Whether hung on the wall, organized along shelves, or presented in custom vitrines, a collection reveals so much about a client’s personality and passion. For designers, creating ways to let the pieces shine—no matter the scale or quantity—is its own kind of art form.
In his former New York City apartment, designer Alfredo Paredes organized a salon-style display of black-and-white photography, French charcoal drawings from the 1920s and ’30s, and other works on paper. Photo: PIETER ESTERSOHN
Alfredo Paredes’s personal assortment of photography and works on paper started with Max Dupain’s iconic image of a muscular man lying in the sun. Over the years, as he acquired larger residences with greater square footage, his hoard grew in kind, occupying more and more real estate until it exceeded the wall space of his New York apartment.
“Working with Ralph Lauren, I learned that I liked the weird energy that comes from eclectic mixes, placing things like a 19th-century portrait next to a picture of Mick Jagger by Cecil Beaton or an Andy Warhol across from a landscape,” says Paredes, who begins a salon-style display by siting the largest example, then layering in smaller pieces. He also prefers unmatched frames, selecting options that best suit the work rather than trying to force a cohesive installation. “The important thing for me is the visual harmony it creates.”
A Pat Steir canvas takes a starring role in a modern Pennsylvania residence by Macht Architecture. Photo: JEFFREY TOTARO PHOTOGRAPHY
Many homeowners already have works they know they want featured, so rooms are orchestrated around those standouts. In Pennsylvania, Macht Architecture designed an entry to spotlight a client’s expansive Pat Steir canvas. Visible through the home’s large-scale window, fabricated without mullions or seams, it surmounts a light well that leads into a subterranean level conceived for displaying and storing art. “The client’s collection was specific yet growing, so the gallery evolved,” says studio founder Paul Macht. “The home’s design took a flexible path but veered to specificity in accommodating the colors and sizes of certain key works.”
Art helped Bennett Leifer solve a decorating challenge when devising a New York client’s primary suite. The double-height ceiling offered plenty of display space, but the gently curved walls rendered rigid canvases unusable. Having spied a work from Beth Katleman’s dazzling “Demi Folly” series at Dior’s Bond Street boutique in London, he knew the piece—composed of a multitude of small porcelain sculptures that together form a whimsical narrative—would fill the wall and make a stunning addition to the homeowners’ collection. “The space is so unique that it really started to lend itself to these unexpected design ideas,” says Leifer. “I think there’s an importance that comes with volume, and there’s a pleasing element visually with repetition.”
Bennett Leifer selected an art installation by Beth Katleman for the primary suite of a New York apartment. Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON/OTTO
“I think there’s an importance that comes with volume, and there’s a pleasing element visually with repetition”
Bennett Leifer
Whether it’s art, wine, books, or furniture, figuring out ways to store, access, and present these treasured items is an essential part of the project. “We build environments around people’s collections and also the other way around,” says Pembrooke & Ives founder Andrew Sheinman. “If someone wants to start a collection, we suggest how that can be hung on a wall or displayed on a table, but we encourage people to buy pieces they can live with day to day.”
Vintage books are layered with artworks, including a Louis Valtat painting and a selection of Matthew Solomon sculptures, in the library of a Fifth Avenue home designed by Pembrooke & Ives. Photo: BLAINE DAVIS
No matter the subject or quantity, collections need to be incorporated into an aesthetic in a way that feels welcoming. Layering can break up an expansive grouping with punctuating visual cues, such as in the Fifth Avenue library Pembrooke & Ives fashioned for an avid book collector. French polished-mahogany shelves store a mix of leather-bound volumes and Matthew Solomon sculptures, while picture rails support strategically placed paintings, including a Fauve canvas by Louis Valtat. “We think about what a collection is and what it’s going to evolve into before conceiving a way in which it’s going to be shown,” says Sheinman.
Regardless if it’s for a burgeoning collector or a seasoned veteran, the presentation is driven by a person’s passion, not a designer’s rule of law. “I encourage people to collect things and display them based on what’s meaningful to them,” says Leifer, whose own cache includes bulldog figurines, Buccellati trays, and landscapes he paints himself.
“You want to be surrounded by the things that are significant to you,” adds Sheinman. “And collections change as people grow; tastes bob and weave, ebb and flow. These are important pieces, and one wants to be surrounded by the things they love.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Late Fall Issue under the headline “Cumulative Effect.” Subscribe to the magazine.
