Icons of Interior Design
What makes an icon of interior design? How does one transcend taste, vision, and design into something more? Something that will go on to influence their field forever?
To be a true icon of interior design is to be singular. To be seismic. To leave a lasting legacy of excellence and inspiration that can be instantly recognized. It is not as simple as mastering pattern play or knowing exactly what to do with a bolt of fabric and it is not a space for playing it safe. The designers who do achieve the accolade of “icon” sip rarified air because they are always a step ahead. They are alchemists who bend space around them and demand that the psychology of a room, and all of its elements, be an essential part of the human experience.
Most importantly, icons do not hold back.
Property from interiors designed by icons in the world of interior design highlights the Icons of Interior Design sale, offering a glimpse into the world of interiors at the highest level. The sale will take place in two parts: on Wednesday, December 11 at 2pm and Thursday, December 12 at 10am.
Robert Couturier
Photo: Architectural Digest. Robert Couturier’s Manhattan Penthouse. Art: Maurice Utrillo © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Day One of Icons of Interior Design features property from the New York Penthouse of Robert Couturier. Celebrated for his refined, whimsical touch, Robert Couturier is a mix master of traditional and modern with unexpected touches, and the ability to use something as simple as a lampshade as an exclamation mark – an anchor to bring you back down to earth from a European maximalist daydream.
Respected for his connoisseurship and imagination, interior designer and architect Robert Couturier has been at the top of his profession for decades, named annually to Architectural Digest’s prestigious list of the world’s best designers. We spoke with Angus Wilkie, distinguished antiques dealer specializing in decorative arts, about the collection in advance of the sale.
“Robert Couturier, the international decorator with a beguiling and imaginative eye, is a great believer in change. His career has spanned nearly four decades with projects realized in Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and Switzerland as well as St. Petersberg, New York, Paris, London and Berlin. Just as work in myriad locations comes naturally to his energetic nature, so has he adopted a creative rhythm to hopscotch between personal dwellings. A recent house move to Harlem, New York follows earlier incarnations in a Soho loft, a classic New York City penthouse, a Connecticut country estate and a 17th century French chateau in Normandy. Couturier notes his seemingly restless real estate portfolio is a function of staying relevant, being true to oneself and the person with whom life is shared and, in the process, presents a fresh chance to be daring and creative.
With respect to his collection at Stair Galleries, furnishings were similarly acquired over decades and, although the underpinning theme is classically French, there is an added touch of 20th century and contemporary flair. Such highlights include a pair of Serge Roche style mirrors, an ormolu and rock crystal sculpture of mistletoe by Harumi Klossowska de Rola, and a bronze stool with goat hair upholstery by Herve van der Straeten.”
Photo: Architectural Digest
Photo: Architectural Digest
“Couturier feels that true passions evolve and are never stagnant; it is only natural to move on and form a taste for different things.”
Colefax and Fowler & Lady Vivien Greenock
Day Two invites you to step into a New York Apartment designed by Lady Vivien Greenock of Colefax and Fowler. Within this group of property, you will find layered elegance in its highest form. The subtle “undecorated” British aesthetic, where the designer all but disappears to let the décor speak for itself. A sea of florals is a deceiving backdrop, as one must not mistake it for simplicity – the work of Colefax and Fowler is a superior lesson in muted, unwavering confidence.
“I believe that the best residential decorating is creating an interior that appears “undecorated” – a layering process, mixing various materials and objects until it looks like the client has put everything together themselves and that I had never been there,” states Lady Vivien Greenock. One is immersed in the elegant florals that Colefax and Fowler are so coveted – their fabrics, admired the world over, wrap the space in warmth and refinement.
“I believe that the best residential decorating is creating an interior that appears ‘undecorated’.”
Mario Buatta
We celebrate the colorful charm of Mario Buatta through selections from Patricia Altschul’s historic Charleston home. A collection that conveys all of the comfort and cheer that the “Prince of Chintz” is so famously known. Mario Buatta’s ebullient obsession with ultrafeminine floral schemes and Regency furniture put him in a category all his own – a designer born in the wrong century so we can all relive the romance of excess.
In an Elle Decor interview, Altschul recalls, “I most connected with Mario’s use of color, but I really felt a kinship with all of his work. I connected with his use of antiques and exotic objects, and I also happened to collect many of the same things he collected, like Delft and Chelsea porcelain and dog paintings. He never had a dog, but he loved dogs. In fact he named Lily, my last pug, and he would always give me little pug objects—much of my pug collection was given to me by Mario. We just meshed.”
“I most connected with Mario’s use of color, but I really felt a kinship with all of his work.”
Patricia Altschul and Mario Buatta
Photo: Elle Decor | Patrick Brickman
Dee de Ganay
Embracing European traditions, Dee de Ganay has a Parisian slant to her interiors, bringing Paris to New York by way of upholstery and layered art, conveying understated, harmonious luxury. Ganay’s under-the-radar persona adds to the allure as she borrows the vocabulary and the rich tradition of Denning & Forcade. Property from a New York apartment and a Southampton home showcase the best of the de Ganay style, with an emphasis on color and lived-in luxury.
“A home is part of its larger environment just as your lifestyle is part of who you are.”
Ann Getty
Ann Getty’s prowess as an interior designer and collector represents one of the most esteemed and significant private collections in America. She tipped the very idea of opulence and refinement over the scales into an expansive and diverse universe of museum-worthy works of art, furniture, and decorative arts that were collected from across the globe. An Ann Getty interior is akin to a temple where one can worship every inch of craftsmanship, history, and Old World splendor.
Colin Stair personally recalls her home and interiors through his time spent there for Stair Restoration, “Ann Getty created some of the most beautiful interiors in America. She expertly blended style and history and filled each room, one more beautiful than the next, with museum-worthy pieces. She had an extraordinary depth of knowledge and distinctive taste that defined decades of travel, research, and refinement. I admire her immensely for everything she knew, and everything she knew how to do – down to every last detail.”
“I admire her immensely for everything she knew, and everything she knew how to do – down to every last detail.”
Renzo Mongiardino
Photo: Roomscapes: The Decorative Architecture of Renzo Mongiardino by Rizzoli Books
Finally, the Italian grandeur of Renzo Mongiardino. Renzo Mongiardino’s interiors are as potently original as they are historically considered. A master of art and industry, an interior designed by Mongiardino is an intimate illusion from the mind of an architectural genius and a once-in-a-generation talent at the most impressive scale. The designer comments in Roomscapes: The Decorative Architecture of Renzo Mongiardino, “How a room comes together is a serious issue, but too often neither architect nor client gives the matter enough thought…I will try to set forth some principles for speaking about space, about the dimensions that determine it, about the function of a room, its character, and about decoration in all its possible variations.”
The theatrical nature of Renzo Mongiardino throws one headfirst into the full force of Italian excellence through the use of deep gem colors and operatic solutions at every turn. STAIR proudly presents property from a legendary New York apartment designed by the Italian icon.
“How a room comes together is a serious issue.”
The STAIR Icons of Interior design sales will take place on Wednesday, December 11 at 2pm and Thursday, December 12 at 10am. Browse the catalogue, register to bid and shop live at stairgalleries.com.