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Step Inside a Chic Manhattan Apartment Crafted by Designer and Gallerist Patrick McGrath

The discerning New York visionary transforms a blank-box apartment by letting art and antiques take the lead

By Kathleen Hackett Photography By BILLAL TARIGHT
Person sitting on a green chair in a modern room with colorful abstract art on the wall.
In a New York apartment, designer Patrick McGrath sits on one of a pair of Liaigre chairs in front of a Tom Wesselmann canvas.

Patrick McGrath can’t control himself when it comes to antiques, so much so
that the interior designer opened a namesake gallery this year to showcase
them. Located on the seventh floor of the Stanford White–designed Cable Building in Manhattan’s NoHo neighborhood, the space is shared with the design practice he started in 2016 and welcomes by-appointment visits to his collection, which includes a circa-first-century a.d. Roman ram’s head, a pair of George II walnut stools, and a Robert Sonneman Cathedral chrome lamp, among other treasures. “It’s a revolving door of pieces I love,” he says. “When I first opened, I was focused on 18th- and 19th-century English and Continental furniture. But I am always telling my clients that balance is key, so I have added some contemporary pieces to the mix.”

Modern living room with a beige sectional sofa, round black table, wooden side table, and wall-mounted decor pieces.
In the living room, a custom sofa in a Rose Uniacke fabric, a Green River Project table, and a Jean Royère floor lamp rest on a rug by Beauvais Carpets.
Cozy reading nook with wooden shelves displaying art books, a bench with cushions, and soft natural lighting.
Shelves in the main bedroom display various art monographs and a Jack Pierson framed photograph.

That same attuned balance applies to his interiors projects. For a recent homeowner who originally tapped him to do a light cosmetic redo of a 2,000-square-foot penthouse in an early-aughts build in SoHo, McGrath first took stock of the young bachelor’s contemporary art collection, then advised some major architectural changes that would better serve it.

The paintings have such presence that they needed to bump up against classical pieces to create some tension”

Patrick McGrath

“I came up with solutions to some questionable developer decisions,” he says. His first move was to replace the conventional staircase to the rooftop terrace with a sculptural, lacquered spiral, all the better to open the view to Tom Wesselmann’s Sunset Nude, Floral Blanket (2003). The artwork hangs next to a Jamb fireplace that replaced a massive tiled one that the designer decided “screamed early aughts.” McGrath reshaped the primary bedroom, originally a narrow rectangle, carving out a dressing room and reading nook from its new proportions.

Modern interior with a large yellow and red abstract painting, round wooden table, chairs, and flowers in a vase.
Ellsworth Kelly’s Yellow Relief over Red (2004) reverberates against walls painted Farrow & Ball’s Strong White in the dining area, outfitted with a Pierre Yovanovitch table and Jean Prouvé chairs
Outdoor rooftop patio with beige seating and tables, lush greenery, and a cityscape view featuring water towers against a clear sky
On the rooftop terrace, a Richard Schultz side table joins William Haines seating upholstered in a Rose Tarlow for Perennials fabric.

Although the client likes to entertain, kitchen storage took a back seat to an Ellsworth Kelly lithograph, which hangs where a stretch of cabinets once did. McGrath offered storage of another kind—for barware—in a French Art Deco cabinet whose lacquered marigold coat was inspired by the center of the sunflower in the Wesselmann painting. It’s the only piece of furniture in the two-bedroom apartment that synchronizes with what’s on the walls. He kept the palette decidedly neutral throughout to satisfy his client’s top priority: to make his home a showplace for his art. “The paintings have such presence that they needed to bump up against classical pieces to create some tension,” says McGrath.

Spiral wooden staircase, viewed from above, showcasing elegant curves and a smooth, white banister.
The newly crafted spiral stair features stained oak treads.
Cozy bedroom with large abstract painting above bed, includes a bench, nightstand, and vibrant decor.
. A Nate Lowman canvas overlooks a custom bed made using a Kvadrat textile and dressed in Pratesi linens with a bedcover of Loro Piana cashmere.

To that effect, the designer layered in antiquities to make it all sing. “Even though my client was very art focused, he was wide open to learning about interior design,” says McGrath, who managed to place a few pre-Columbian artifacts around the apartment. There’s a standing figure in jade, a volcanic stone jaguar, a serpentine Mezcala figure, and an African mask to achieve that all-important contrast. “I felt so fortunate to be working with him because he had an imagination. When it came to new ideas, he didn’t bat an eye.”

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Late Fall Issue under the headline “Upward Spiral.” Subscribe to the magazine.