Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1508058
D e s i g n e r S a ra S t o r y 's remarkable Manhattan townhouse renovation propelled her onto the design world's radar when it appeared in the June 2023 issue of Architectural Digest. The five-story 1840s Gramercy Park brownstone was assembled from nine apartments over two decades and decorated layer by layer with pedigreed furniture and contemporary art. AD described it as a residence that opens up like a madcap soundstage — part Wes Anderson, part The Age of Innocence, and a dash of Federico Fellini. Imagine room after room, floor after floor of original carved moldings and crystal chandeliers juxtaposed with large-scale art set off by Josef Frank floral wallpaper and Moroccan rugs. There are mid-century Brazilian lounge chairs and a custom terrazzo table in the style of Jean Prouvé surrounded by Gio Ponti chairs; Isamu Noguchi and Jean Royère floor lamps, a '70s Swedish leather sectional piled with Fortuny pillows. And collections of Chinese monk figures, contemporary ceramics, along with curiosities such as a wicker grasshopper-shaped table by Mario Lopez Torres and colorful zigzag candlesticks by Jermaine Gallacher. It's the project of a lifetime, but it's also a family home she shares with her husband and children. And there's no place Story would rather be. When she entertains, she'd rather stay in than go out. Even when she's traveling — and she loves to travel — she can't wait to get back to the cocoon. Her new book, The Art of Home (Rizzoli), is an homage to For Designer Sara Story it's all about layering, collections, and pedigreed furniture and art. By Rebecca Sherman. Photography Joshua McHugh. Story Time Galerie Show House room Sara Story at her Texas Hill Country ranch. Sara Story's Gramercy Park living room GENEVIEVE GARRUPPO