Behind the Blue Door

A riot of color, pattern, and art, beauty exec John Demseys six story townhouse on Manhattans Upper East Side bursts with exuberant life"Architectural Digest

The muted, understated exterior of the townhouse on a treelined New York City street belies the total assault on the senses that hits you upon opening its blue front door. Every room of its five main floors has its own saturated color scheme, David Hicksinspired geometrically patterned rugs, vibrant fabrics, new and vintage furniture, art and photographs covering walls, and sculptures and knickknacks topping tables and filling shelves. For the owner, John Demsey, the starting point was a pair of multicolored Louboutin boots, which inspired the palette of the living room rug. Working with interior decorator and friend Bibi Monnahan, he carefully chose and positioned each piece of furniture, work of art, and decorative object, and mounted his enormous photography collection. The result is a tour de force of maximalist design, now captured for all to see in Douglas Friedmans luminous photographs, with journalist Alina Cho as our eyewitness guide.