergays work exudes
the nuance of the atelier, rather than the stamp of a
factory. Pergay would begin by making a sketch,
then work directly with fabricators to develop the
drawing into a fully realized design, a painstaking,
intensive process that, as Wright observes, falls
squarely into the French tradition of producing fine

furniture. This impulse, at once classical and radical, to treat steel as a natural material, to both push
its boundaries and tame it, makes Pergays creations singular. Small wonder she cited as influences
Cellini and Faberg: Steel was Pergays gold.
Indeed, like her silver pieces, which Pergay had
presciently harmonized with various styles and periods in her gallery, the furnishings were meant to
be, as Demisch puts it, jewelry in a room. Designed
for the spare, sophisticated interiors of the 1970s,
Pergays work is equally at home on Park Avenue
and in the loft of a die-hard minimalist. And her market has exploded. Five years ago, people didnt know
who she was, notes New York dealer Liz OBrien.
Now theyre competing for her pieces.
Pergay, in short, is backin every way. After decades as a global nomad, during which she designed
palaces for Saudi royals and lairs for newly moneyed Muscovites, Pergays journey is complete:
In April, Demisch Danant, in association with
Lehmann Maupin Gallery, will present an
exhibition of new pieces as startling
as the iron birds that first made her
name nearly four decades ago.
Its quite an accomplishment. But
as connoisseurs and collectors
can attest, little exceeds the grasp
of the Woman of Steel.
Where to Find It
After first producing her steel pieces with
Uginox, Maria Pergay designed and developed her furniture at several other factories
and workshops, created editions of various
pieces, and formed associations with Maison
Jansen, Harvey Probber, and others. But according to Suzanne Demisch, whose book on
Pergay will be published in April, the vast
majority of Pergays designs were privately
commissioned, including, famously, a 1977
sofa for Pierre Cardin; it featured a hinged
lid, constructed from tortoise shells, that
lifted to reveal the cushions. Thus, as Richard
Wright observes, Theres not a lot of it
around. But the rarity of Pergays work makes
it only more desirableand expensive. Here
are a few places to begin the search:
A lamp with goldand-ivory enamel.
Wave bench,
circa 1969.
DeLorenzo 1950, New York, 212-995-1950

Demisch Danant, New York, 212-989-5750;
demischdanant.com
Jousse Entreprise, Paris, 011-33-1-45-83-6248; jousse-entreprise.com
Liz OBrien, New York, 212-755-3800; lizobrien.com
Wright, Chicago, 312-563-0020; wright20.com
38 ELLEDECOR.COM
Console with
marquetry and
bronze, 2005.
Steel four-poster
bed, circa 1970.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: MICHEL NAHMIAS/COURTESY OF DEMISCH DANANT; JOSHUA MCHUGH; SOLLO:RAGO; PHILIPPE PONS/COURTESY OF DEMISCH DANANT; JOL LELIEVRE/COURTESY OF JOUSSE ENTREPRISE; CHRISTIES IMAGES LTD.; PHILLIPS DE PURY AND CO.
maria pergay
irresistible curves
Captivating details wrapped in velvet, Leonardo feels as good as it looks. Its vintage-inspired
design looks especially fresh mixed with modern furniture. Leonardo is just one of many
beautiful accent chairs we offer at our lowest prices every day, in stock and ready for delivery.
Leonardo chair
649
Eileen Gray table $299
Chicago Denver Minneapolis New York San Francisco South Coast Plaza Village
roomandboard.com
800.486.6554
Marcel Wanders
12 things he cant live without. By Julie V. Iovine
2. Sculpture made
with his daughter.
4. Jaguar F-Type
concept car.
The Dutch designer Marcel Wanders has always stood out. And not
only because of his six-foot-plus height and the shiny mouthful of
braces that preceded his new picket-fence smile. As one of the original members of Droog, the Amsterdam-based design collective that
burst onto the scene in the mid-1990s with objects that combined
high-concept function with sharply observed wit, Wanders immediately attracted recognition. His Knotted Chair looks like lace you can
sit on and is now part of the Museum of Modern Arts collection. And
his porcelain vase, commissioned by Rosenthal (and available from
Moooi, the company he founded), was molded from eggs slipped into
a condom. The same bulbous motif, much enlarged, can be seen at the
entry of the new restaurant, Thor, he has designed in Manhattan. Im
drawn to contrasts and to objects that somehow contradict themselves,
says Wanders, but also to disturbing beauty. His recent works include luxuriously large bathtubs shaped like bars of soap for
Bisazza and a double-topped table for Moooi that functions simultaneously for work and dining. Wanderss intrepid reinterpretations of the most prosaic objects renew our belief in designs
ability to sweeten daily life. Its hardly surprising then that one of the
things Wanders cannot live without is the curling lips of a smile.
6. Taj Mahal.
3. Vermeers Girl
with a Pearl Earring.
1. Fresh-cut carrots, for their smell and color.

2. Clay sculptures my seven-year-old daughter, Joy, and I make in less than a minute.
3. Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Vermeer. I

love the silence of his paintings.
4. The Jaguar F-Type concept car. Its sideview mirrors at the roofline are so unexpected.
5. The clown-face poster of Benno Premsela,

the man who gave contemporary Dutch
design a heartbeat. It was plastered all over
the Netherlands when he died.
6. The unbuilt black twin of the Taj Mahal.

Perfection unrealized is more perfect.
5. Poster of
Benno Premsela.
7.
Philippe Starcks many-headed teddy

bear, a reminder of how really
complicated life could be.
8. Mosaics. I love multiples.

9. A smile, also known as a miracle.
10. Dragon sea horses, for their
simple splendor.
11. Erwin Olaf s conceptual

photographs of blood-spattered
celebrities and royaltyhard to
look at and even harder to look away from.
7. Philippe Starcks
teddy bear.
12. Bonsai. The forest is too much nature

for me. I get bored after an hour.
8. Mosaic tiles.
40 ELLEDECOR.COM
12. Bonsai tree.
PORTRAIT: MARCEL WANDERS STUDIO; 3: SCALA/ART RESOURCE, NY; 4: JAGUAR CARS LTD.; 5: ANTHON BEEKE STUDIO;
6: STEVE ALLEN/PICTUREARTS; 7: FRED FURGOL; 8: RYAN MCVAY/GETTY; 12: FRANCIS HAMMOND/PICTUREARTS; SEE RESOURCES
designers dozen
truth in decorating
The10 Coolest ClubChairs

Katie Lydon and Jay Jeffers settle in to rate ELLE DECORs picks of the
cushiest and most comfortable seats in the house
Text by Julie V. Iovine Photography by David Jacquot Produced by Alison Hall
Of all the furnishings in a room, the club chair has the widest range of
personalities. A glance will tell which is the strong, silent type and which
tufted number has penthouse pretensions. Some people see the difference more in cultural terms: the deep-seated comforts of an oversize
English club chair versus the restrained poise of its French cousin. And
in choosing one, the criteria are as much personal as aesthetic. Will
the chair serve as a place of refuge for an afternoon of reading? Then
youll want one with arms wide enough to sling a leg over and a back
42
high enough to support a relaxed neck. Buttery-soft leather will inevitably induce a nap. Or if youre more sociably inclined, leaning into
a good conversation, look for a show-off armchair, one as stylish as it
is comfortable. Katie Lydon, a Londoner now based in New York who
appreciates a modern style thats rooted in the classics, and Jay Jeffers,
a San Francisco designer who lives and works by the mantra sophisticated fun, evaluate the many moods and subtle variety of the
modern club chair, a destination all its own.
HAIR AND MAKEUP: MAYSOON FARAJ FOR YVES DURIF SALON
Designers Jay Jeffers and

Katie Lydon take it easy
with the Orsen lounge
chair by Robert Lighton
Furniture and the Ellis chair
by Mitchell Gold + Bob
Williams. See Resources.
truth in decorating
1 FRENCH CLUB CHAIR
BY HOLLY HUNT
Real wit and interest, raves Jeffers.
Look at that V-shaped back. Id love
to see it paired with a patterned
ottoman. Lydon admires its feminine
and formal lines. Unlike the traditional oversize club chair, she adds,
this one has very neat proportions.
Height: 31"; width: 31"; depth: 33"; seat
height: 15"; material: mahogany frame
in dark mahogany finish (other finishes
available) with down-wrapped-foam fill;
delivery: 16 weeks; price: $3,720 c.o.m.
2 ORSEN LOUNGE CHAIR

BY ROBERT LIGHTON
FURNITURE
A truly successful adaptation, says
Lydon. Its contemporary but still
evokes that country-house aesthetic.
Jeffers adds, The side and back
views are especially appealing. Thats
important since club chairs are rarely
placed against a wall.
Height: 29.5"; width: 31"; depth: 40"; seat
height: 18"; material: mahogany frame
in standard finish (other finishes available)
with polyester-and-down fill; delivery: 8
weeks; price: $4,165 c.o.m.
3 ELLIS CHAIR BY MITCHELL

GOLD + BOB WILLIAMS
An elegant take on the Deco classic, proclaims Jeffers. The top
stitching on the back is a wonderful
touch. Its great value for the money.
Lydon loves its scale: Ideal for a
small urban apartment. Even a pair
wouldnt overwhelm a room.
6 MOHAIR CHAIR FROM THE

PINE CONE HILL HOME COLLECTION BY LEE INDUSTRIES
Fantastic for curling up alone, says
Jeffers. All it needs is a silk pillow!
And the caster feet are a classic
touch. For Lydon, its quality is paramount: The tight, rich fabric says its
well made, and its so versatile you
can use it virtually anywhere.
height: 19"; material: wood frame in blackwalnut finish with down fill and mohair
upholstery (other fabrics available); delivery:
810 weeks; price: $2,120
7 CAPITON ARMCHAIR
BY ROOM
Lydon calls this one tailored but
relaxed, and adds, Id love it at a
beach house in blue canvas with
white piping. Jeffers admires its
tufting and contrasting welt. Its
a contemporary update of a 1920s
silhouette, he says. Very smart.
height: 17"; material: maple frame in
Jacobean finish (other finishes available)
with Dacron-wrapped-foam fill (other
fills available); delivery: 6 weeks; price:
$2,700 c.o.m.
8 THEATRE ARMCHAIR BY
TED BOERNER FROM
DESIGN WITHIN REACH
It speaks Italian, jokes Jeffers.
With its chrome legs, its very clean
and self-possessed. Yet I could
still relax in it with a cocktail. Lydon
agrees. Sleek and sophisticated,
she says. And the leather is lovely.

height: 20"; material: hardwood frame in
coffee-bean finish (other finishes available) with polyester fill and leather upholstery (other fabrics available); delivery:
Height: 30"; width: 31"; depth: 30.5"; seat

height: 19"; material: wood frame with
chrome-plated steel legs, Dacron-wrappedfoam fill, and leather upholstery (also
available in Ultrasuede); delivery: 36
days; price: $1,798
4 HARRINGTON CHAIR
BY JONATHAN ADLER
9 TABARIN ARMCHAIR
BY POLTRONA FRAU
A bit retro-Asian, a bit Hollywood

glamour, says Lydon, so it works
with many styles. Jeffers admires
its detailing and finishes. The
carved legs and button tufting are
lovely, especially at this price.
Definitely a mans chair, pronounces Lydon. I can see my husband retreating here with his laptop
and tons of work. Jeffers concurs,
but points out the fine workmanship
and detailing, including the leathercovered nailheads: Thats unique.

height: 17"; material: wood frame in
espresso finish (other finishes available)
with down-wrapped-foam fill (all-polyester
fill also available) and polyester upholstery (other fabrics available); delivery:
5 THORNTON CHAIR
BY KRAVET FURNITURE
This ones definitely a she, Jeffers
pronounces. Its got feminine lines
and its profile tapers nicely. Lydon
also considers it refined and elegant,
and is especially taken with the fabric
and color. Mohair is soft but hardy,
and holds its shape, she says. And
pinkwhat a novel choice!
Height: 33.5"; width: 34"; depth: 34.5"; seat
height: 22"; material: hardwood frame in
mahogany finish (other finishes available)
with foam-and-fiber fill and mohair upholstery (other fabrics available); delivery:
Height: 36"; width: 31.5"; depth: 37.5"; seat

height: 17"; material: beechwood frame in
dark-walnut finish with horsehair padding
and down cushion, and leather upholstery
and nailhead trim (other colors available);
delivery: 1214 weeks; price: $5,450
10 ARMCHAIR BY NATUZZI
Every home needs one of these,
said Lydon, flopping down and throwing one leg over an arm. Its like an
English club chair thats gone skiing
in Jackson Hole. Jeffers notes that
its thin arms allow for a wider seat.
Its the ultimate for relaxation, he
notes. Rustic but sophisticated, and
perfect for a brandy by a roaring fire.
height: 18"; material: wood frame in
wenge finish with foam-and-fiber fill and
cowhide upholstery (other fabrics available); delivery: 12 weeks; price: $2,179
The opinions featured are those of ELLE DECORs guest experts and do not necessarily represent those of the editors. All measurements, delivery times, and prices are approximate. For details see Resources.
44
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great ideas
hold it!
The best storage designs not only eliminate

clutter, they add a great deal of style
1 An Art Deco rosewood writing table by Andr Sornay holds mementos and accessories in a cerused-oak walk-in closet designed by
Fox-Nahem for a Manhattan duplex; the 1940s light fixture is Murano
glass. 2 In a Paris house, decorator Jacques Grange installed a rolling
ladder to maximize access to storage in a clients oak-clad dressing
room. 3 At her home in Clovelly, Australia, decorative artist Georgina
Carless eliminates kitchen clutter by placing her appliances behind
doors she hand-painted with cherry blossoms and birds. 4 Designer
Andre Putman creates the illusion of a floating armoire in a childrens
room in a Paris townhouse by recessing the shelves and drawers and
concealing them with deep, bifold doors. 5 A coatroom in Corinne
Stuckenss house in Bruges becomes an impromptu gallery for family
portraits; the lantern is by architect Vincent Van Duysen.
46 ELLEDECOR.COM
1: PIETER ESTERSOHN; 2: PIERRE-OLIVIER DESCHAMPS/VU; 3: ANSON SMART; 4: GILLES TRILLARD; 5: ANDREA FERRARI
2005 GINGER A MASCO COMPANY
Sur face
water delivery
bath accessories
gingerco.com
lighting
866.423.0955
product design by victor hoernig, idsa
mirrors
daniels dish
Beef chili served with a rich

and grainy corn bread can banish the mid-winter blues. The
Tramonto bowl and dinner plate
and the pewter spoon are by
Vietri; the linen napkins are by
ABH Design. See Resources.
rich and grainy corn bread, are all great accompaniments. Leftovers can be frozen or diluted to make
soup. And its a great potluck dish to bring to a party.
For my recipe, the ingredient list is long, but the
process is simple. Making fresh chili powder is not
difficult (though be sure to wear plastic gloves when
working with chilies) and adds a complexity and subtle heat that chili powder from a jar just cant match.
If you can, use Mexican oregano, which has more of a
punch. And feel free to personalize this dish, varying
the spiciness, or adding scallions, avocado, grated
cheese, sour cream or crme frache, lime, or even
more finely-grated jalapeo.
CHILI
the big heat
A warm and spicy bowl of chili may be

winters most welcome meal
By Daniel Boulud
Every culture, it seems, has its own version of a tomato

and meat dish. For Italians, its the classic Bolognese
sauce. The Spanish have carne picada. And when
I was a child, I loved pommes Parmentier, braised
beef and tomatoes layered with potatoes. But I only
had my first encounter with Mexican chili after I came
to New York to work in restaurants. The staff meal in
any restaurant is always an eclectic affair, due to the
variety of nationalities in the kitchen. But chili was a
perennial favorite, and there was inevitably competition to see who could make the best version.
No wonder chili is so popular: Its practical, affordable, delicious, and great for feeding a large family
or group. Rice and beans, polenta, or, my choice, a
48 ELLEDECOR.COM
4
1
4
1
1
1
1
1
5
1
1/2
ancho chili peppers

pasilla chili peppers
guajillo chili peppers
arbol chili peppers
piquin chili peppers
small habanero chili pepper
T masa harina or fine polenta
limes: 1 zested finely, both juiced
T extra-virgin olive oil
lbs. beef chuck roast or flatiron steak: half cut into
1/2-inch cubes, the remainder ground or finely chopped
oz. slab bacon, cut into large chunks
large onion, cut into large cubes
cloves garlic, finely chopped
T cumin
T Mexican oregano or dried oregano
T salt
T red-wine vinegar
T Worcestershire sauce
large tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and roughly
chopped
bay leaf
cup chopped cilantro
In a dry nonstick skillet over medium heat, toast the

chili peppers on all sides for 5 to 7 minutes. (Wear
plastic gloves whenever working with chilies.) Do
not let the peppers burn.When peppers have cooled,
remove the seeds and veins and blend the chilies in
a spice grinder (this will make more chili powder than
needed for the recipe; store the remainder).
Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 300F.
Mix the masa harina with the lime zest and juice and
3 1/2 cups water. Heat the olive oil in a deep castiron pot over high heat. Add the beef cubes and
sear until golden brown on all sides, 7 to 8 minutes.
Remove the beef and wipe the pot clean. Lower the
temperature to medium high. Add the bacon and
cook until it renders its fat. Add the onion, garlic,
ANTONIS ACHILLEOS; FOOD PREPARATION: FABRIZZIO SALERNI
4
4
4
2
2
1
2
2
2
4
elle decor goes to
Ice skating at
Nathan Phillips
Square, with
the twin towers
of Viljo Revells
1965 City Hall
rising in the
background.
Toronto
Set on Lake Ontario and dotted with beautiful parks,

the city has grown to become a haven of
sophistication, without losing any of its small-town charm
On a fall afternoon in 1954, Toronto was greeted by heavy rains and
winds that made the commute from work slower than usual. Most of
the citys residents had no idea what the next two days held in store
the arrival of Hurricane Hazel, one of the worst storms in the history of
Southern Ontario. The hurricane dumped nearly a foot of water into a
latticework of ravines throughout the city. As a result, one of the first
things Toronto officials did after the storm was to buy as much of the
sodden property as their budget allowed. All the land from those river
52
valleys was made into parkland, says Toronto architect Brigitte Shim.
Today you can travel for miles on a bike without having to cross a street.
The restored ravines, she stresses, are something you appreciate if
you live here, but they dont appear on tourist maps.
Torontos a city made up of these little revelations. After living in New
York and Paris, Paul Sinclaire, a former fashion editor at Vogue and
now head of the apparel company Tevrow + Chase, moved to Toronto
six years ago. He spent his first winter parked beside his fireplace.
AGE FOTOSTOCK/SUPERSTOCK
By Michael Grant Jaffe
toronto
A soaking tub at
the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel.
Paupers Pub, a
local favorite for
live music, housed
in a former bank.
Queen Street
West, the citys bohemian enclave.
The Scottish Tower of

Casa Loma, a private mansion completed in 1913,
now open to the public.
54 ELLEDECOR.COM
Mid-century
modern pieces
at the design
shop Zig Zag.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: THANE LUCAS; HENRY M; ANGELO CAVALLI/SUPERSTOCK; RICK BOGACZ; COURTESY OF ZIG ZAG; KIWANIS CLUB OF CASA LOMA
If I knew how to knit, he says, I would have knitted. It took a couple

years for me to discover theres a group of very stylish people in this
town who entertain. And they do it beautifully.
Many of them, like businessman Gerry Schwartz and his wife, Heather
Reisman, head of a large bookstore chain, live in the tony Rosedale neighborhood, with its majestic views of the Lower Don River valley. The couple
ruffled a few feathers by erecting a 17,000-square-foot, $21 million
mansion. (Its hard to imagine this is the same country Edmund Wilson
once likened to a hunting preserve convenient to the United States.)
To be sure, Schwartz and Reisman are hardly the first Torontonians
to build a showy estate. Nearby, Casa Loma stands as a monument
to excess. Commissioned in the early 1900s by financier Sir Henry
Pellatt, Casa Lomas 98 rooms were cribbed from some of Europes
finest palaces. A tour of the house, which is open to the public, reveals
a secret tunnel, mahogany-and-marble horse stables, and a colossal
pipe organ. But that type of ostentatious display doesnt always play
well with city residents. I think Torontonians really believe in the idea
of Toronto the Good, says author Steven Hayward, who wrote about
the city in his novel The Secret Mitzvah of Lucio Burke. Theyre proud
of its tolerance and multiculturalism.
In fact, the first thing a visitor is likely to notice about Toronto is its diversity, which seems all the more appropriate since the city derives its
name from the Huron Indian word toronton, or place of meeting.
Take a ride on the subway, says advertising executive Russ Steadman.
I defy you to tell me what city youre in simply by looking at the faces.
Nearly half of the citys 2.5 million residents are minorities or transplants. Want to visit Greece? asks TV journalist Micki Moore. Weve
got a Greektown. Theres also Little Italy, Little India, Chinatown.
Each neighborhood has its own distinct character, restaurants, street
merchants, and shops. As the city continues to grow (its population
has increased by 5 percent over the past (text continues on page 58)
The 19th-century
buildings of the
Distillery District,
now home to
shops, cafs,
and art galleries.
toronto
Where to Stay
Essential Toronto
What to See
The area code is 416.

See the world. Nearly half of Torontos
residents are minorities and transplants. Wander through a patchwork
of culturally diverse communities
Little Italy, Little India, Chinatown,
Greektown. Each neighborhood is
crowded with distinctive shops, street
merchants, and restaurants.
Get into the Toronto spirit. Once the factory of spirits manufacturer Gooderham &
Worts, the Distillery District (55 Mill St.,
364-1177; thedistillerydistrict.com)
includes more than three dozen buildings
that form the largest collection of Victorian industrial architecture in North
America. Its now loaded with art studios,
furniture shops, and bakeries. Cars
arent permitted, so take a Segway tour
of the historic sites (866-405-8687).
Head out into the night on Queen Street
West. Often compared to New Yorks
Greenwich Village, the street is lined
with vintage clothing shops, record
stores, art galleries, and cafs. Locals
whine about its recent commercialization, but west of Spadina Avenue,
that old funky flavor still prevails.
Dangle your toes in Lake Ontario at
the Harbourfront and experience the
multibillion-dollar revitalization of
the citys waterside. Across the bay
sit the Toronto Islands, more than 500
acres of parkland. Catch a ferry at
Queens Quaythe kids can ride a
1905 carousel at the Centreville Amusement Park (203-0405; centreisland.ca).
Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St.

West, 977-0414; ago.net. The European
galleries are lovely, but the real find for
out-of-towners is the collection of works
by Canadian artists, especially the
Group of Seven. An expansion by native
Frank Gehry has just gotten under way.
Casa Loma, 1 Austin Terrace, 9231171; casaloma.org: A tour of this
Victorian pile, built in 1913 by Canadian
financier Sir Henry Pellatt, is like watching a century-old episode of MTV
Cribs. What home is complete without
a massive pipe organ and mahogany
riding stables? Many of the 98 rooms
were copied from Europes finest estates.
CN Tower, 301 Front St. West, 8686937; cntower.ca: Sure, it sounds
touristy to visit the worlds tallest structure, but where else can you stare 1,000
feet down through a glass floor?
Design Exchange, 234 Bay St., 3636121; dx.org: Located in the Financial
District, this Art Deco dandy once
housed the local stock exchange. Its
now the place for checking out examples of the best in Canadian design.
Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queens
Park, 586-5549; rom.on.ca: Canadas
largest museum is a fascinating mix of
art, artifacts, and natural history. Soon,
the Qing lions guarding the entrance
will have company: a luminous, Daniel
Libeskinddesigned addition, inspired by
the museums vast mineral collection.
St. Lawrence Market, 92 Front St. East,
392-7120; stlawrencemarket.com: For
56 ELLEDECOR.COM
Four Seasons Toronto, 21 Avenue

Rd., 964-0411; fourseasons.com: The
gold standard, ideally situated in
Yorkville, near some of the citys best
dining, shopping, and museums.
Ask for a corner room with a balcony
and stunning views of Lake Ontario.
Gloucester Square Mansions, 512
514 Jarvis St., 966-3074; gloucestersquare.com: Three historic homes
transformed into bed-and-breakfasts
mix past and present with period
furnishings (canopy beds), private terraces, and Jacuzzis.
The Old Mill Inn & Spa, 21 Old Mill Rd.,
236-2641; oldmilltoronto.com: Located
in the Humber River Valley, this 60room inn is surrounded by English gardens and breathtaking vistas. Guests
cant believe its only a 15-minute drive
from downtown Toronto.
SoHo Metropolitan Hotel, 318
Wellington St. West, 599-8800; soho.metropolitan.com: Though adjacent
to the Entertainment District, you may
have a hard time leaving rooms that
feature Frette linens, Molton Brown toiletries, and heated floors.
Windsor Arms, 18 St. Thomas St., 9719666; windsorarmshotel.com: This
neo-Gothic boutique hotel is so popular
during Torontos annual film festival
(968-3456) that Hollywood types book
their suites a year in advance. Perks include butler service and high tea.
Where to Eat
Canoe, 66 Wellington St. West, 3640054; canoerestaurant.com: This
high-style room is made even more
fabulous by its 54th-floor views of the
city. Owner Michael Bonacini gives a
twist to Mediterranean classics.
Jamie Kennedy Restaurant, 9 Church
St., 362-1957; jkkitchens.com: One
of the most innovative chefs in Canada,
Kennedy builds his menu around seasonal produce and rustic dishes. For
lighter fare, try the adjacent wine bar.
Lobby, 192 Bloor St. West, 929-7169;
eatdrinkplay.ca: A minimal, all-white
interior attracts Torontos fashionable
crowd, who lounge on the plush sofas.
Dinner is just as upscale: foie gras,
Kobe burgers, and truffle risotto.
Paupers Pub, 539 Bloor St. West, 5301331; pauperspub.com: This converted
bank has traditional bar food, a rooftop
with killer views, and live music.
Sassafraz, 100 Cumberland St.,
964-2222; sassafraz.ca: Sit outside this
Yorkville institution and watch the
beautiful people parade by. The best spot

for celebrity sightings and Angus burgers.
7 West Caf, 7 Charles St. West, 9289041: This late-night mainstay never
closes: Who doesnt crave homemade
soup after a long night out?
Sotto Sotto, 116-A Avenue Rd., 9620011; sottosotto.ca: Fresh pastas and
gnocchi are the raison dtre for this
cozy Italian in a restored coal cellar.
Wish, 3 Charles St. East, 935-0240;
wishrestaurant.ca: Even during the winter, this bistro offers al fresco dining on
its illuminated patio. Ask for extra blankets and the shrimp-martini appetizer.
Where to Shop
Corkin Shopland Gallery, 55 Mill St.,
Bldg. 61, 979-1980; corkinshopland.com: Photography from the established
(Irving Penn, Nan Goldin) to the cutting
edge (Frank Mdler, Minette Vri) is the
focus of this Distillery District gallery.
David Mirvish Books, 596 Markham St.,
531-9975; dmbooks.com: The visual arts
are a specialty at this old favorite; check
out the 50-foot Frank Stella painting.
Designers Walk, 168 Bedford Rd.,
961-1211; designerswalk.com: For 25
years, this 160,000-square-foot village
of showrooms has featured the finest
in home furnishings, from international
names to local craftsmen.
Eaton Centre, 220 Yonge St., 5988560; torontoeatoncentre.com: A glassroofed street of shops; the citys
equivalent of Bostons Faneuil Hall.
Greener Pastures, 1188 Queen St. West,
535-7100; greenerpasturesgallery.com:
Contemporary paintings by up-andcoming Canadians such as Andre Ethier
and Derek Mainella, whose works are
on display this winter.
Harvest Wagon, 1103 Yonge St., 9237542; harvestwagon.com: The citys
best selection of pristine produce, exotic fruits, and gourmet treats.
Holt Renfrew, 50 Bloor St. West, 9222333; holtrenfrew.com: The Bergdorf
Goodman of Canada, with sleek floors
devoted to endless beauty counters and
designer labels (Akris, Christian Dior).
Klaus by Nienkmper, 300 King St.
East, 362-3434; klausn.com: Furniture by
the finest Canadian and European designers, including Brent Comber, Pierre
Paulin, and Marcel Breuer.
Navarro Gallery, 613 King St. West,
504-3956: Torontos best source for
European decorative arts and paintings
strong on Art Deco and Art Nouveau.
Over the Rainbow, 101 Yorkville Ave.,
967-7448; rainbowjeans.com: Since
the mid-70s, its been the hot spot for
stylish denim, with ceiling-high piles
of jeans for men and women.
UpCountry, 310 King St. East,
777-1700; upcountry.com: This trendy
contemporary furniture gallery in
a warehouse also displays works by
emerging Canadian artists.
Zig Zag, 1142 Queen St. East, 778-6495;
modfurnishings.com: Looking for a
signed Eames? This is the place for furniture and fixtures from the 1950s70s.
LENA CORWIN
more than a century, this complex has

been providing produce, meats, and
cheeses to the city. Saturday is market
day, but the pubs and cafs in the surrounding area are busy every day.
Toronto Music Garden, 475 Queens
Quay West, 973-4000; harbourfrontcentre.com: A collaboration between
cellist Yo-Yo Ma and designer Julie Moir
Messervy, this charming waterfront
garden translates Bach into greenery.
Hobe Sound Wall Lantern, designed by nationally-acclaimed designer Tom Scheerer.
The glass-topped
arcade of Eaton
Centre, a complex
of nearly 300 shops
and restaurants.
hand-crafted lighting by
843.723.8140
charleston, sc
urbanelectricco.com
through the trade
decade), theres an insatiable appetite for

new buildings, says Sinclaire, and not all of
them are residential. The Art Gallery of Ontario,
home to an impressive collection of European
paintings and a herd of Henry Moore sculptures, recently broke ground on a $195 million
addition by Toronto native Frank Gehry. Farther
north, the Royal Ontario Museum, whose collection, Canadas largest, includes a curious
mix of art and artifacts, is about to inaugurate a new wing designed by architect Daniel
Libeskind, a mountain range of shimmering
glass angles. And the striking Sharp Centre
at the Ontario College of Art and Design, a
dalmation-spotted box on stilts by British architect Will Alsop, opened a year ago.
Perhaps the best example of the citys thirst
for urban renewal is the Distillery District. Created in the mid-19th century as the home of
the firm Gooderham & Worts, the complex
was at one point the top British producer of fine
spirits. By the end of the following century, the
distillery had become the most popular movieset in Canadathree dozen buildings that form
the largest collection of Victorian industrial architecture in North America. But a massive
renovation, completed in 2003, turned the distillery into a colonnade of painters studios, art
galleries, cafs, and nightclubs. Now that its
been converted into a cultural precinct, says
Shim, its interesting to see the ripple effect
on neighboring communities.
One such community is the Harbourfront on
the citys sheltered Inner Harbour, whose own
revitalization has made it a haven for runners,
bikers, and hikers. Across the bay sit more
than 500 acres of wooded parkland called
the Toronto Islands. On sunny afternoons, the
waters are speckled with colorful spinnakers
and windsurfers. Lake Ontario is within walking distance of downtown, so many locals hit
the Harbourfront on their lunch breaks. A ferry
departs frequently from Queens Quay for the
Centreville Amusement Park, where kids can
ride on a restored 1905 carousel.
Over the past two decades, a strong U.S. dollar and a surfeit of distinctive communities have
made Toronto a popular locale for filmmakers
and television producers. Its also become a
very hip place to debut a movie: Each September, downtown is flooded with Hollywood types
for its annual film festival. Rooms at the fashionable Windsor Arms Hotel are booked nearly
a year in advance and the citys best bistros
are overrun by boldface names.
Anyone craving a grittier vibe can make a
beeline for Queen Street West, which is
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The exterior of the

Windsor Arms Hotel,
a Hollywood favorite.
FROM TOP: ANDREJ KOPAC; REBECCA WILSON
Contemporary
furniture and art
at UpCountry.
often compared to Greenwich Village because

of its stylish shops and bohemian spirit. Though
many locals grouse about its recent commercialization, regulars simply wander west past
Spadina for a little old-time flavormaybe a
night of dancing at the Dada-inspired Bovine
Sex Club. The neighborhood also serves as
the northernmost border of the Entertainment
Districta small grid of side streets crowded
with concert halls, theaters, and pubs. Torontonians take great pride in their arts community, says Mike McCollow, until recently
an executive with the Toronto Raptors. They
see the city as very cosmopolitan and cultured.
Some of that pride is reflected in the citys
visual chic. This is a great shopping city, says
Micki Moore, with lots of really terrific little
boutiques. A healthy percentage of them are
located in Yorkville, an enclave of coffeehouses
and hippie hangouts in the 1960s that has morphed into the nations priciest retail address.
During the film festival, Yorkville becomes the
doppelgnger of Rodeo Drive. Columnists
chronicle virtually every celebrity purchase
made in the neighborhoodKate Hudsons
lingerie from Augustina, Elizabeth Berkleys
stilettos from Cherchez La Femme.
And Queens Park, an emerald oasis, is only
a few blocks away. On warm days, the grassy
expanse is crowded with students and civil
servantsthe park is adjacent to the University of Toronto and the Ontario Legislative
Building. No wonder novelist Hayward says,
When someone moves away from this city,
Torontonians always wonder how could anyone do such a thing.
The 52nd Annual

a benet for East Side House Settlement in the South Bronx
JANUARY 20-29, 2006

Seventh Regiment Armory
67th Street & Park Avenue, New York City
Daily: 12:00 noon - 8:00 p.m.
Sundays & Thursday: Noon - 6:00 p.m.
Opening Night Party

January 19, 2006
Sponsored by ELLE DECOR Magazine
Spirits, Wine, & Champagne courtesy of Mot & Chandon
Young Collectors Night

January 26, 2006
Sponsored by Reed Krakoff for COACH
Loan Exhibition
George Washingtons Mount Vernon
Sponsored by The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
Tickets $20
(includes our award-winning catalogue)
For information and tickets to special events,
please call 718.292.7392 or fax 718.665.5532
or visit our website at www.winterantiquesshow.com
Still
setting
the
standard
after
52 years.
2006 Exhibitors
A La Vieille Russie, Inc. Adelson Galleries, Inc. LAntiquaire & The Connoisseur, Inc. W. Graham Arader III Associated Artists, LLC Bauman Rare Books
Michele Beiny, Inc. Carswell Rush Berlin, Inc. Alfred Bullard, Inc. G.K.S. Bush Cathers & Dembrosky Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc. Philip Colleck, Ltd.
Thomas Colville Fine Art Conru Primitive Art Suzanne Courcier Robert W. Wilkins Dillingham & Company Georey Diner Gallery, Inc.
Donald Ellis Gallery, Ltd. Les Enluminures The Fine Art Society PLC Peter Finer Foster Gwin, Inc. Malcolm Franklin, Inc. Georgian Manor Antiques
Giampietro Cora Ginsburg LLC James & Nancy Glazer Elinor Gordon Gallery Richard Green Martyn Gregory Hill-Stone Inc.
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc. Historical Design Inc. Clinton Howell Antiques Stephen & Carol Huber Hyde Park Antiques, Ltd.
Hyland Granby Antiques Barbara Israel Garden Antiques Leigh Keno American Antiques Kentshire Galleries, Ltd. Keshishian Roger Keverne Limited
Julius Lowy Frame & Restoring Co., Inc. Macklowe Gallery, Ltd. Mallett Joan B. Mirviss, Ltd. Morning Star Gallery, Ltd. The Old Print Shop, Inc.
Olde Hope Antiques, Inc. Peter Pap Oriental Rugs, Inc. The Gerald Peters Gallery Richard Philp Frank & Barbara Pollack
Charles Pollak Antiques and Fine Art LLC Wayne E. Pratt, Inc. Sumpter Priddy III, Inc. Kenneth W. Rendell Gallery James Robinson, Inc. Safani Gallery, Inc.
David A. Schorsch - Eileen M. Smiles American Antiques, Inc. The Schwarz Gallery S. J. Shrubsole Corporation Elle Shushan Jonathan Snellenburg
Carolle Thibaut-Pomerantz Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc. Peter Tillou Works of Art & Jerey Tillou Antiques Jonathan Trace Rupert Wace Ancient Art Limited
David Wheatcroft Antiques Taylor B. Williams Antiques Robert Young Antiques Catherine Sweeney Singer, Winter Antiques Show Executive Director
Please note: Security regulations at the Armory require visitors to show photo identication; all bags, backpacks, and tote bags must be checked; baby strollers are not permitted on the rst weekend due to crowds.
Ofcial Hotel Sponsor: The Pierre New York, A Four Seasons Hotel. For special Winter Antiques Show rates and packages, please call: 212.838.8000.
Bernd
Goeckler
A
30 E 10th Street, NY, NY 10003

T. 212-777-8209 F. 212-777-8302
email: BGAntiques@mac.com
www.BGoecklerAntiques.com
Collectors
Spirit
Knoll Table, Design G. Aulenti 1965 On the Table: Collection of Axel Salto Stoneware for Royal Copenhagen ca.1950 Art Deco Torchere ca.1930
Pair of Art Deco Armchairs by Sue & Mare, France, ca.1925 C. Bugatti Pedestal ca.1900 with I. Nielsen Vase ca.1930 Flemish Tapestry 18th Century
Photo: Keith Scott Morton
The
WILLIAM WALDRON
Style
Every home is an expression of its owners
style, and never more so than when it is a designers own lair. With a world of options at
their fingertips, how and why do pros make
their choices? In her Manhattan townhouse,
Muriel Brandolini opts for a vibrant amalgam
of pattern and bright color. For T. Keller
Donovan, its a matter of evolving a system for
small-space living. Eric Cohler gives new
meaning to home office, turning former corporate digs into a luxurious duplex. John
Dransfield and Geoffrey Ross look to the
artistic heritage of their Hamptons house,
while Ernest de la Torre updates a belle
epoque apartment. All these places reveal the
personal that lurks within the professional.
63
SINGULAR SENSATION
DESIGNER MURIEL BRANDOLINI IS KNOWN FOR HER UNIQUE STYLE, BUT
AS HER UPPER EAST SIDE TOWNHOUSE PROVES, ONE OF
HER GREATEST STRENGTHS IS A PASSION FOR OTHER VISIONS
TEXT BY JULIE V. IOVINE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PIETER ESTERSOHN
64
Facing page: Designer Muriel Brandolini in the

front hall of the Manhattan townhouse she
shares with her husband, Nuno, and their two
children. The Radiant Disk cast-bronze table
is by Michele Oka Doner, the inlaid chair is 19th
century, and the hand-embroidered silk lantern
was made in Vietnam. This page: In the living
room, a slipper chair designed by Brandolini and
a 19th-century armchair flank a console by
Axel Einar Hjort dating from the 1920s; the painting is by Ross Bleckner, the wool Caleydo rug
is by Fedora Design, and the train sculpture,
of carved bone, is by Munnu. See Resources.
TO HAVE A SIGNATURE STYLE but not be ruled by it

takes confidence. To have a signature style and still feel free to reinvent
yourself takes curiosity and a belief in the gifts of others. And thats
where decorator Muriel Brandolini excels. From the moment a visitor starts up the stoop of her Upper East Side townhouse, its clear that
this is a place of uncommon personality. On a street of clipped hedges
and gleaming brass knockers, Brandolinis home offers instead a riot
of wisteria vines twined along the handrail and glass-paneled doors
lined with lushly embroidered but tattered silk: an old sari fabric, as it
turns out. Brandolini is quick to announce that she designs like an
artistby intuition rather than by plan. Her knack for suffusing the
contemporary with the softening airs of exoticism (combined with a
relentless energy in getting things just the way she wants them) have
established her as one of the citys sought-after professionals.
The home she shares with her husband, Nuno (a private investor, a
count, and an Agnelli), and their two children, Brando and Filippa, is in
a state of constant upheaval. Things change even as the overall atmosphere of embellished comfort remains constant. The influence of a
childhood spent in Vietnam is subtle but pervasivein the budding
greens of the parlor floor, the wilderness of ferns at a window, the handembroidered silk lanterns. For me, decorating is very much connected
to my memories of Vietnam, says Brandolini, who lived in Saigon until
1972. Even during the war, people were always positive. They take life
lightheartedly. Theres a kind of kitsch there, too, in the extreme ornament
of its 19th-century temples. And I even put a little bit of that in my work.
It has been 11 years since the designer last overhauled the interiors
of the four-story house in a major way. Of course, Brandolini says that
she is always adding, removing, and editing, but this latest incarnation
66 ELLEDECOR.COM
The chandelier of glass, rock crystal,

jade, and pearl is by Claire CormierFauvel; the sofa is 19th century, and
the Smarties cocktail table by Mattia
Bonetti is from Galerie Kreo; the window shades are by Lilou Marquand.
Facing page: In the entry, a painting by
Donald Baechler hangs above an
18th-century French chair upholstered
in 1940s needlepoint. See Resources.
The neoclassical banquettes in the study are upholstered in a mix of vintage fabrics from France, Japan,
and India; the Bells side table by Ronan & Erwan
Bouroullec is from Galerie Kreo, the Rios rug is by
Fedora Design, and the chandelier is Venetian.
Facing page, clockwise from top: In the dining room,
a 1780s French settee and mid-19th-century Louis
XVstyle chairs surround a P.B. table by Martin
Szekely from Galerie Kreo. The Zettelz 5 light fixture
in the kitchen is by Ingo Maurer, and the 1940s marble table is by Jean Dunand; the zinc cabinetry is by
Cicognani Kalla Architects. A 19th-century boulle
daybed is topped with pillows in vintage fabrics from
Turkey, Japan, and China; the walls are covered in
Vietnamese hand-embroidered silk. See Resources.
69
was a true rethinking. Who knows why I did it? I just get tired of what
I have. You grow up. Your state of mind requires something else: more
warmth, more sophistication, she says, adding decisively, I dont
even remember what was here before. Before was right for before.
Dressed one early morning in velour pants the color of damp clay and
Pucci-patterned rubber bootsIve already been out for hours, she
announcesBrandolini conducts a tour, clearly delighted, as if still
surprised by each alteration. She starts with the dining room, a formal
space she frankly admits is used rarely by the family. Located on the
ground floor with the kitchen, the room has low ceilings, lending it an
70 ELLEDECOR.COM
air of cottagelike intimacy. But then it also has the great advantage of
a bank of French doors opening onto a bamboo garden. The walls were
purple, says Brandolini, but are now covered in a luminous pewtergreen silk that was hand-embroidered in Vietnam by Trinh Ly Quynh
Kim with fanciful flowers and Oriental motifs in pink, dark red, and glints
of silver. In contrast, the dining table is composed of industrial steel. It
was made by Martin Szekely, one of the many artisans with whom
Brandolini often collaborates. Dining chairs in the style of Louis XV and
a hugely inviting 19th-century boulle daybed piled high with Indian and
Chinese silk pillows offset the contemporary cool of the table.
In the media/guest room, the pair of painted

armchairs date from 1905, and the Coral
rug is by Fedora Design; the ceiling is covered in vintage Indian silk saris. Facing
page: A 19th-century wrought-iron bed
and a painting by Donald Baechler; straw
papers and grass cloth were applied to
the walls by Cameron Prather in a pattern
of Brandolinis design. See Resources.
In the master bedroom, the bed is upholstered in 18thcentury French fabric and dressed in linens handembroidered in Vietnam; lamps made from parts of
American printing presses flank the bed. The works on the
wall include a painting by Philip Taaffe, a drawing by Van
Day Truex, and two 18th-century French gold-embroidered
panels; the Bons rug is by Fedora Design. Facing page,
from top: A 1930s armoire salvaged from a post office, an
armchair upholstered in hand-embroidered fabric, and
a 1940s brass lamp with a Fortuny shade. The armchairs,
circa 1953, were designed by Ole Wanscher, and the
window shades are by Lilou Marquand. See Resources.
72
Facing page: In Brandos bedroom, the D.L. desk

of Corian is by Martin Szekely from Galerie Kreo,
and the Tizio lamp is by Artemide; the walls and
valances are covered in fabrics of Brandolinis
design from Holland & Sherry. This page,
clockwise from top right: The master bathroom
features Brandolini fabrics; the shell chandelier
is by Claire Cormier-Fauvel. In Filippas bedroom, the artwork is by Paul Pack and the bed is
by City Joinery. The Muff Daddy lounge chair is
by Jerszy Seymour from Galerie Kreo, the circa1952 desk is by Greta Magnusson Grossman,
and the chair is Scandinavian. See Resources.
FOR ME, DECORATING IS VERY MUCH

CONNECTED TO MY MEMORIES OF VIETNAM, SAYS BRANDOLINI.
EVEN DURING THE WAR, PEOPLE WERE ALWAYS
POSITIVE. THEY TAKE LIFE LIGHTHEARTEDLY. THERES
A KIND OF KITSCH THERE, TOO
Throughout the house, the wall treatments establish the mood. Most
of the walls are covered in fabrics, hand-mixed paint, or even mirrors,
rather than with wallpaper. I hate wallpaperits cold is a classic
Brandolini dictum. The media/guest-room walls are a patchwork of colored straw. Her study is lined with a dark-blue fine-wale corduroy. Its
so very dark and rich, but at the same time sporty, she says. It will make
people think. But as happens frequently on the tour, it is not her own
work but a piece by a newly discovered talent that she credits for a
rooms updated look. It might be the living rooms rotund cocktail table
by Mattia Bonetti, called Smarties after the British candy it resembles,
or the upside-down-bellshaped table by the Bouroullec brothers in
the study that excites her admiration. Even so, it is her mixing of such
modern standouts with antiques, whether lacquered Chinese chests
and a Louis XV settee or covering a pair of neoclassical banquettes in
a patchwork of vintage Japanese, French, and Indian silksa signature touchthat makes the whole so intriguing. Collaboration is vital to
Brandolinis work; it keeps her fresh. I like to set people free. I give them
a hint and encourage them to let go with their imaginations, she says,
adding with a laugh, It is the only way that new things can come true.
ELLEDECOR.COM 75
TRUE BLUE
AFTER 18 YEARS IN THE SAME MANHATTAN APARTMENT, DESIGNER

T. KELLER DONOVAN HAS LIVING WELL DOWN TO A SYSTEM
TEXT BY MICHAEL BOODRO PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM WALDRON
76
Facing page: Interior decorator T. Keller

Donovan on the street near his Upper
West Side apartment. This page: In the
living room, a Georgian wing chair and
an antique Chinese bench are grouped
by the mantel, which holds a mirror
designed by Donovan and a mid-century
Italian ceramic vase. See Resources.
Clockwise from top left: The Billy Baldwin

sofa and the slipper chairs are upholstered
in Zimmer + Rohdes Bantu cotton; the
resin tray is by Sirmos, the hurricane lantern
is by Crate & Barrel, and the blinds are by
Hunter Douglas. The kitchen walls, painted in
Benjamin Moores Stunning, offset Donovans
collection of Spode Blue Italian china. An antique Irish pub table in the living room with
a wicker basket by Bielecky Brothers and a
vintage barn lantern. A collection of pressed
botanicals in the breakfast room. The glasstop table and armchair in the entry are by
Bielecky Brothers; the stool is African, and
the prints were taken from a 1955 edition of
Ceramics by Picasso. See Resources.
CHANGE IS GOOD. Stick to your guns. Variety is the spice of life. If it aint broke, dont fix it. No
wonder designers are confused. They work in a field
that celebrates the new and innovative, while at the
same time encouraging the creation of rooms that
are classic and timeless.
But for interior decorator T. Keller Donovan, theres
no question that consistency is something to aim
for, and theres no need to tinker with what works
especially when it comes to his own apartment. After 18 years, he says, you should get it right.
He inherited his place that many years ago from
a client who was getting married and moving to
Manhattans East Side. I was renting on Central
Park South at the time, he remembers, and I felt I
was living right in the middle of the city. I could just
stumble home from Studio 54. At the time, that was
great. To me, back then, moving to the Upper West
Side felt like moving to Connecticut.
These days he ventures considerably farther afield
and spends much of his time in an apartment in Miami Beach. But his small New York one-bedroom,
located in a prewar building among the grand brick
and limestone beauties of West End Avenue, remains his touchstone. Ten years ago, I finally figured out a floor plan that worked, he says. And
theres been no reason to change. Objects come
and go, but the arrangement stays. Its like finding
78 ELLEDECOR.COM
the right kind of suit. Once you figure out what works
for you, you stick with it. Here, I drop my bags and
go out. This place is very efficient for that.
It wasnt always so. It was really a dump when I
first saw it, he remembers. I stripped away the picture moldings and the quarter-rounds on the floor. I
raised the doors and lowered the mantel. And it was
really hard to position the furniture. It took me eight
years to get the pieces to fit. The situation was exacerbated by the awkward proportions of the rooms.
The mantel is off center, he points out, so I couldnt
put a grouping around the fireplace. There was no
room for a dining room table.
So Donovan applied the kind of ingenious thinking
that seems to come naturally to talented designers.
The spacious entry became a dining room/library,
with a banquette, a glass-top table, and stacked iron
cubes in the corners that hold a surprising number
of books. He opened up half the kitchen, via a set
of wide white doors, creating a vivid blue breakfast
room that also adds a feeling of depth to the narrow living room. I think of it as the smallest family
room in America, he jokes. The main seating area
has been pushed to the far end, against the windows, where a Billy Baldwin sofa and slipper chairs
of Donovans design surround a gleaming white
cocktail table. That sofa has been reupholstered
three times, Donovan says. Its bigger than any
In the master bedroom, drawings of architectural details from the Metropolitan

Museum of Art hang on shelves that
hold a collection of Japanese and African
baskets; the custom-made bed linens
are by Casa Del Bianco. Facing page:
Wicker chairs by Donghia have cushions
of Lascaux linen-cotton by China Seas;
the Arts and Crafts Thebes stool is
from the late 19th century, and the armoire is a 1970s piece. See Resources.
normal person would buy. Tom Britt was the designer who taught me that every room has to have
a piece that is overscale and too big. We had to
cut it in half to get it into the elevator.
Donovan used clean-lined cane furniture throughout, including side chairs, small tables, and even
the headboard in the bedroom, to subtly unify the
space. And the navy-and-white color scheme does
the same thing. The kitchen was originally battleship gray, says Donovan, dressed in jeans and a
bold blue gingham shirt that prove his love of the
color isnt confined to interiors. Ten years ago there
was a lot of red. But blue is easy. Its like a tailored
blazer: It goes everywhere and goes with everything. In a way, this is a perfectly tailored navy-blue
apartment. Japanese baskets in every room not
only supply texture and visual interest but also add
valuable storage. The Japanese were the original
Container Store people, he says.
For decorators who are accustomed to devising
schemes for clients in days and executing them within
months, eight years is a long time to evolve a workable

layout. In a way, I was a bad client, Donovan admits,
because I was holding on to this idea of a kind of life,
to things that didnt fit. And you cant hold onnot because things are valuable, or from sentiment. You have
to have a system in place. Ruthless editing is a must.
But if the result was slow in coming, it is also treasured. I work hard when Im in New York, he says.
So I needed a place that was simplified and pared
down. The apartment has scarcely changed in
years. A piece may move to Miami, or sometimes
to a clients home, but the major elements are constants. Ive gone through a lot of changes in my
life, the designer says. I used to live like an Edwardian gentleman, with lots of tartanware and antique
prints. Before, there were heraldic medals on the
walls, and now I have prints of Picasso ceramics.
Its funny, but as I get older, my taste gets younger.
I get simplerand I mean in my taste, not in my head,
he says with a laugh. This works for me. Its a comfortable place to land.
81
SPLIT PERSONALIT Y
A QUIRKY 1960 S HOUSE IN A DRAMATIC SETTING IN TORONTO TEACHES A PAIR OF
DESIGNERS THE VALUE OF BEING TWO-FACEDAT LEAST IN TERMS OF ARCHITECTURE
TEXT BY DAVID COLMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM WALDRON PRODUCED BY ANITA SARSIDI
82
Facing page: Interior designers Glenn

Pushelberg, left, and George Yabu, in
the living room of their Toronto home.
The French table and Italian chair are
both mid-century designs; the painting
is by Prudencio Irazabal. This page:
New floor-to-ceiling windows open
up the rear faade of the 1960s house
to the landscape. See Resources.
sually, honesty is preferable

to most other options; at the very least, the truth
comes in handy when your pack of lies has run dry.
But in terms of architecture, honesty can be problematic. It too often means an overly thought-out
(and overly expensive) edifice whose integrity simply means that it presents the same message, the
same stylearchconservative or radical-modern
in every room, and from every possible angle. Its a
nice idea, to be sure, and a charming metaphor for
life: having a single philosophy that extends from
your foundation right up to your gables.
But why should a building (or its occupants) have
to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but?
Arent houses under enough pressure just to remain
standingdo they have to be morally upright as well?
The Toronto designers George Yabu and Glenn
Pushelberg certainly appreciate the concept of starting from scratch and making a house perfect and
true: They have funneled prodigal amounts of time
and money into building a Miami house and were
happy enough with the results. So when they found
84 ELLEDECOR.COM
In the living room, Vladimir Kagans

Swan Back sofa and a 1950s
Italian floor lamp; a mid-century
Italian desk is placed in front of
Martin McGinns painting The Beuys
Room, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin,
Version No. 3. See Resources.
Danish chairs from the 1950s found at Troy are

paired with a dining table designed by the homeowners. The 1950s console by Edward Wormley is
from Wyeth; the digital painting is Eelco Brands
G2; and the Austrian chandelier dates from 1910.
Facing page, from top: The Italian cocktail table is
mid-century. The kitchen cabinets are faced with
2,000-year-old bog oak; the walls and counters are
sheathed in steel-gray marble. The screen is vintage
Fornasetti, the mid-century armchair is American,
and the desk chair is Canadian. See Resources.
87
a quirky 1960s house with a weird mishmash of architectural styles perched on a prime location on
one of the forested ravines that slice and scrawl
through Toronto, their initial impulse was to take it
down and make an honest house of it.
We went in thinking, This is a great lot on a ravine,
lets start afresh, says Pushelberg, who has been
Yabus personal and professional partner for almost
25 years. They originally met while attending design
school and have gone on to create the interiors of
the new St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco, numerous restaurants, and shops for Bergdorf Goodman,
Kate Spade, and Carolina Herrera, among others.
George started designing a house that cantilevered out over the ravine, Frank Lloyd Wright style,
he recalls. But somewhere along the line, we just
thoughtwith the way we live and how much we
travelwe didnt want to wait.
And the houses quirkiness began to seem more
intriguing than appalling. The couple took a shine to
its most singular feature, apart from the location:
total two-facedness. With a low, gabled front that
stepped down from the road, complete with patches
of ivy, boxwood rectangles, and a cobbled path, the
place looked like a little cottage in a style that could
only be called 1960s Georgian.
From the back, however, the house resembled a
modern white box with three full, expansive floors
of plain walls and plate-glass windows overlooking
the forest and stream. Rather than trying to unify the
structure, Yabu and Pushelberg decided to heighten
the contrast between front and back. They left the
front faade as is but blew out the back, installing
nearly floor-to-ceiling windows along the entire rear
to make the most of the spectacular view.
The pair sidestepped the common mistake of merely upgrading with high-end finishes and materials,
as if, when it comes to modernism, creativity is out
88
In the master bath, a Spoon tub by

G.P. Benedini for Agape overlooks
the forest and ravine. The floor is
tiled in Portuguese limestone, the
vanity is of rain-forest marble, and
the Tara sink and bath fittings are
by Dornbracht. Facing page: The
guest bath has a custom-made
glass-and-metal sink vanity and a
granite-tile floor. See Resources.
of the question. They gutted the interior, laying down

ten-inch-wide bleached-oak plank flooring and articulating the spaces with simple, flowing white walls.
They added bog-oak veneer woodwork whose playful but sophisticated ombr pattern and golden
tones helped warm up the spare architecture. Richly
striated, brown-and-green rain-forest marble from
Brazil went into the master bath, and its giant Spoon
bathtub gazes out onto a world of green or gray, depending on the season. The kitchen evokes a pantry
from the Playboy Mansion. All of the elements conspire to make the place feel luxurious, but not overtly
so. The furnishings and art echo the effect, a mix of
modern-classic luxe and the idiosyncratic. Contemporary art by Thomas Ruff and Martin McGinn plays
off mid-century furniture (much of it lean and leggy
Italian), whose restrained, neutral finishes suggest
a sumptuous 1930s Milanese apartment. If it all
looks and feels a little studied, well, thank God they
didnt start from scratch.
When you do your own house from the ground up,
you want everything perfect, says Yabu. But Im
also really drawn to the Japanese concept of wabisabi, which basically means focusing on and developing the beauty in imperfection. So what if theres
a 1960s Georgian faade on their modern house.
Theres a duality in the architecture, he says. Is it
academically correct? I dont care.
Pushelberg has also come to prefer the houses
coy, geishalike approach. You have this expectation of what the house is, he says. You open the
door, and you have to go upstairs or downstairs from
the landingyou cant see anything from thereand
youre drawn right to the windows and the ravine. Its
really abrupt. The house unfoldsthats what makes
it interesting. In other words, truth has many things
going for it, but drama and surprise arent among
them. Truth is, sad to say, just too predictable.
90 ELLEDECOR.COM
A collection of European mirrors, including

two by Gio Ponti, hangs above a Charles
bed by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia in the
master bedroom; the linens are by Calvin
Klein Home, and the throw is by Herms.
The sculpture of a seal is by an unknown
artist from the 1960s; the other is Sedna by
Adamie Alariaq. Facing page: The paintings, Pee and PeeDead of Night, are by
Yoshitomo Nara. The armchair is Aaltos
Model No. 400, and Rietvelds Zig-Zag
chair is from Cassina; the lamp is a 1950s
design by Arredoluce. See Resources.
DOWNTOWN REVIVAL
IN A NEIGHBORHOOD HE INITIALLY DISMISSED, DESIGNER ERNEST DE LA TORRE
CREATES A HAVEN THAT INCORPORATES THE BOHEMIAN BEST OF TWO CENTURIES
TEXT BY EVERETT POTTER PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM WALDRON PRODUCED BY ANITA SARSIDI
Ernest de la Torre never wanted to live in Chelsea. The Manhattan decorator had been looking to rent in other neighborhoods, including Hells
Kitchen and the West Village, but couldnt find anything nice. Then
his broker told him about this apartment. I had no interest, De la Torre
recalls with a laugh. I didnt want to be around the crowds and the
noise of the Eighth Avenue gay scene.
But this place wasnt in the Chelsea he thought he knew. It was
blocks from the madding crowd, the bars, the clubs, and the subway.
Situated on the second floor of a mid-19th-century redbrick townhouse, on a coveted tree-lined street, it was a complete surprise, he
admits. Its 11-foot ceilings, Greek Revival moldings, and six-foot-high,
south-facing windows gave fresh meaning to the term good bones.
The building overlooks the quiet, block-long General Theological
Seminary. In the late 19th century, bohemia flourished here during that
Age of Innocence. Grandeur is still palpable on every faade, from
the pilastered doorways and arched windows to delicate wrought-iron
railings. When the literati and painters decamped for Greenwich Village
in the early 20th century, it was the beginning of a long neighborhood
decline. In the last decade, however, the area has experienced a rebirth.
Greek Revival and Italianate houses have been restored, galleries have
taken over old industrial buildings off Tenth Avenue, and a defunct elevated railway, the High Line, is set to become an urban park.
92
De la Torres house is one of a handful in the city that are nearly 30

feet wide, enough for that Manhattan miracle, an eat-in kitchen, though
De la Torre confesses he and his partner, landscape designer Kris
Haberman, dont cook: We just heat and serve. Still, he signed on
six years ago, despite the fact that his friends relentlessly teased him,
saying, Now youre going to be at the Roxy every week. He has still
never made it to the infamous neighborhood disco. For the first year,
he slept on a mattress on the floor. He was working then as a designer
for Polo Ralph Lauren and has since opened his own design studio.
The apartment finally came together in a six-month blitz of paint and
upholstering. Toothbrushes were used to scrub the original marble
mantels, which were nearly black. The floors were ebonized with furniture stain. Now paintings by Julian Schnabel and George Condo
comfortably coexist in the living room with a pair of Ruhlmann kidskin dining chairs and a shagreen cocktail table. I like 1920s French
furnitureits smaller in scale and it feels right, De la Torre says. Not
everything is pedigreed, however. A biomorphic Serge Mouille lamp is
juxtaposed with a brightly striped painting bought at a benefit auction. The mantelpiece holds a tableau of 1920s pottery by masters
such as Albert Cheuret and Jean Dunand, yet the room never feels
formal. I think a living room should be useful, says De la Torre. I dont
like ones where you tiptoe in and dont feel comfortable sitting down.
Facing page: Decorator Ernest de

la Torre outside his Chelsea apartment. This page: The 1920s
shagreen cocktail table in the living
room is by Jean-Michel Frank, the
painting above the fireplace is by
George Condo, and the mahoganyand-lambskin screen was bought
at auction. On the easel is a collection of butterflies gathered and
mounted in Brazil; the 1940s chandelier is from Troy. See Resources.
But since this is a decorators house, its an incubator of taste, constantly evolving. Luckily, De la Torres partner is tolerant of change. And
theyve struck a deal. Im the taste-master here, he laughs, but Kris
is the master of the garden at our country house.
Habermans home office got all the color, says De la Torre, including
Warhol electric-chair prints and an unsigned flea-market painting that is
one of the designers favorite treasures. But the bedroom, by contrast,
is a dark and glamorous comfort zone, its walls covered in chocolate
velvet by Ralph Lauren Home. Everyone told me not to do brown velvet in this room, De la Torre recalls. They said it would be too dark.
They were wrong. The effect is richer than rich. The bed, which doubles
as a sofa, is covered in raincoat fabric and topped with a fox throw.
94 ELLEDECOR.COM
Glossy black T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings dressers, found at a Housing

Works thrift store, flank the marble mantel, topped with a mirror to reflect
a Verner Panton chandelier. The curtains are bordered with Indian saris,
evoking the Orientalism that was all the rage in the 19th century.
The apartment feels like a fully realized haven, redolent of downtown
when downtown meant Edith Wharton, but without ignoring the era of
Warhols Factory. Thus, De la Torres take on the belle epoque can incorporate original chairs by both Carlo Bugatti and the Herter Brothers,
as well as Frank Gehrys Easy Edges cardboard shelves. Its a happy
union, not unlike that of Chelsea and De la Torre himself. West Chelsea
is one of the great secrets of New York and I love it here, says the designer, a total convert at last. Its going to be the next West Village.
Clockwise from top left: A macassar table

and a chair, upholstered in Clarence Houses
Capra goatskin, are by Jacques-mile
Ruhlmann; the acrylic sculpture is by Vasa.
The desk in Habermans office is by De la
Torre, and the prints are by Andy Warhol. The
console, mirror, and ottomans are by De
la Torre; the 1970s painting is by Roger Rice;
and the lamp is vintage Paul Lazlo. In the
bedroom, two works by Ross Bleckner hang
above Frank Gehrys Easy Edges shelves.
Facing page: The bedroom walls are upholstered in Heritage velvet by Ralph Lauren
Home, and the bed, upholstered in Ronda
fabric from Brunschwig & Fils, is topped with
a Ralph Lauren Home fox-fur blanket; the
chair is by Carlo Bugatti. The photographs of
Versailles and the silhouette of De la Torre are
by McDermott & McGough. See Resources.
GO FOR
THE GLOW
A GREAT LAMP DOES MORE THAN
MERELY BRIGHTEN A ROOMIT CAN SHINE
WITH PERSONALITY AND WIT,
AS WELL. THINK OF IT AS MOOD LIGHTING
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLES MASTERS
PRODUCED BY ANITA SARSIDI
From left: Longacre small antique-brass

lamp by Thomas OBrien for Visual Comfort.
Radio Box fluted-brass lamp from Mecox
Gardens. Togo gold-tone bronze lamp by
Objet Insolite. Three-sphere Murano-glass
lamp by Lorin Marsh. Glass Shade brass
lamp by Ralph Lauren Home. Pagoda 23Kgoldfinish lamp by Charles Fradin. Facing
page: Vintage Murano-glass lamp from
Chameleon Fine Lighting. See Resources.
97
From left: Double Ball Ribbon Muranoglass lamp by Barbara Barry for Baker.
Twiggy French-plaster lamp by Shannon
Shapiro for Moth Design. Wavy glass
lamp by David Easton for Robert Abbey.
Facing page, from left: Flussa glass lamp
by Donghia. Small Egg glass lamp by
Jamie Young Co. Whittier lacquered-resin
lamp by Jonathan Adler. Painted-wood
column lamp by Vaughan. See Resources.
99
100
Facing page, from left: Dolly iron lamp

by Armani Casa. Wire lamp by Intrieurs.
Spun T1 metal lamp by Sebastian Wrong
for Flos. Morton carved-walnut lamp
by Michael S. Smith from John Rosselli.
Bourgie polycarbonate lamp by Ferruccio
Laviani for Kartell. This page: Lorna glass
lamp by Crate & Barrel. See Resources.
CORPORATE TAKEOVER
DESIGNER ERIC COHLER HAS TRANSFORMED
THE FORMER OFFICES OF A MANHATTAN INVESTMENT FIRM INTO HIS
SOPHISTICATED AND ART-FILLED PRIVATE DOMAIN
TEXT BY DAVID COLMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM WALDRON
STYLED BY CARLOS MOTA
102
Facing page: Interior decorator Eric

Cohler in the living room of his Upper
East Side duplex; the bronze floor lamp
is from Christopher Norman, and the
Dwellings sofa is upholstered in
Barrington wool by Andrew Martin.
This page: A George II chair, circa 1750,
is upholstered in David Hickss La
Fiorentina linen, and the club chairs are
covered in Eskdale Velvet, both from
Lee Jofa. The rug is by Asha Carpets,
and the wool curtains are by Holland &
Sherry. The paintings displayed against
the far window are by Randall Exon,
top, and Sandra Blow. See Resources.
The stair hall displays Cohlers collection of vintage

and contemporary photographs, including iconic works
by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Bert Stern. The bronze
sculpture is by Anita Huffington, and the Picture
Stand chair is from Profiles; the Queen Bee carpet by
David Hicks is from Beauvais Carpets. Facing page,
from top: The collection of artworks suspended by
cables includes 18th- and 19th-century portraits and
a 2003 diptych by David Salle. The lamp on the 1960s
rattan bar is by Christopher Spitzmiller, and the chair,
circa 1810, is by Thomas Hope. See Resources.
tupid question: What, exactly, is comfort? You hear

the word so muchapplied to fashion, furniture, food, even filmthat
you would think youd know it the second you sink into it. But while
its easy to put your finger onit feels so soft, so...comfortingthe
concept is awfully hard to hold onto.
If theres some aspiring novelist out there who wants to update Flaubert
and pen a novel about a fruitless quest for comfort in modern society,
theres no need to fret over what trade your tragic hero should practice;
he should be a decorator. Who else, after all, has the almost superhuman ability to make an interior supremely comfortable, yet at the same
time suffers the slings and arrows of perfectionism so acutely as to be
personally immune to the concept?
Im really only comfortable in hotels, says Eric Cohler, a Manhattan
decorator who has made his name with tastefully eclectic interiors that
have a sense of history without seeming stodgy or forced. Yet anywhere
outside of the bland neutrality of a hotel room, Cohler faces the constant urge to readjust, rearrange, rethink, and recalibrate. He is such an
avid collector of paintings, black-and-white photography, and countless other objets dart, that he has to rent storage units to contain it
all. As he admits, Theres always a temptation to collect.
With that kind of compulsion, its probably a good thing that, after
studying art history, Cohler quit law school to follow his boyhood love
of design (I was always rearranging the furniture, he recalls). Though
he clearly has the attributes of a good lawyerhes hardworking, neatly
dressed, and carefully spokenhis impeccable taste would only have
held him back in the kind of law firm where bad cherry veneers, brass
lighting, and powder-blue broadloom are considered the height of chic.
Instead, courses in architecture and historic preservation at Columbia
have given him a sensitivity to buildings and an understanding of what
can be done with them. Seeing possibilities in a space that exists, not
just the space that might someday emerge once the demo crew is
ELLEDECOR.COM 105
done, is a talent that too few decorators possess. And frankly, not many
decorators would have even seen an apartment in the space that Cohler
took on for his personal domain, the former offices of an investment
firm in a not particularly residential section of Manhattans Upper East
Side. The second-floor duplex once housed more than a dozen busy
employees, with their multiple phone lines, coffeemakers, watercoolers, copy machines, etc. One can perhaps imagine some renegade
artist taking it over, but hardly a fancy uptown decorator.
Now, after a six-month renovation, one would never know the place
had ever been anything other than a lovely New York apartment, so
graceful is the flow of rooms on both floors. And given the translucent
shades that most days are pulled down behind a novel latticework of
paintings hung over the windows in the living room, one barely realizes that the traffic on First Avenue is an arms length away.
While Cohlers self-confessed impulse to fiddle and refine means the
apartment will never quite be finished, theres no mistaking that it is, as
they say, done. In the soaring, 20-foot-high living room, a custom-made
coral-pattern carpet lies underfoot. Gustavian oval-backed dining
chairs ring a Regency pine dining table. The study and the stair hall are
106 ELLEDECOR.COM
In the dining room, 18th-century Gustavian

chairs upholstered in Edelman Leathers
Royal suede and an English Regency table;
the rug is by Beauvais Carpets, and the
Bridge Table chandelier is from Hinson &
Co. The painting, Tartarean II, 1991, is
by Jacob Kainen. Facing page: The antique zebra-upholstered bench in the study
is from Denton & Gardner, and the 1940s
French limestone-and-iron cocktail table
is from C.J. Peters. The kitchen cabinets
are by Page1Design, the dishwasher
is by Fisher & Paykel, and the tile backsplash is by Walker Zanger. See Resources.
ELLEDECOR.COM 000
The carpet in the master bedroom is by

Beauvais, the late-19th-century chinoiserie chest is from John Rosselli, and the
folding ladder is Anglo-Indian; a Qing
dynasty vase is displayed above a
Toshiba flat-panel television. Facing
page, from top: The closet doors are
hand-painted with a traditional Tree of
Life pattern. Paintings from the 1920s
through the 1950s surround a suede
headboard designed by Cohler; the bedding is by Matouk, and the Tizio lamps
are by Artemide; the walls are painted
in Farrow & Balls Drab. See Resources.
lined with photographs by Diane Arbus, George Platt Lynes, Richard

Avedon, Bert Stern, and Harry Callahan; a vivid David Hicks carpet
runs up the stairs. The array of paintings ranges from works by George
Romney to David Salle, 19th-century portraits to outsider art. The sedate palette of blacks, grays, creams, and browns is enlivened with
punctuation marks of color: a red-lacquered cocktail table, a turquoise
lamp, a pair of Josef Frankpattern pillows, a Futurist painting.
The extreme eclecticism of Cohlers gentlemanly pad suggests not
only a different place but a different timewhen collecting was something people did for passion rather than for profit or status. That passion shows not only in the quantity of the possessions Cohler has
acquired over 20 years, but also in their quality and curiosity. For a man
who says he might have been a museum curator if he hadnt turned
to design, the apartment is an opportunity to be active rather than lie
back and enjoy. Constantly shuffling, putting something away and
bringing something else out, rehanging this work, changing that one,
Cohler has made his sanctum a paradise of control rather than comfort. When I stop rearranging everything, he says, Ill move.
So if you really want to relax, hire a decorator. Dont become one.
ELLEDECOR.COM 109
ARTFUL SPIRITS
WHEN THEY BOUGHT A HISTORIC COTTAGE IN THE HAMPTONS, GEOFFREY ROSS AND
JOHN DRANSFIELD DISCOVERED IT HAD A LIVELY PAST OF FAMOUS PAINTERS AND RAUCOUS NIGHTS
TEXT BY KATHLEEN HACKETT PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM WALDRON STYLED BY CARLOS MOTA
The library of John Dransfield and

Geoffrey Rosss Amagansett, Long
Island, weekend house; the biscuittufted chairs are from the 1920s,
and the needlepoint pillows were
designed by the homeowners.
The walls are painted in Benjamin
Moores Coastal Fog; the porcupinequill mirrors were made by Ross,
and the wood sculptures were done
by a Midwest artist in the 1960s.
Facing page: An 1830s chaise in the
kitchen garden. See Resources.
THIS HOUSE IS FULL of happy ghosts,

says Geoffrey Ross. The Greek Revival cottage he
shares with John Dransfield, his partner in life and
in Dransfield and Ross, the home-goods company
they created more than a decade ago, is one of only
a handful still standing on the verdant strip that
stretches between the main street of Amagansett,
Long Island, and the dunes. The 2,800-square-foot
grand farmhouse, as Dransfield describes it, is
tucked behind a six-foot-high privet hedgejust
tall enough to blot out the sounds of passing traffic
and to shelter the kitchen garden and apple trees.
It was the original Italianate details on the exterior that first sold Dransfield and Ross on the house.
The interior, too, was architecturally purethough
a bit tiredwhen three years ago they became the
houses third owners since it was first built in 1863.
The only fixtures missing were Jackson Pollock and
Willem de Kooning, frequent presences around the
kitchen table of Constance C. Willis, the houses
previous ownersince the 1920sand a friend of
the celebrated Abstract Expressionists.
According to Ross, in the 1950s the painters would
spend boozy evenings across the street at the Elm
Tree Inn, and when the barstools were put up for
the night, De Kooning and Pollock would saunter
over to her kitchen to play poker into the morning.

Though cheery isnt the way most would describe
Williss late-night companions (they were, after all,
nicknamed the Irascibles), Ross and Dransfield
have clearly found the spirits of all three to be genial long-term houseguests.
Indeed, the continuum of the artists aesthetic is
evident in every room, most of which are canvases
of near-absent color painted with found objects,
outsider art, and jolts of vivid hues. The walls, moldings, window frames, and mullions throughout are
in pale, serene shades to play up the original details
of the rooms. We were very sensitive about maintaining the architectural integrity of the house, notes
Dransfield. And preserving its artistic soul, adds
Ross. In fact, the couple, whose table linens, bedding, and accessories are noted for their stirring
mix of textures and colors, were attracted to the
Hamptons for the same reason artists have been
for more than a century. We were drawn to the beauty
of the light and the surroundings, says Dransfield.
We wanted the house to reflect that.
That sensibility explains the floor-to-ceiling collage
of lilac, mustard, salmon, and black in the living room;
the bright yellow vintage curtain and ceramic coral
in the guest bath; and the centerpiece of pumpkin-
111
colored Etruscanware on the dining room table.

Every room needs a slap in the face, says Ross.
The entry is the color of a Golden Delicious apple;
the guest bedroom upstairs (where Cooper, the
couples 150-pound Harlequin Great Dane, lays his
head) is the exact shade of a worn penny. Such a
meticulous palette is not due to love alone. The
house is also a laboratory for our linens, notes Ross.
We test every pattern and color combination.
But these designers clearly arent all business.
Every room has a lighthearted touch. Porcupine quills
trim a pair of mirrors in the library, a 19th-century
bust wears a papier-mch animal mask in the dining room, and a stuffed swan glides across the kitchen
counter. We try never to take ourselves too seriously,
Ross says, which explains why a few passengers
on Noahs ark, crafted from oyster shells, wood, nails,
and papier-mch, stroll across the dining rooms
Moorish console and why an abstract painting picked
up at a yard sale is set on an easel in the company
of Wedgwood basalt and drabware. We prefer interest over perfection, says Ross. We go for pieces
that are slightly off or exaggerated.
Facing page, from top: John Dransfield, left, and

Geoffrey Ross in the showroom of their homegoods company. In the living room, the faux-bois
screen and bulls-eye mirror are both 1970s Zajac
and Callahan designs. This page: A 19th-century
Italian sofa with a Dransfield and Ross pillow; the
slate-topped cocktail table is Victorian Eastlake,
the stool is by RS Ceramics, and the collage is by
Richard Giglio. The 1920s floor lamp was originally used in an operating room. See Resources.
113
114 ELLEDECOR.COM
The painted American chairs and Moorish

console in the dining room are 19th
century; the dining table and linens are
Dransfield and Ross designs, and the antique plaster bust wears a papier-mch
mask from 1910. Facing page, from top:
The kitchen features cabinets by Richard
Ward Baxter Restorations, GE Monogram
appliances, and soapstone countertops;
the pendant lights are retrofitted 19thcentury industrial gas lamps. The vintage
iron garden furniture on the terrace is
dressed with Dransfield and Ross cushions and table linens. See Resources.
Its one thing to recognize objects that others might

overlook, but this duo is also masterful at placing
them for maximum impact. A lacquered-blue Chinese
root chair is set against the apple-green wall in the
front entryway. In the garret guest bedroom, formerly
Williss studio, an aviary of Bavarian hand-carved
wild birds presides. Our work requires that we constantly evolve, says Ross. And we carry that over
to this house. By swapping out just one object, the
spirit of the room can change dramatically.
But the soul of it never will, not least because of a
recent surprise addition to the property, spread
around the beech tree out front. We drove up one
afternoon to find two women peeking in the windows, says Ross with a laugh. It turns out they
were Constance Williss two daughters, who had
hoped to scatter their mothers ashes secretively.
The sisters couldnt help wondering what the new
owners had done to the house, and after a walk
through its relaxed rooms, they declared their mother would have loved it. Wed always hoped to get
Constances approval, Ross admits. But we never dreamed wed get her ashes.
116 ELLEDECOR.COM
In the master bedroom, the bed, canopy rail,

European shams, and duvet cover are all
by Dransfield and Ross. The nightstands are
galvanized-steel American Empire pier tables, and the walls are painted in Benjamin
Moores Kendall Charcoal. Facing page,
from top: In the guest bedroom, a lit la
polonaise by Chelsea Textiles is dressed
with Frette sheets and a Dransfield and
Ross duvet, bedskirt, and canopy; the walls
are painted in Benjamin Moores Copper
Mountain. The guest baths vanity was made
from a vintage faux-bamboo chest; the
curtain is vintage chintz. See Resources.
resources
Items pictured but not listed are from private
collections.
WHATS HOT! SHOPS
Page 26: Demisch Danant (542 W. 22nd St., New
York, NY 10011; 212-989-5750; demischdanant.com). Prague Kolektiv (143-B Front St., Brooklyn,
NY 11201; 718-260-8013; praguekolektiv.com).
WHATS HOT!
Page 28: The Winter Antiques Show, Jan. 2029
at The Seventh Regiment Armory (for information:
718-292-7392; winterantiquesshow.com).
TREND ALERT
Page 32: 1 Jaipur linen, in ocean/olive, #JP2, by
Peter Fasano, to the trade from John Rosselli & Assoc.
Ltd. (for showrooms: 212-593-2060). 2 Marbella
linen, in India yellow, #631N26, to the trade from
Raoul Textiles (for showrooms: 805-965-1694; raoultextiles.com). 3 Ceylan Cotton Print cotton, in
blue, #79374-222, to the trade from Brunschwig &
Fils (for showrooms: 800-538-1880; brunschwig.com). 4 Jaipur Toile cotton, in bleu, #2424-02, by
Charles Burger, to the trade from Quadrille Wallpapers and Fabrics Inc. (for showrooms: 212-7532995). 5 Pondicherry Lake linen-cotton, #505W80,
to the trade from Raoul Textiles. 6 Konstantine
Gardenprint dress, $325, from fall 2005, by Diane
von Furstenberg (for information: 888-472-2DVF;
dvf.com) is similar to the one pictured. 7 Amita
Metis linen-cotton, in prune, #1441-01, by Manuel
Canovas, to the trade from Cowtan & Tout (for
showrooms: 212-647-6900). 8 Harmony rayonpolyester, in spa, #669782, $33/yd., by Waverly (for
information: 800-423-5881; waverly.com).
Page 34: Red velvet dress, $4,095, from fall 2005,
by Roberto Cavalli (711 Madison Ave., New York, NY
10021; 212-755-7722; robertocavalli.com). Icaria
silk-wool, in red dahlia, #H207-301, to the trade from
Designtex (for showrooms: 800-221-1540; dtex.com). Bergamo wool-cotton-polyester, in scarlet,
#7501/07, by De Ploeg, to the trade from Pollack (for
showrooms: 212-627-7766; pollackassociates.com).
Red-lacquer ballpoint pen, $75, by Elsa Peretti
for Tiffany & Co. (for information: 800-526-0649;
tiffany.com). Filumena cotton, #22031-5, by Bises, to
the trade from Bergamo Fabrics Inc. (for showrooms:
212-888-3333; bergamofabrics.com). Roma cotton
sheet, $620/qn., and Royal cotton pillow sham,
$260, by Olatz Inc. (43 Clarkson St., New York, NY
10014; 212-255-8627; olatz.com). Imperial Damask
cotton-linen-viscose, in cardinal red, #LFY-29125F,
$159/yd., by Ralph Lauren Home (for information:
888-475-7674; rlhome.polo.com). Five Side
lacquered-wood boxes: business-card box, L-58,
$40; 5"-square box, L-31, $75; and 6"x8" box, L-21,
$90; all by Pacific Connections (for information: 415285-2873; pacificconnectionsusa.com). Real Woven
calfskin, in cherry red, #RW06, to the trade from
Edelman Leather (for showrooms: 800-886-TEDY;
edelmanleather.com). Beekman crocodile clock, in
red, $1,450/med., by Ralph Lauren Home.
DESIGNERS DOZEN
Page 40: Marcel Wanders of Marcel Wanders Studio
(for information: 011-31-20-422-1339; marcelwanders.com). Thor (107 Rivington St., New York, NY
10002; 646-253-6700). Photography by Erwin Olaf
from Studio Erwin Olaf (for information: 011-31-20692-3438; erwinolaf.com).
118 ELLEDECOR.COM
THE TEN COOLEST CLUB CHAIRS

Pages 4244: Jay Jeffers of Jeffers Design Group
(for information: 415-934-8088; jeffersdesigngroup.com). Katie Lydon of Katie Lydon Interiors (for information: 212-226-2690).
Page 44: 1 French club chair, $3,720 c.o.m., to the
trade from Holly Hunt (for showrooms: 800-2298559; hollyhunt.com). 2 Orsen lounge chair, #382M,
$4,165 c.o.m., by Robert Lighton Furniture (62
Greene St., New York, NY 10012; 212-343-2299;
britishkhaki.com). 3 Ellis chair, #243-005L, $2,100,
by Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams (for information:
800-789-5401; mitchellgold.com). 4 Harrington
chair, $1,495, by Jonathan Adler (for information:
877-287-1910; jonathanadler.com). 5 Thornton
chair, #DS229, $3,400, to the trade from Kravet
Furniture (for showrooms: 888-4-KRAVET;
kravet.com). 6 Mohair chair, #L-3076-01, $2,120,
from The Pine Cone Hill Home Collection by Lee
Industries (for information: 413-496-9700; pineconehill.com or leeindustries.com). 7 Capiton armchair,
#FU37, $2,700 c.o.m., by Room (182 Duane St.,
New York, NY 10013; 888-420-ROOM; roomonline.com). 8 Theatre armchair, #2292, $1,798, by Ted
Boerner from Design Within Reach (for information:
800-944-2233; dwr.com). 9 Tabarin armchair,
#5165111, $5,450, by Poltrona Frau (145 Wooster
St., New York, NY 10012; 212-777-7592; frauusa.com). 10 Armchair, #1834, $2,179, by Natuzzi (for
information: 800-262-9063; natuzzi.com).
DANIELS DISH
Pages 4850: Daniel Boulud of restaurant Daniel
(for information: danielnyc.com).
Page 48: Tramonto Tangerine oval bowl, $27;
Tramonto Burnt Orange salad plate, $25; and
Classic pewter spoon, $185/5-piece setting; all by
Vietri (for information: 800-277-5933; vietri.com).
Orange Tartan linen napkin, $24, and Farmhouse
Orange Stripe linen napkin, $12, by ABH Design (401
E. 76th St., New York, NY 10021; 212-249-2276).
SINGULAR SENSATION
Pages 6475: Interior design by Muriel Brandolini
of Muriel Brandolini Inc. (for information: 212-2494920; murielbrandolini.com). Architecture by
Cicognani Kalla Architects PC (for information: 212308-4811). Painting by PS Renovations LLC (for
information: 203-445-8530). Upholstery fabrication by Cameron Prather (for information:
917-834-8711).
Page 64: Radiant Disk cast-bronze table by
Michele Oka Doner (for information: 212-334-9056;
micheleokadoner.com).
Page 65: Carved-bone train sculpture by Munnu
from The Gem Palace (M.I. Rd., Jaipur 302001 India;
011-91-141-237-4175; gempalacejaipur.com).
Caleydo wool rug by Fedora Design (for information: 212-925-1800; fedoradesign.com).
Pages 6667: In living room, Le Bateau chandelier by Claire Cormier-Fauvel (for information:
011-33-3-23-69-37-98). Smarties resin cocktail
table by Mattia Bonetti from Galerie Kreo (22
rue Duchefdelaville, Paris, France 75013; 01133-1-53-60-18-42; galeriekreo.com). Window
shades by Lilou Marquand (for information: 01133-1-40-49-05-59).
Page 68: In study, Bells copper-and-leather
side tables by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec from
Galerie Kreo (22 rue Duchefdelaville, Paris, France
75013; 011-33-1-53-60-18-42; galeriekreo.com).
Rios wool rug by Fedora Design (for information:

212-925-1800; fedoradesign.com).
Page 69: In dining room, P.B. steel table by Martin
Szekely from Galerie Kreo (22 rue Duchefdelaville,
Paris, France 75013; 011-33-1-53-60-18-42; galeriekreo.com). Mandarin wool rug by Fedora
Design (for information: 212-925-1800; fedoradesign.com). In kitchen, Zettelz 5 light fixture by Ingo
Maurer from Design Within Reach (for information:
800-944-2233; dwr.com). Zinc cabinetry by
Cicognani Kalla Architects PC (for information: 212308-4811). Bentwood chairs, #214, by Michael
Thonet from ICF (for information: 800-237-1625; icfgroup.com) are similar to those pictured.
Pages 7071: In media/guest room, walls upholstered by Cameron Prather (for information: 917-8348711) in Grass cloth by Elizabeth Dow, to the trade
from Holland & Sherry (for showrooms: 212-3556241; hollandandsherry.com). Coral wool rug by
Fedora Design (for information: 212-925-1800; fedoradesign.com). Window shades by Cameron Prather.
Pages 7273: In master bedroom, walls upholstered
in Grass cloth by Elizabeth Dow, to the trade from
Holland & Sherry (for showrooms: 212-355-6241;
hollandandsherry.com). Bons wool rug by Fedora
Design (for information: 212-925-1800; fedoradesign.com). Window shades by Lilou Marquand (for
information: 011-33-1-40-49-05-59).
Page 74: In Brandos bedroom, D.L. Corian desk
by Martin Szekely from Galerie Kreo (22 rue
Duchefdelaville, Paris, France 75013; 011-33-1-5360-18-42; galeriekreo.com). Tizio lamp by Artemide
(46 Greene St., New York, NY 10013; 212-9251588; artemide.com). Walls upholstered in Ivory #8
cotton by Muriel Brandolini, to the trade from
Holland & Sherry (for showrooms: 212-355-6241;
hollandandsherry.com). Valances covered in Ivory #7
cotton by Muriel Brandolini, to the trade from
Holland & Sherry. Brando wool rug by Fedora Design
(for information: 212-925-1800; fedoradesign.com).
Page 75: In Filippas bedroom, Muff Daddy foamand-leather chair by Jerszy Seymour from Galerie Kreo
(22 rue Duchefdelaville, Paris, France 75013; 011-331-53-60-18-42; galeriekreo.com). Window shades by
Cameron Prather (for information: 917-834-8711). Bed
by City Joinery (20 Jay St., Brooklyn, NY 11201; 718596-6502; cityjoinery.com). Filippa wool rug by Fedora
Design (for information: 212-925-1800; fedoradesign.com). Shelving by David Jeskie of Plastic Works! (for
information: 914-576-2050; plasticworksusa.com). In
master bathroom, walls upholstered in White #7
cotton and ceiling upholstered in White #10 cotton,
both by Muriel Brandolini, to the trade from Holland &
Sherry (for showrooms: 212-355-6241; hollandandsherry.com). Shell chandelier by Claire CormierFauvel (for information: 011-33-3-23-69-37-98).
TRUE BLUE
Pages 7681: Interior design by T. Keller Donovan of
T. Keller Donovan Inc. (for information: 212-760-0537).
Pages 7677: Custom-made mirror by T. Keller
Donovan Inc. (for information: 212-760-0537).
Pages 7879: In living room, Billy Baldwin tuxedo
sofa, to the trade from Ventry Ltd. (for showrooms:
732-872-7300; ventryltd.com). Sofa and slipper
chairs are upholstered in Bantu cotton-viscose,
#1929.549, to the trade from Zimmer + Rohde (for
showrooms: 212-758-5357; zimmer-rohde.com).
Custom-made lacquered-wood cocktail table, to
the trade from Urban (for information: 212-245-5011;
urban-nyc.com). Resin tray, to the trade from Sirmos
(for showrooms: 212-371-0910; sirmos.com).

Palmer hurricane lantern, #136174, by Crate &
Barrel (for information: 800-996-9960; crateandbarrel.com). Window blinds by Hunter Douglas (for
information: 800-274-2985; hunterdouglas.com). In
kitchen, walls painted in Stunning, #826, by
Benjamin Moore & Co. (for information: 800-6PAINT6; benjaminmoore.com). In living room, wicker
basket, to the trade from Bielecky Bros. (for showrooms: 212-753-2355; bieleckybrothers.com). In
entry, Wrapped-cane table, #C8110, and Wrappedcane armchair, #C7651, to the trade from Bielecky
Bros. In breakfast room, Catifa stacking chair, to
the trade from Gordon International (for showrooms:
800-446-9872; gordoninternational.com). Frames
by Metro Framart (2459 Broadway, New York, NY
10024; 212-595-1615; framart.com).
Pages 8081: In master bedroom, custom-made
bed linens by Casa Del Bianco (866 Lexington
Ave., New York, NY 10021; 212-249-9224; casadelbianco.com). Curtain and bedskirt of Lascaux
linen-cotton, #AC204-CUSTNA, by China Seas,
to the trade from Quadrille Wallpapers and Fabrics
Inc. (for showrooms: 212-753-2995). Cubana
wicker occasional chair, #70013, to the trade from
Donghia Furniture/Textiles Ltd. (for showrooms:
800-DONGHIA; donghia.com).
SPLIT PERSONALITY
Pages 8291: Interior design by George Yabu and
Glenn Pushelberg of Yabu Pushelberg (for information: 212-226-0808). Windows by Bliss Nor-Am
Doors & Windows Ltd. (for information: 416-7550880; blissnoram.com).
Pages 8485: Swan Back sofa by Vladimir Kagan,
to the trade from Dennis Miller Associates (for showrooms: 212-684-0070; dennismiller.com). The Beuys
Room, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Version No. 3,
acrylic and cellulose on canvas, 1999, by Martin
McGinn from Houldsworth (124128 Barlby Rd.,
London, W10 6BL England; 011-44-208-969-6166;
houldsworth.co.uk).
Pages 8687: In kitchen, custom-made bog-oak
cabinetry by Erik Cabinets Ltd. (for information: 905318-8733; erikcabinets.com). Walls and counters
covered in Mountain Gray marble by Marble Trend
(for information: 416-783-9911; marbletrend.com).
In dining room, vintage Danish leather-and-wood
dining chairs from Troy (138 Greene St., New York,
NY 10012; 888-941-4777; troysoho.com). Vintage
ebonized-walnut console by Edward Wormley for
Dunbar from Wyeth (315 Spring St., New York, NY
10013; 212-243-3661). Vintage Austrian chandelier, attributed to Josef Hoffmann, from Navarro
Gallery (613 King St. W., Toronto, Ontario, M5V 1M5
Canada; 416-504-3956). G2, digital painting, 1998,
by Eelco Brand from Torch Gallery (Lauriergracht
94, Amsterdam, RN-1016 Netherlands; 011-31-20626-0284; torchgallery.com).
Pages 8889: In master bath, Spoon tub by G.P.
Benedini for Agape (for information: 011-390376-250-311; agapedesign.it). Tara wall-mounted
sink fixtures and Tara floor-mounted bathtub
fixtures by Dornbracht USA (for information: 800774-1181; dornbracht.com).
Pages 9091: Pee and PeeDead of Night, acrylic
on cotton, 2001, by Yoshitomo Nara from Tomio
Koyama Gallery (1-3-2-7F, Kiyosumi, Koto-ku, Tokyo
135-0024 Japan; 011-81-3-3642-4090; tomiokoyamagallery.com). Model No. 400 armchair by Alvar
Aalto from Italinteriors (359 King St. E., East Toronto,
Ontario, M5A 1L1 Canada; 416-366-9540; italinteriors.com). Zig-Zag chair by Gerrit Rietveld from
Cassina USA (for information: 800-770-3568; cassinausa.com). Charles bed by Antonio Citterio for B&B
Italia (for information: 800-872-1697; bebitalia.it). Bed
linens by Calvin Klein Home (for information: 800294-7978). Plain Fringed cashmere throw by
Herms (for information: 800-441-4488; hermes.com).
DOWNTOWN REVIVAL
Pages 9295: Interior design by Ernest de la Torre
of De la Torre Design Studio (for information: 212243-5202; delatorredesign.com). Wall upholstery by
Interiors by J.C. Landa LLC (for information: 718932-6160). Wallpaper installation by Brian Kehoe of
BK Wallcovering (for information: 212-629-3040; bfkinc.com).
Page 93: Vintage glass chandelier from Troy (138
Greene St., New York, NY 10012; 888-941-4777;
troysoho.com).
Page 94: Walls upholstered in Heritage velvet, in harness, #LFY21538, by Ralph Lauren Home (for
information: 888-475-7674; rlhome.polo.com). Bed by
De la Torre Design Studio (for information: 212-2435202; delatorredesign.com), upholstered in Ronda
Woven Texture cotton-polyester, in crema, #83519015, by Gaston y Daniela, to the trade from
Brunschwig & Fils (for showrooms: 800-538-1880;
brunschwig.com). Fox-fur blanket by Ralph Lauren
Home is discontinued, but similar blankets are available.
Page 95: In living room, chair upholstered in Capra
goatskin, to the trade from Clarence House (for
showrooms: clarencehouse.com). Curtains by Mimi
Fery (for information: 212-371-9771). In office,
sisal rug, to the trade from Misha Carpet (for information: 212-688-5912; mishacarpet.com). Ottomans,
table, and mirror by De la Torre Design Studio (for information: 212-243-5202; delatorredesign.com).
GO FOR THE GLOW
Page 96: Vintage Murano-glass lamp, $4,200/pair,
from Chameleon Fine Lighting (223 E. 59th St., New
York, NY 10022; 212-355-6300; chameleon59.com).
Page 97: Longacre small antique-brass lamp,
$325, by Thomas OBrien for Visual Comfort (for information: 877-271-2716; visualcomfort.com).
Radio Box fluted-brass lamp, $295, from Mecox
Gardens (257 County Rd. 39A, Southampton, NY
11968; 631-287-5015; mecoxgardens.com). Togo
gold-tone bronze lamp, $1,200, by Objet Insolite
(for information: 860-873-8603; objetinsolite.com)
from Distant Origin (153 Mercer St., New York, NY
10012; 212-941-0024; distantorigin.com). Threesphere Murano-glass lamp, to the trade from Lorin
Marsh (for showrooms: 212-759-8700; lorinmarsh.com). Glass Shade brass lamp, $900, by Ralph
Lauren Home (for information: 888-475-7674; rlhome.polo.com). Pagoda 23K-goldfinish lamp by
Charles Fradin (for information: 310-433-5376), to
the trade from John Rosselli & Assoc. Ltd. (for
showrooms: 212-593-2060).
Page 98: Double Ball Ribbon Murano-glass
lamp, $2,240, by Barbara Barry for Baker Furniture
Co. (for information: 800-592-2537; bakerfurniture.com). Twiggy French-plaster lamp, $1,525,
by Shannon Shapiro for Moth Design (for information: 818-906-9992; mothdesign.com). Wavy glass
lamp by David Easton for Robert Abbey (for information: 828-322-3480; robertabbey.com).
Page 99: Flussa glass lamp, in blue/gray, to the
trade from Donghia Furniture/Textiles Ltd. (for
showrooms: 800-DONGHIA; donghia.com). Small

Egg glass lamp, in white, $120, by Jamie Young Co.
(for information: 888-671-5883; jamieyoung.com).
Whittier lacquered-resin lamp, $425, by Jonathan
Adler (for information: 877-287-1910; jonathanadler.com). Painted-wood column lamp, #W038, to the
trade from Vaughan (for showrooms: 212-319-7070;
vaughandesigns.com).
Page 100: Dolly iron lamp, $350, by Armani Casa (for
information: 212-334-1271; armanicasa.com). Wire
lamp, $1,490, by Intrieurs (149151 Franklin St.,
New York, NY 10013; 212-343-0800; interieurs.com).
Spun T1 metal lamp, $945, by Sebastian Wrong for
Flos USA (for information: 800-939-3567; flos.net).
Morton carved-walnut lamp by Michael S. Smith, to
the trade from John Rosselli & Assoc. Ltd. (for showrooms: 212-593-2060). Bourgie polycarbonate
lamp, $287, by Ferruccio Laviani for Kartell US Inc. (for
information: 866-854-8823; kartellus.com).
Page 101: Lorna glass lamp, $199, by Crate & Barrel
(for information: 800-996-9960; crateandbarrel.com).
CORPORATE TAKEOVER
Pages 10209: Interior design by Eric Cohler of
Eric Cohler Inc. (for information: 212-737-8600;
ericcohler.com). General contracting by Stephen
Fanuka of Fanuka Custom Cabinets Inc. (for information: 718-353-4518; fanuka.com). Curtains and
upholstery by Windows, Walls and More (for information: 212-472-4800). Motorized sunscreen
window shades by Mitchell Schulman of Manhattan
Shade & Glass Co. Inc. (for information: 212-2885616; manhattanshade.com).
Pages 10203: Lady bronzed-metal floor lamp,
to the trade from Christopher Norman Inc. (for showrooms: 212-647-0303; christophernorman.com).
Dorset sofa by Dwellings (30 E. 67th St., New York,
NY 10021; 800-95-DECOR; dwellingshome.com),
upholstered in Barrington wool, in delphinium, by
Andrew Martin, to the trade from Lee Jofa (for showrooms: 888-533-5632; leejofa.com). George II chair
upholstered in La Fiorentina linen, in ivory/bark,
#2430-GWF-68, by David Hicks by Ashley Hicks for
Groundworks, to the trade from Lee Jofa. Club
chairs upholstered in Eskdale Velvet cotton-viscose,
in olive, #2005146-30, to the trade from Lee Jofa.
Coral wool carpet by Asha Carpets, to the trade
from Beauvais Carpets (for showrooms: 212-6882265; beauvaiscarpets.com). Curtains of wool felt,
to the trade from Holland & Sherry (for showrooms:
212-355-6241; hollandandsherry.com).
Pages 10405: In stair hall, Picture Stand
mahogany chair by Dick Dumas, to the trade from
Profiles (for information: 212-689-6903; profilesny.com). Queen Bee wool carpet by David Hicks
by Ashley Hicks, to the trade from Beauvais Carpets
(for showrooms: 212-688-2265; beauvaiscarpets.com). In living room, sofa, to the trade from Artistic
Frame (for information: 212-289-2100; artisticframe.com), upholstered in Mohair wool-polyester,
in cureuil, #M70043-09, by Metaphores, to
the trade from Donghia (continues on page 122)
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40052054

Canadian Registration Number 126018209RT
Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:
P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek
Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6
E-mail: elledecor@neodata.com
resources
Furniture/Textiles Ltd. (for showrooms: 800DONGHIA; donghia.com). Large Hann ceramic
lamp, in espresso, by Christopher Spitzmiller Inc. (for
information: 212-563-1144; christopherspitzmiller.com). Vintage rattan bar, to the trade from McGuire
(for showrooms: 800-662-4847; mcguirefurniture.com). G.I. patinated-bronze sconce, #0505,
by Carole Gratale, to the trade from John Rosselli &
Assoc. Ltd. (for showrooms: 212-593-2060).
Pages 10607: In study, antique zebra-upholstered
bench from Denton & Gardner Ltd. (2491 Main St.,
Bridgehampton, NY 11932; 631-537-4796; dentongardner.com). Vintage French limestone-andiron cocktail table, to the trade from C.J. Peters (for
information: 212-752-1198). In kitchen, Luxor
custom cabinetry by Malorie Currier of Page1Design
(for information: 212-772-7007). Dishwasher by
Fisher & Paykel (for information: 888-936-7872;
fisherpaykel.com). Gramercy Park ceramic tiles,
in pipe smoke, by Walker Zanger (for information:
877-611-0199; walkerzanger.com). In dining room,
antique Gustavian pine dining chairs from Lief
(646 N. Almont Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90069; 310492-0033), upholstered in Royal suede, in pitch
brown, to the trade from Edelman Leather (for
showrooms: 800-886-TEDY; edelmanleather.com).
Kaleidoscope wool carpet, to the trade from
Beauvais Carpets (for showrooms: 212-688-2265;
beauvaiscarpets.com). Bridge Table bronze
chandelier by George Hansen, to the trade from
Hinson & Co. (for showrooms: 212-475-4100).
Tartarean II, oil on canvas, 1991, by Jacob Kainen
from Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery (41 E. 57th St.,
New York, NY 10022; 212-644-7171).
Pages 10809: In master bedroom, antique English
chinoiserie chest, to the trade from John Rosselli
International (for showrooms: 212-772-2137). Flatpanel television by Toshiba (for information:
800-316-0920; toshiba.com). Shadow Grove wool
carpet, to the trade from Beauvais Carpets (for
showrooms: 212-688-2265; beauvaiscarpets.com).
Closet doors painted in Tree of Life pattern designed by Eric Cohler of Eric Cohler Inc. (for
information: 212-737-8600; ericcohler.com), and
painted by Wren Bynoe (for information: 718-4768877). In master bedroom, headboard upholstered
in Royal suede, in cinnamon, to the trade from
Edelman Leather (for showrooms: 800-886-TEDY;
edelmanleather.com) and fabricated by Windows,
Walls and More (for information: 212-472-4800). Providence cotton bed linens by Matouk from Hudson
Home (356 Warren St., Hudson, NY 12534; 518-8228120; hudson-home.com). Tizio lamps by Artemide
(46 Greene St., New York, NY 10013; 212-925-1588;
artemide.com). Walls painted in Drab by Farrow & Ball
(for information: 888-511-1121; farrow-ball.com).
ARTFUL SPIRITS
Pages 11017: John Dransfield and Geoffrey Ross
of Dransfield and Ross Ltd. (for information: 212741-7278; dransfieldandross.biz). Restoration by
Richard Ward Baxter Restorations Inc. (for information: 631-267-3790).
Pages 11011: Needlepoint pillows by Dransfield
and Ross Ltd. (for information: 212-741-7278;
dransfieldandross.biz). Walls painted in Coastal
Fog, #AC-1, by Benjamin Moore & Co. (for information: 800-6-PAINT6; benjaminmoore.com).
Pages 11213: Pillow by Dransfield and Ross Ltd.
(for information: 212-741-7278; dransfieldandross.biz). Stool by RS Ceramics (for information:
212-663-5607; rsceramics.com). Collage by Richard

Giglio (for information: 212-724-8118).
Pages 11415: In kitchen, cabinetry by Richard
Ward Baxter Restorations Inc. (for information: 631267-3790). Monogram kitchen appliances by
GE Consumer Products (for information: 800-6262000; geappliances.com). On terrace, cushions
and table linens by Dransfield and Ross Ltd. (for information: 212-741-7278; dransfieldandross.biz).
In dining room, steel dining table and linen tablecloth by Dransfield and Ross Ltd.
Pages 11617: In guest bedroom, lit la polonaise, to the trade from Chelsea Textiles (for showrooms: 908-233-5645; chelseatextiles.com). Bed
linens by Frette (for information: 800-35-FRETTE;
frette.com). Duvet, bedskirt, and canopy by
Dransfield and Ross Ltd. (for information: 212-7417278; dransfieldandross.biz). Walls painted in
Copper Mountain, #AC-12, by Benjamin Moore &
Co. (for information: 800-6-PAINT6; benjaminmoore.com). In master bedroom, bed, canopy rail,
duvet, and Euro shams by Dransfield and Ross Ltd.
Park Slope bed linens by Matouk (for information:
matouk.com). Walls painted in Kendall Charcoal,
#HC-166, by Benjamin Moore & Co.
ETCETERA
Page 124: Oval handblown glass doorknob, in
multicolored swirl/celadon, $310, by Carl Martinez
Hardware (shown by appointment: 212-941-8142;
carlmartinezhardware.com). Lotus Shell brass
doorknob, in gold-plated finish, #1082DOR-GP,
$280, by Sherle Wagner (for information: 212-7583300; sherlewagner.com). Luna white-bronze
doorknob, in light-patina finish, $616/full set, by
Rocky Mountain Hardware (for information: 888-7882013; rockymountainhardware.com). Hammeredbrass knob, in polished-nickel finish, #1007H, to the
trade from Nanz Custom Hardware (for showrooms:
212-367-7000; nanz.com). Butler GI Series cobaltcrystal doorknob, to the trade from E.R. Butler &
Co. (for showrooms: 212-925-3565; erbutler.com).
Black & White bone doorknob, #57021, $32,
by Anthropologie (for information: 800-309-2500;
anthropologie.com). Estate Collection brass doorknob, in lifetime brass finish, #5073.030, $65, by
Baldwin Hardware (for information: 800-566-1986;
baldwinhardware.com). Brass knob, in old-gold finish, #871, $475, from P.E. Guerin (23 Jane St., New
York, NY 10014; 212-243-5270; peguerin.com).
Brass doorknob, #K330, $314, by Andre Putman
for Valli & Valli (for information: 877-326-2565; vallievalli.com). Rope brass doorknob, in black-bronze
finish, #1423BB, $90, by Turnstyle Designs (for information: 011-44-127-132-5325; turnstyle-designs.com). Pegasus Sumter dark-bronzed brass knob,
$42.99, by Home Depot (for information: 800-5533199; homedepot.com).
Copyright 2005 by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. Printed in the U.S.A.
Occasionally we share our information with other reputable companies
whose products and services might interest you. If you prefer not to
participate in this opportunity, please call the following number and indicate
that to the operator: 850-682-7654.
ELLE DECOR (ISSN 1046-1957), (USPS 005-583), January/February 2006,

volume #17, issue #1, is published monthly except bimonthly in January/February
and July/August by Hachette Filipacchi Magazines, Inc., 1633 Broadway, New
York, NY 10019. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY 10001 and at
additional mailing offices. Authorized periodicals postage by the Post Office
Department, Ottawa, Canada, and for payment in cash. POSTMASTER: Send
address changes to ELLE DECOR, P.O. Box 55850, Boulder, CO 80322-5850;
(850) 682-7654; Fax (303) 604-7644; elledecor@neodata.com.
WICKER
WAREHOUSE
Lane Designer
South Sea & Much More.
Featuring Indoor and Outdoor Sets, Aluminum, Teak,
Cast Aluminum, 7 Bedroom Styles, Bath & Accessories Galore!
20-50%
DISCOUNTS!
FREE 88 Page Color Catalog

Order Online:
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VISIT OUR STORE OR REQUEST A CATALOG BY MAIL
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designportfolio
195 SOUTH RIVER STREET

HACKENSACK, NJ 07601-6926
etcetera
star turns
They may be small, but dont discount

the quiet dazzle doorknobs can add to any room
Produced by Alison Hall
Rocky Mountain Hardwares

Luna whitebronze
doorknob.
Oval handblown glass

doorknob by
Carl Martinez
Hardware.
Sherle Wagners
Lotus Shell
brass doorknob.
GI Series crystal
doorknob by E.R.
Butler & Co.
Hammered-brass
knob by Nanz
Custom Hardware.
Home Depots
Pegasus Sumter
dark-bronzed
brass knob.
Anthropologies
Black & White
bone doorknob.
Rope brass
doorknob
by Turnstyle
Designs.
P.E. Guerins
brass knob.
See Resources.
KANA OKADA
Brass doorknob
by Andre Putman
for Valli & Valli.
Estate Collection brass

doorknob by
Baldwin
Hardware.
124
As I See It, #3 in a photographic

series by Sacha Waldman.
The Vessels Chord TM and
WaterCoveTM lavatories. Shallow
pools with Stillness faucets.
We found our pearls.
1-800 -4-KOHLER, ext. FG1
kohler.com/chord
2005 Kohler Co.

Elle Decor 01-02-2006

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