At home with Richard Assatly

And a link round-up

After sharing so much about Richard Assatly’s career (one and two), I thought I would share his home. I’ve also included a link round-up below. Is this something you are interested in? Let me know if it is and how often—once a month, once a fortnight, every week?

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WINDOWS ON THE WORLD: An Urban Apartment for Living the High Life

GQ, December 1979. Text by Peter Carlsen; photos not credited.

When Eric Bernard was asked by women’s fashion designer Richard Assatly to plan a penthouse, towering over midtown Manhattan, Bernard had serious reservations: '“He wanted six rooms squeezed out of two!” But the interior designer went to work, using his shrewd sense of space and psychology to come up with a neat, lucid plan that met all of Assatly’s requirements. “That was no easy task,” according to Bernard, “because Richard is a man with a collecting instinct. He has over 100 cloisonné vases and a vast wardrobe.” But Assatly also knows the value of clarity and simplicity. “Most of his collection is stored, put on display only when he wants a sense of complexity or splendor, or when he gives a party.” To showcase the apartment’s panoramic view, and to provide Assatly, who describes himself as a “night person,” with the setting he sought, Bernard specified a black-and-mirrored interior, including black slate floors. In addition, an unobtrusive but efficient infrastructure prevails throughout. All of this demonstrates that life at the top involves a clever use of an apartment’s dominant assets—in this case, the world’s most dramatic urban vista.

The living room is mirrored at both ends to refract and deepen the view. A ledge containing heating, air conditioning, the sound system and storage facilities extends around the room. A black slate platform modifies the dimensions of the space, while underscoring the vista.