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The house she shares with husband Van Hayes, a longtime graphic designer at the News, languished for years in a mishmash of furniture and bright colors before her good friends Samantha Reitmayer Sano and Joslyn Taylor of Swoon, the Studio stepped in. "The house wasn't refl ective of Tracy's style at all," Reitmayer Sano says. "There's a real soulful side to her, and that was missing." Part of Swoon's modus operandi is to dig through clients' stuff to fi nd what's refl ective of them, and Sano discovered a trove of memorabilia buried in a closet from Hayes' decades of travel and work as a fashion editor. Among them were a signed poster given to her by Andy Warhol, artwork from the 1986 opening of Keith Haring's Manhattan Pop Shop, a silk-screened Valentine from Yves Saint Laurent, and a Prada, Marfa photograph by friend Allison V. Smith, along with photos shot by the many prize-winning photographers she's worked with. Other closets contained inherited heirlooms such as antique Navajo rugs, African masks, Native American pottery, Chinese screens, and Santos fi gures. Hayes' mother was a cultural anthropologist; her father, an artist, photographer, and amateur archaeologist. "All these things spoke to Tracy's soulfulness," Reitmayer Sano says. "We mixed them with furniture they had and new pieces we bought. It's layered — like how she dresses." The dark walls in Behr's Cracked Pepper combine with rich materials such as brass, marble, live- edged wood, and leather to "make it all a little more sexy," says Reitmayer Sano. "It also gave it more of a masculine vibe that Van loves." Their house has been fi nished for almost a year, but the specialness hasn't worn off yet and isn't likely to anytime soon. "It's so far beyond what we could have done on our own, yet it feels exactly like us," Hayes says. "Everything has history and meaning. To me, that's the best thing you can ask for in a house." 54 In the master bedroom, one of a pair of brass Brutalist pendants sourced by Steve Shuck from White Elephant. Mid-century chest from Antiques Moderne. Mirror from Wisteria. In the study, Van Hayes' vintage Bob Dylan poster from Santa Fe. The Navajo rugs belonged to Tracy Achor Hayes' parents. Chair from Antiques Moderne. Tracy Achor Hayes at home