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SEPTEMBER | PAGE 71 | 2015 house into shape, which had been badly renovated in the 1980s. A year's worth of renovations included leveling out oddly angled ceilings, adding more storage space, a laundry room and a walk-in master closet, and tinkering with the kitchen so that it seats six instead of two. "As a former New Yorker, square footage means a lot," he says. "I tend to maximize everything." Smith also put in an outdoor kitchen and a steam shower in the master bath with skylights and special technology that removes steam within two minutes. He installed 18 pairs of speakers throughout the house and backyard. "I put sound in every room, even the hallways and the stairwell. That way we can keep the music low, and people can talk. At a party, you can wander around and still feel a part of things because the music follows you." There are also speakers in the steam shower and all the closets, because Smith and Núñez like to keep the music going constantly. Ninety-eight art spots illuminate an art collection inside, and 200 lights outside include uplights, downlights and walking lights. "Lighting is so important for ambiance," he says. "People feel more comfortable and more attractive in good lighting." This intense level of detail is Smith's trademark. "That's why my projects often take so long, because in the end you come away with a much superior product," he says. "I'm the one who's always trying to second- guess what's needed to make life easier and better." S mith, who has a masters in fine arts, fell into his spatial design career of the last 30 years via a raft of previous jobs and exploits that reads more like a movie script than a curriculum vitae. Born into a single-parent family in Brooklyn, he was precocious. "My mother swears she got the wrong baby at the hospital," he says. At 12, he started hanging out at the bars in the West Village, and by 15, he was already designing women's sportswear for a company he started with a friend. It was the late 1970s. When his car had a flat in front of Studio 54 one afternoon on the way to deliver some samples, a man came out, fixed the tire and invited him inside for a party. He was Peter Allen, the Tony Award-winning Broadway singer and songwriter who had been Liza Minnelli's first husband. Smith soon became a fixture at Studio 54, hanging out with Andy Warhol and his factory Clockwise from top: In the living room, Empire sconces, a bronze Grand Tour sculpture and 18th-century oil paintings ranging from portraiture to Orientalist paintings and interiorscapes. Painting above the fireplace by artist Michael Tracy. Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams black Ultraseude sofas. Vintage Le Corbusier cowhide chairs and coffee table. Rug from Creative Flooring Resources. Book on Andy Warhol's oeuvre. Lamp from Restoration Hardware. An Empire-era table holds a collection of 16th-century Turkish candlesticks, a 17th-century French saint and Thai Buddha. Above, a 16th-century Italian pencil drawing and works by Mirò and Chagall. The artwork in the window is a hand-colored invitation to a party at Radio City Music Hall, on which Andy Warhol drew hearts; a gift to Smith's mother, it reads, "To Jane, love Andy."