When the time came for me to downsize from my large apartment in New York, I looked at about forty penthouses before coming upon a nineteenth-century coach house on two floors with a small, urban garden. The street was . . .
This house, which I designed and built, sits high on a sand dune at the end of Long Island, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Taking inspiration from the vernacular architecture of early eighteen-century farmers, I conceived a rambling dwelling
This apartment was bought as a pied-a-terre by a couple who had social and business interests in New York City. Like so many apartments that are not the occupants’ chief residence, the second bedroom had to do triple duty – as a room for the couples’ young children when they…
The Mediterranean climate has pulled me towards mid-California, like filings to a magnet, since I was sixteen years old. Finally I was fortunate enough to find a spot high up in the hills of Santa Barbara where I could make a sanctuary amid my own western Arcadia.
The most important thing about color is that it cannot be isolated. Every color is only ever seen in juxtaposition with other ones. The importance of juxtaposition can be easily . . .
When I first ventured into the dome area of the townhouse that would belong to Sir John Soane, the last great Georgian architect of England, I was overcome by what I saw: it is . . .
Candles, whether votive or tapers, make an evening more romantic and ceremonial. Candles do not have to be at eye level. Votive candles look wonderful . . .
There are certain places to which I return again and again for inspiration. The Criptoporticus, the ancient underground galleries in Rome, and the Caldarium, the hot-water bath at Pompeii, are two such places.
I aim to capture visual attention by challenging the predictable in many different ways. Taking objects out of context and presenting them in unexpected surroundings can cause people to stop mentally in their tracks.
I was a young man in Rome when I fell in love with the idea of theatrical statements. I was on my way to the to top the Capitoline Hill to view Michelangelo’s stately Piazza del Campidoglio–visitors ascend ramped stairs
On the same trip to Italy during which we saw the Villa Rotunda, my brother and I went to see the splendid Teatro Olympico in Vicenza, designed by Palladio.
