Mix and Mingle

At home in Manhattan, Markham Roberts layers treasures of wide-ranging appeal into one ineffable blend

- DAVID FOXLEY

AT THE MANHATTAN APARTMENT OF AD100 DESIGNER MARKHAM ROBERTS AND DEALER JAMES SANSUM, DOG HUCKLEBERRY PRESIDES OVER THE LIVING ROOM'S MIX OF ANTIQUES AND ART, INCLUDING AN ART DECO RUG AND FRAMED DIPTYCH OF A JAPANESE SCREEN.

In pre-Darwinian times, illustrations of exotic fauna were often based on written descriptions, resulting in depictions of otherworldly composite creatures. It should come as no surprise that Markham Roberts has a soft spot for those antique prints.

1. AN ASHLEY HICKS CHANDELIER HANGS IN THE LIVING ROOM, WHERE A BARKSKIN WALL COVERING BY CABA COMPANY SERVES AS A NEUTRAL BACKDROP FOR THE ECLECTIC ARRAY OF CHAIRS AND DECORATIVE FINDS.

An animal lover and an eclectic at heart, the AD100 designer has built his name blending the unexpected, eschewing strict period decorating to create an inimitable signature style. Nowhere is it more pronounced than the Manhattan duplex he shares with his partner, the furniture and art dealer James Sansum, and their two dogs, Huckleberry and Harriet.

"There's stuff from all over," the designer muses of their heady mix of furnishings, dispersed among four commodious principal rooms, flanking a central stair hall in an 1880s edifice on the Upper East Side. "But if you like it, I think it works well together."