Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1546676
In the family room, right, Project Row Houses co-founder Rick Lowe's Black Wall Street Journey #12, 2021, from Gagosian, NYC. Antique bench is a family heirloom. Sofa RH. Antique tapestry over chair, from Carol Piper Rugs. Coffee table designed and fabricated by Brandon Fontenot. Seyni Awa Camara's fired-clay sculpture Untitled, 1996, from Nino Mier Gallery, New York. Between windows, Gabriel de la Mora's 61,600, 2014, from Timothy Taylor Gallery, London; the title references the 61,600 burnt matches used in the artwork's creation. Standing guard at window, Yokohagi Nimai-do Gusoku armor, Edo Period, 17th century, Japan. he says, "The entry/living area … the layout, the furniture selections, and the art curation make me very happy." One challenge that he and Katharine conquered together, Fontenot says, was the huge wood low table designed for the family room. Fast design is not his calling card. "It took us nearly a year to find wood wide enough for this piece," he says. "I was adamant that it had to be in three planks, and finding planks over 16 inches wide is difficult." Interspersed are family heirlooms, inherited antiques, and personal objects that resonate with time and history. Her father's typewriter quietly rests upon a chest, backlit by a window, assuming the presence of a canonical talisman. The burnished piece of American furniture that the ancient Corona sits upon harks back to stolid sensibilities of earlier eras. To this mix, Katharine has interjected wisps as enchanting as the Tony Matelli painted bronze arrangement of lilies at the front foyer that appears to levitate. "I hope our collection is fresh and unique, as every collection should be about what's not expected — but putting things together that speak to you," she says.