Inside the colorful, quirky Village duplex of two design stars

Sarah Horne Grose

featured

Oct 8, 2015

He may be fashion royalty, but Simon Doonan — Barneys’ creative ambassador-at-large — is still gobsmacked at the showstopping Greenwich Village co-op he shares with his husband, designer and ceramicist Jonathan Adler.

“When I met Jonny, I had just closed on the original apartment, which had been owned by [a well-known New York architect]. Back then, Jonny was a clay-splattered potter and he hadn’t started working on furniture or lighting,” Doonan recalls.

“But [ultimately] Jonny bought the adjacent unit and we whomped them together … It’s not a hard-edged condo. It’s a unique building; the ceilings are very high,” he adds. “When we busted through it felt like the apartment in ‘Rosemary’s Baby.’ I thought, ‘It’s so gorgeous it’s sick.’ I grew up in a two-room apartment that was part of a rooming house, and then, voila, here I am. I don’t take that for granted.”

Adler calls the apartment a creative laboratory for his whimsical, brightly colored ceramics and homepieces. He’s equally delighted by the space they’ve created there. “It’s a real Cindy Adams ‘only in New York’ moment, and [living here] always reminds me that New York is a magical place.”

From the comfort of their elegant aerie, Adler and Doonan invite us into the duplex.

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**FAB FOYER**: A view from the hall into the dining room gives a sense of the space's drama. "We're lucky because the building that we live in is kind of grand, turn-of-the-century --- with extraordinary architecture," says Adler. "It reminds me of the Dakota [on the Upper West Side], so I think it should be called South Dakota. We just painted it white, which is a great backdrop for color and modernity."Brett Beyer

**WORK-LIFE (IN) BALANCE**: Much like most of the furnishings, the linens on the master bed are Adler's designs. "My job is to road-test my stuff, so it's both fun and maddening," says Adler. "I might bring a sofa in and realize the pitch isn't just right. Simon will come home, and there are four new pieces of furniture in the house. He's aware of anything I'm making; he delights in it."Brett Beyer

**MADE BY HAND**: The double-height dining room may look highly designed, but it's geared towards relaxed entertaining. Says Adler, "We're constantly hosting dinner parties. My favorite menu to do, for selfish reasons, is Thanksgiving dinner. And I mean all year round, so it makes it sort of easy. We're totally informal."Brett Beyer

**STYLE OR BUST:** A chest of drawers in the couple's dressing room makes for a striking tableau, with pottery pieces by Adler and remnants of Doonan's Barneys window designs. "I don't get attached to anything," says Doonan. "It's constant decor changes around here."Brett Beyer

**POPS OF CULTURE:** The majestic living room features a full-size ping-pong table and nods to pop culture icons like Michael Jackson. Their dog, Foxylady, also indulges here. "We got her at the shelter in February and she's only now house-trained," Adler says. "So our biggest problem in this room was the goatskin rug. It was meant to be this louche, swinging thing, but to her it was mother-slash-chew toy-slash toilet. But you know, we can roll with it." Adler's Peking sofa in green ($3,250) sits against the wall (left), while his jumbo Sputnik chandelier ($3,195) gives the room an outsize dash of glamour. Pillows from his Animalia collection ($285-295) adorn the pale blue velvet sofa, also one of Adler's designs.Brett Beyer

**GREAT BRITAIN MEETS GREENWICH VILLAGE:** When he's not on-site at Barneys, Doonan works from his colorful home office. But though he could put his years of work as a master window dresser to use here, he says he lets Adler rule the roost when it comes to decorating. "The truth is, Jonny was meant to do interiors and he's brilliant at that; I was so much from the display world, I would make, like, a papier-mache Prince head. He's better suited to interiors than me."Brett Beyer

**OFFICE SCRIBE:** A bright spot in Doonan's office features stacks of his books (like "Gay Men Don't Get Fat" and "Eccentric Glamour"). "I started writing quite late in life," Doonan explains. "I was 46 when I did 'Confessions of a Window Dresser' (back in 1998), so I don't have any preconceived ideas about success in writing, I just enjoy it. I know I'm not Dostoesvsky, so I'm not precious about it." A true polymath, Doonan is often preparing for one of Barneys' chic events.Brett Beyer

**SHADES OF CHIC:** The couple uses "every inch" of their apartment, says Adler. "My design philosophy is comfort first; for me everything has got to have both comfort and style. A teapot has to pour beautifully, a sofa has to sit just right." Even the front hall table is curated to evoke happiness. Adler's petal mirror ($1,150), made of mother-of-pearl and brass, completes the look. "Everything I make brings me joy, so everything in our home has something about it that is special and was born of love."Brett Beyer

PHOTOS: By Brett Beyer; PROP STYLING: By Brice Gaillard/ThePropStylist.com

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