The Art of Entertaining

An accommodating penthouse is home to cosmopolitan cognoscenti

Written by Neil Charles Photography by Andrew Kung

Stepping off the elevator into this imposingly-proportioned penthouse, it’s easy to imagine that one might have strayed onto the wrong floor, and had arrived at an art gallery rather than a residence. The scale of everything from the ceilings to the fixtures to the artwork is impressive and substantial. When the lady of the house explains her rationale behind the design, it all becomes clear. “I designed this place for comfort and for entertaining,” she says. “I host many events here, particularly for a local children’s hospital: I’m not sure how many we can comfortably accommodate, but it’s a lot.” It’s easy to imagine the space swallowing up fifty to a hundred guests with ease, at which point the public areas would seem less massive and more intimate.

Immediately across from the elevators, the north wall of the foyer is lined from end to end with what initially looks like satin-finished wood paneling. A gentle touch of the hand opens one of many doors, revealing space to hang visitors’ coats. To the right, a few yards down the hallway, massive custom doors lead to the library, a room dominated by the tendrils of an oversized chandelier arcing like an exploding firework towards the ground. Curving, wave-like ladders run on rails along the shelves, picking up on the motion of the chandelier. Low, elongated leather armchairs from Italy surround an equally low coffee table, chosen so the seatbacks don’t impede the view east through the library’s picture window, especially at sunset which, in the words of the wife “can be quite spectacular here.”

The north wall of the foyer is lined from end to end with what initially looks like satin-finished wood paneling. A gentle touch of the hand opens one of many doors, revealing space to hang visitors’ coats.

With so many public events on their calendar, the owners decided to forgo the usual luxury home kitchen and build instead a fully functional professional kitchen capable of catering to a hungry crowd. The stainless steel island would surely be the envy of many a restaurant chef, with an eight burner Wolf range and commercial hood. There are two of everything else: two double sinks, two refrigerators, and two dishwashers. In the absence of a subterranean wine cellar, a vast double-door wine cooler runs the height of the room against the west wall. The family kitchen table, almost an afterthought, it seems, sits off to the side at a safe distance from the center of activity.

Preserving the Italian theme, the guest powder room, adjacent to the library, is clad from floor to ceiling in marble from Verona, its effect again dramatic and imposing, yet eminently practical.

Through custom-made double glass doors, the kitchen leads to the open-plan dining area, home to an impressive collection of blue and white Chinese Export pottery from the nineteenth century. At the center of the space, a stylish, modern dining table comfortably seats eight; by way of contrast, a pair of lavishly embellished early Victorian candelabras serve as functional adornment. As the daughter of an army officer, the wife spent much of her youth moving around Great Britain, something she explains might have contributed in part to her eclectic tastes and interest in collecting new and interesting objects.

One of the mainstays of the impressive and diverse collection of art on display here is the work of the Mystical Expressionist painter Jamali. A contemporary artist living in Florida, Jamali’s work is collected by celebrities as diverse as Oprah Winfrey and Elton John, and has become highly sought after by aficionados. Although much of his art is highly abstract, the works on display at the penthouse combine the figurative with the slightly surreal, bringing to mind variously the works of Gaugin, Braque, and early Picasso. The media range from tempura (pigmented egg white) to oils, and the scale of the works is at first astonishing. In a smaller house, one with ceilings lower than twelve feet, these paintings would certainly appear alarmingly disproportionate. In this setting, however, they make their presence known, but do not dominate, fitting comfortably into the grand scale.

Beyond the dining area, the living room and bar share an almost panoramic view north and east. Guest seating indoors is at one of three comfortable sofas and a number of arm chairs, including a couple of elaborately carved Chinese creations from the Chicago World’s fair of 1893. Outside on the vast terrace, there’s ample room for a couple of dozen guests, who share the space with two imposing Shona sculptures from Zimbabwe. Standing just outside the tall picture windows, these solid yet seemingly organic figures resemble benevolent guardians quietly observing the activity within. Other smaller, but equally impressive Shona works can be found strategically placed around the home’s interior, some reminiscent of Henry Moore, others of Picasso, whose work the Shona were said to have influenced.

Guest seating in the living room is at one of three comfortable sofas and a number of arm chairs, including a couple of elaborately carved Chinese creations from the Chicago World’s fair of 1893.

The clean, contemporary lines of the master bathroom are a fitting counterpart to the vast cityscape visible from an expanse of windows.

Outside on the vast terrace, there’s ample room for a couple of dozen guests, who share the space with two imposing Shona sculptures from Zimbabwe.

The grand tour of the public space finishes with a visit to the husband’s bar. Above, his name is written in neon, a lighthearted gift from his wife. To each side, life-sized iron horse heads, weathered and ancient-looking, discovered rusted and abandoned outside an antique shop in Montana, testify to the charm and eclecticism of this extraordinary residence.