A pair of Hans Wegner armchairs bookend a Molteni&C sofa upholstered in a Maharam fabric and facing a midcentury-modern-style cabinet by Fort Standard.
Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
Shawn Henderson Crafts a Bold New York Aerie Filled with Cutting-Edge Art
The designer plays with palette in a Manhattan penthouse for art-collecting clients
A Bosco Sodi canvas and Ryosuke Yazaki sculpture displayed in a Manhattan apartment conceived by Shawn Henderson. Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
For more than two decades, Shawn Henderson has been crafting serene, sophisticated interiors around the globe, using unimposing earth tones, moody grays, and a burst of color here and there. “I am not a fan of decorating for decorating’s sake,” says the designer, who is the go-to for clients seeking warm, intimate spaces without excess clutter and ornamentation. “There should be a purpose and a place for everything in a home. That is what makes rooms feel like they are designed to be used.”
Such a clear-eyed philosophy, however, does not mean that Henderson can’t expand it. Lately, for example, he has been itching to ratchet up the color. “It’s a personal response I find I am having to rooms that feel more vibrant and happier,” he says. “I want my interiors to have an element of surprise.”
In the dining room, a brightly hued Pelle light fixture and a Jamie Nares artwork contrast the more subdued tones of the Haas Brothers sculpture and custom table and chairs. Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
It turns out that putting a more wide-ranging palette in Henderson’s hands is a beautiful bet. Eighty floors up in a penthouse apartment in New York City’s Hudson Yards, the designer conceived a home for longtime clients who had relocated to a new building and wanted to move on from the monochromatic man cave Henderson had designed for them almost a decade ago. “This couple wanted to start from scratch,” he says, reflecting on how their tastes have evolved. “Over the years, they’ve developed an increasingly sophisticated design sensibility, not to mention a passion for art.”
“I want my interiors to have an element of surprise”
Shawn Henderson
It is a combination that gave the designer plenty of opportunities to wield the color wheel. “After we chose to use beautiful avocados, chromes, and blues, we decided in which rooms we would block them,” says Henderson. Furnishings came next. “As is typical with all my interiors, there is always a mix of custom and new with a smattering of vintage,” he says.
The eat-in kitchen becomes an art-focused roost courtesy of the Sam Orlando Miller mirror from Gallery Fumi and pipelike Jason Miller Studio installation. Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
In the living room of a Manhattan apartment conceived by Shawn Henderson, a Shahzia Sikander artwork from Sean Kelly gallery overlooks a Jens Risom chair and ottoman. Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
Of course, the dizzying views gave Henderson some mighty aesthetic competition, so he opted to hold the plumb line at the height of the open piano lid. “I found that whenever I was in the apartment I was walking the perimeter of the space to experience the city, which is a big part of the reason to live here,” he says. That’s not to say that the interior views aren’t just as compelling. Henderson understands the power of sculpture, paintings, and lighting to captivate, and in every room, there are myriad details to keep someone’s attention from drifting outward. “I love art and objects that reflect the hand. When you see brushstrokes, variation, and asymmetry, you see evidence of the human behind these things, which is important in a space that can otherwise feel cold and hard.”
Surmounting a bed dressed in Frette linens, an expressive Jamie Nares canvas in electric purple hues reverberates against the primary bedroom walls, painted in Benjamin Moore Wish. Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
A Dashiell Manley wall work and an ALT for Living rug adorn the hallway, which leads to a sculpture by Harry Bertoia. Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
A billowy Jay Heikes artwork animates the office, which is outfitted with curtains made from a Rogers & Goffigon fabric and a Sacco rug. Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
So while Henderson’s breezily chic interiors are always meticulous, they also allow for a moment of whimsy. The open entertainment center is a case in point. Another? His willingness to defer to the pair of kittens his clients acquired after the apartment was finished. “I wanted to put the Haas Brothers’ sculpture on the piano, but it was clear they would attack it, so we asked the artists to design a custom pedestal and cloche for it,” says Henderson. Now clients, cats, and the cast bronze live casually, colorfully, side by side—just the way Henderson likes it.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Fall Issue under the headline “Full Spectrum.” Subscribe to the magazine.
Cover: A pair of Hans Wegner armchairs bookend a Molteni&C sofa upholstered in a Maharam fabric and facing a midcentury-modern-style cabinet by Fort Standard.
Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
