Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1203909
86 80 columns were scaled down and clad in mirror to blend with the surrounding sky. "The interior design is so much easier if you get the architectural background right," Merryman says. Because the space hadn't been touched in 42 years, it took the designer's practiced eye and a lot of imagination to visualize what it could become. "Bob called me to meet him at the penthouse before he decided to buy it and wanted to know what I thought," Merryman remembers. "I could see past the ode to peach and parquet that it was, and I was confi dent we could do great things with it. Once we stepped out onto the balcony and saw the amazing view, we were both sold." After the purchase, Kuperman handed the keys to his designer with only one request: He wanted Carrara marble fl ooring throughout. "He visited the project two times: the fi rst day and the day I turned over the keys to him when it was finished," Merryman says. M erryman spent a hot Houston summer inside a warehouse sorting through his client's astonishing collections of antiques, furniture, and art. "It was kind of a treasure hunt or archeology dig, and so much fun," Merryman says. Worktables were set up to organize pieces that needed to go to the restorer and other items heading to a separate storage unit. "Once I found something that I wanted to use in the penthouse, I'd measure it and In the entry, 1970s Mastercraft console from 1stDibs. Ancient Chinese ancestor wood carving and collection of Buddha sculptures in jasper and onyx. Pair of Japanese porcelain falcon fi gurines. Painting by Hayes Friedman.