Upstairs From His Favorite Italian Restaurant
New York magazine|November 04-17, 2024
Ryan Lawson designs other people’s places differently from how he did his own Village apartment.
WENDY GOODMAN
Upstairs From His Favorite Italian Restaurant

The Living Room

A vintage coyote bench by Mario Lopez Torres sits by a custom elm screen by David O’Brien of Hawk & Stone that hides the air conditioner. The wood sculpture with two bumps on the wall is by Alma Allen, as is the bronze spiral coffee table. The Hem sofa against the wall is covered in deadstock linen velvet by Glant. “The fabric was sitting in the factory storage for the past 40 years, and only 30 yards existed in the whole entire world, and I bought it,” Ryan Lawson says. The large landscape painting is by Arch Connelly.

AFTER LIVING IN a Soho loft-3,000 square feet, light-flooded by 16 windowsfor seven years, Ryan Lawson had to find a new place when his landlord died and the building was sold. He wanted to move to the Village, but all the apartments he saw "were like total sad caves," he says. He walked out of one and into one of those classic restaurants that haven't changed in decades-one that he loved. "It was 5 p.m., and I thought, You know what? I'll just have a martini."

What followed sounds like the opening of a Dawn Powell novel. Lawson describes sitting at the bar chatting with the owner of the restaurant and the building about his real-estate conundrum, and it turned out there was an empty apartment just upstairs. He asked to see it then and there.

"So Franco the bartender put a napkin over my martini," says Lawson. Despite the fact that "the entire place had fluorescent lights and was painted the exact color of a Band-Aid," and the refrigerator covered one of the windows, he told the owner, "I'll take it."

The Bookshelves

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM NEW YORK MAGAZINEView all
Verily, Are the Kids All Right?
New York magazine

Verily, Are the Kids All Right?

A Romeo and Juliet production that's all (vape) smoke and shimmer.

time-read
6 mins  |
November 04-17, 2024
Masterpieces, Then and Now
New York magazine

Masterpieces, Then and Now

The Met reunites Siena Renaissance paintings for the first time in centuries.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 04-17, 2024
Heritage Regained
New York magazine

Heritage Regained

A fantastical documentary follows the return of 26 plundered artworks to Benin.

time-read
5 mins  |
November 04-17, 2024
Emilia Pérez States Its Case Right Away
New York magazine

Emilia Pérez States Its Case Right Away

The film's impressive opening number drops you into a world of corruption and chaos.

time-read
6 mins  |
November 04-17, 2024
WHEN KYLIE JENNER WRITES A NOVEL
New York magazine

WHEN KYLIE JENNER WRITES A NOVEL

Celebrities occasionally like to try their hand at fiction. But who’s really the author?

time-read
5 mins  |
November 04-17, 2024
Emily Watson Is in Charge
New York magazine

Emily Watson Is in Charge

The double Oscar nominee grew up in a cultlike organization. Acting became her way out of it.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 04-17, 2024
RESTAURANT REVIEW: Everyone's Eating at Bridges
New York magazine

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Everyone's Eating at Bridges

Manhattan's hottest restaurant doesn't play it safe.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 04-17, 2024
Upstairs From His Favorite Italian Restaurant
New York magazine

Upstairs From His Favorite Italian Restaurant

Ryan Lawson designs other people’s places differently from how he did his own Village apartment.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 04-17, 2024
165 MINUTES WITH...Mike and Kiki Tyson
New York magazine

165 MINUTES WITH...Mike and Kiki Tyson

After a near-death experience, the boxer is preparing, his wife by his side, for his big fight against Jake Paul.

time-read
9 mins  |
November 04-17, 2024
Neighborhood News: Attention, Satmar Shoppers
New York magazine

Neighborhood News: Attention, Satmar Shoppers

At Williamsburg's W Mall, a milchig food court and refuge for weary mothers.

time-read
1 min  |
November 04-17, 2024