Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD

Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD

Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just

$149.99
 
$74.99/Year
The Perfect Holiday Gift Gift Now

Social Study

Elle Decor

|

May 2022

In the Harlem townhouse they lovingly restored, an intellectual couple has created a dramatic environment for entertaining their friends and neighbors.

- By Kate Bolick. Photographs by Stephen Kent Johnson

Social Study

An English desk anchors a library dedicated to books on the decorative arts. Decorative wall painting by Jane Warrick; artworks by Claude Mellan (left) and Jacques Callot (right). For details, see Resources.

The living room of James Fenton and Darryl Pinckney's 1890s Harlem townhouse, which was designed in the Neo-Renaissance style by Frank Hill Smith and renovated by the couple with architect Samuel G. White. Regency mirror by Thomas Fentham; walls in Benjamin Moore's Sunshine.

The musical and literary salons that the British poet James Fenton and the American writer Darryl Pinckney host in their Harlem townhouse are a delight not only for their guests, but also for passersby. Temperatures willing, they throw open the wide-paned windows so that the gentle strains of a Chopin sonata can sound out from two grand Steinway pianos in their living room.

MORE STORIES FROM Elle Decor

Elle Decor US

Elle Decor US

BIOGRAPHY OF A ROOM

The biggest moments at auction houses are often the ones the public doesn't see. They happen before the hammer comes down, in private rooms amid hushed conversations, as specialists explain why they are the best guardians of invaluable treasures. The setting for these exchanges matters immensely—and at Sotheby's, that space just got an upgrade.

time to read

1 min

Winter 2025

Elle Decor US

Elle Decor US

HERMES IN THE HOUSE

The artistic directors of the French heritage brand's home division are challenging the conventional definition of “luxury” one lamp at a time.

time to read

3 mins

Winter 2025

Elle Decor US

Elle Decor US

OPEN DIALOGUE

When longtime clients wanted to update their Manhattan townhouse after a storm, A-List designer Cliff Fong listened carefully—to the architecture, to their art collection, and, most important, to the clients themselves.

time to read

3 mins

Winter 2025

Elle Decor US

Elle Decor US

THE CITY SQUARE

Italian architect Luciano Giorgi found inspiration in the bustling Milan outside his windows as he created his highly personal home.

time to read

2 mins

Winter 2025

Elle Decor US

Elle Decor US

BACCHANAL HOW-TO

Party season has arrived. Is your table ready? Our columnist outlines her own personal holiday gathering hotline.

time to read

3 mins

Winter 2025

Elle Decor US

Elle Decor US

WHAT MATTERS TO YOU?

Imagine waking up to work by Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, and Louise Bourgeois. Or imagine it’s Gustav Klimt, Henri Matisse, and Edvard Munch. The first is the personal collection of the star of our cover, gallerist Craig Starr; the second was that of the late Leonard Lauder. Starr says in our story, which showcases the apartment he created with designer Charlie Ferrer.

time to read

1 min

Winter 2025

Elle Decor US

Elle Decor US

Nannette's FEAST

How do you bring back a house built by a Rockefeller? In Weston, Connecticut, designer Nannette Brown transforms a historic house into a banquet of delights.

time to read

4 mins

Winter 2025

Elle Decor US

Elle Decor US

NECESSARY LUXURIES

The design we need to make our lives and homes work. This month: Precision meets provenance in Officine Gullo's newest high-performance cooking range.

time to read

1 min

Winter 2025

Elle Decor US

Elle Decor US

WALLS THAT TALK

Craig Starr lives with a museum-worthy art collection. But it took a collaboration with interior designer Charlie Ferrer for him to realize the power of creating a home that's as much a sanctuary as a set piece.

time to read

3 mins

Winter 2025

Elle Decor US

Elle Decor US

BEARS ON PARADE

If there is one piece of furniture that has captured the attention of our era more than any other, it's this one.

time to read

4 mins

Winter 2025

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size

Holiday offer front
Holiday offer back