This month Architectural Digest is featuring the Upper East Side apartment of legendary fashion editor and US Project Runway judge Nina Garcia.
Which I was very much expecting to like as I enjoy her personal style very much (check out Sirs T and Lo’s ‘Judging the Judges’ columns for some examples).
And at first I thought I did. The light airiness of the apartment itself is lovely and the colour scheme seemed refreshing and unusual.
But oh, Nina, Nina. The more I looked at it I realised that I didn’t really like it at all. The colour story is only interesting because the stylist brought in some hot pink flowers and green leaves. Look more closely and you’ll see that it’s a rather bland combination of white, grey, terracotta and camel, with some powder blue accents.
It also all seems rather uptight and uncomfortable – I think due to the lack of personal items beyond busts and artwork, and the spiky, brittle, skinny, fashion model legs on nearly every single piece of furniture. These are chairs and sofas made for perching, not for cosy snuggling.
The stone bust, vase and fireplace surround also seem rather hard and unfriendly, while the hideous carpet in the dining room, which admittedly is one of the few things with any personality in the entire apartment, looks like some fiendishly complicated children’s board game.
This is apparently the apartment that Nina shares with her young family, and though I’m a great believer in keeping some spaces free of kid stuff, the fact that there is no trace of them in any of the rooms on show – no photos, kid art, toys, clothes or kid-friendly furniture - seems a little sad. Or perhaps they’re occasionally permitted to play on the dining room carpet when their mother isn’t looking.
All in all the whole ambience just seems too controlled and impersonal, with any hint of quirkiness, personality, warmth, exuberance or life, expertly stifled by layer upon layer of expensive ‘good taste’. But heck what do I know.
The closet, on the other hand, is completely and utterly to die for.
What do you chaps think?
I would have voted for pretty, but I don’t give a crap about people having personal photos. They often tend to tacky up a house. The most important thing is, I really want those shoes she’s wearing. The second most important thing is, I’d trade my house for that closet and its contents, and a body that would fit into said contents.
I totally agree with point number two.
I like the shapes and composition in the living room, except that I’d want a less “perchy” sofa. I tried imagining that the photo is a faded sepia-tone of the real room; think I’d like it with more color.
The contents of the closet in the photo are in the same color palette as the interiors. Maybe the stronger colors are on a different wall. Still, yes to Becky’s point number two.
I completely agree with you. Not comfy cozy AT ALL. It looks like a place where you have cocktails and dinner with stiff, boring people.
Oh, I am a fan of hers and would expect so much more, This looks like a mausoleum. There’s absolutely no warmth here and comfort doesn’t seem like a consideration at all. The dining room is a travesty and eating there doesn’t seem like it would be a comfortable experience, I would be afraid to every put my drink down. That rug seems like it was chosen to be a tension piece but it’s just hideous. What a keen eye you have that you noticed the fuchsia flowers, that really helped indeed. I agree on the closet thought–to die and she is lovely so put together.
Gah, sorry for all the typos above, I guess I just got excited by the subject, lol.
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I totally agree with eM. But the bed looks comfy.
How muck I love the idea of a nice bed in every room, I think the sofa/bed in the first picture is not really suitable.
I would love to have an apartment in New York City but it’s really expensive to live there alone, and without a job yet that isn’t a possibility. But it would be so nice to dream about sometimes. Nice furniture, I think the sofa the best one you have posted here.