LIVING LEGEND

Once an iconic Manhattan apartment building enters the conversation, expect AD100 interior designer Michael S. Smith to fall into a swoon. Not literally, of course, but mentally. A recent project with such an effect was a duplex penthouse atop a soigné shaft of Art Deco limestone on the edge of the Upper East Side. "With the East River below, with its tugboats and pleasure craft, the building has a cinematic quality. You could easily see Fred Astaire living there," the Los Angeles-based talent says, noting that the building once had a private pier for residents' yachts. "It's a pretty magical place-and from the penthouse, you can see the river in three directions: north, east, and south."
His clients, a couple who have relied on his expert eye for multiple residences, initially wanted a perch overlooking Central Park, but Smith's romancing won them over. So did the sweeping enfilades and loftlike volumes of the apartment, which had originally been a triplex stylishly decorated for attorney Wilton Lloyd-Smith by Elsie Cobb Wilson. (Period photographs by the masterful Samuel H. Gottscho can be seen on the website of the Museum of the City of New York.) Artist and fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt and, later, author Jean Stein called it home, too, in its reduced two-story form. Thrillingly enough, given the tear-down propensities of Manhattan residential real estate, the floor plan and the majority of the period details remained as they had been created. Thus, Smith and his frequent collaborator, architect Oscar Shamamian of Ferguson & Shamamian Architects, only had to bring the kitchen, baths, and primary suite up to contemporary snuff.
Denne historien er fra January 2024-utgaven av Architectural Digest US.
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Denne historien er fra January 2024-utgaven av Architectural Digest US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9500+ magasiner og aviser.
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Touch Wood
On a sylvan stretch of Canadian coast, an experimental house by designer Omer Arbel goes against the grain

Guest Star
Spanning an entire Manhattan block, with Art Deco setbacks that give way to two towers, the Waldorf Astoria New York cuts a fine figure on the city skyline.

Industrial Strength
FOR ARTIST ELLIOTT HUNDLEY, WORK AND LIFE COALESCE IN A FORMER FACTORY IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

WATER WORLD
In Istanbul, Pierre Yovanovitch tailors a modernist house on the Bosphorus to suit the needs of his young client

The Scenic Route
Trading Brooklyn for the Hudson Valley, Calico Wallpaper's Rachel and Nick Cope let creativity take root

INTO THE WOODS
A CREATIVE COUPLE BUILDS ON THE LEGACY OF THEIR HANDMADE L.A. HOME WITH A LOVING RESTORATION AND A SOULFUL NEW GARDEN PAVILION BY CRAFTSMAN PETER STALEY

When in Rome
For the first Orient Express hotel, designer Hugo Toro delivers a love letter to the Eternal City

Finding the Thread
Melding classic crafts with contemporary narratives, artist Sophie Stone gives new life to old textiles

Folk Lure
Translating her fairy-tale vision into The Six Bells Countryside Inn, Audrey Gelman and designer Adam Greco lay on the charm

HISTORY MAJOR
At the behest of its current stewards, designer Remy Renzullo and a team of experts and artisans help breathe new life into England's storied Castle Howard