Metropolitan Home - May 2008
- 1. the VillAGe Designer John Beckmann of Axis Mundi transformed a Greenwich Village townhouse uncoMMon into a treasure-filled home thats chic, unique and tr竪s today. A custom bronze divider designed by John Beckmann and fabricated by Urban Archae足 ology from mirror and salvaged Gio Ponti glass gives the foyer architectural pedigree (art is by Basquiat, door handles by Antoni Gaud鱈). The living room features leather Poltrona Frau wing chairs and a custom sofa from Avery Boardman. Opposite: An Andy Warhol Uncle Sam over足 looks the dining room, with its rustic faux足antler chair and lacquered Rossini table (from Armani/ Casa); the chandelier is by Dominique Perrault MET HOME MAY08 147 from Sawaya & Moroni. MH0408 EBERSHOFF 2-3 3/14/08 5:56:11 PM
- 2. The look of conTenTmenT on John Beckmanns face (above) could mean hes enjoying the embrace of the 1919 club chair from Poltrona frauor the satisfaction of knowing that he did a job just right. The bronze-and-glass room divider, which he designed, is the result of months of thought about how best to apportion the parlor floor of his clients four-story 1846 Greek Revival townhouse in Greenwich Village. The 2,550-square-foot house, which is 19 feet wide outside, had a typical Victorian floor plan, with a wall separating the foyer from the living room. Beckmanns client was hoping for a flowing, loft- like space, but the designer didnt want the front door to open right into the living area. So he began exploring ways to create the right amount of separation; over time he considered a panel of sand- blasted glass and a wooden latticework screen. Then, during a trip to Urban Archaeology, the TriBeca emporium of reclaimed archi- tectural elements, he saw a cache of bubble-textured glass designed by Gio Ponti for Alitalias fifth Avenue ticket office in the 1950s. Beckmann decided to use the glass, along with panes of antiqued mercury mirror, to form a divider that is at once a shaper of space and a dazzling object in that space. It was a signature move for Beckmann, who describes his work as minimalist, but with added glamour and who sees crisp white rooms as a starting point, not ends in themselves. I like to insert a little bling-bling into every project, he says, because thats the stuff people remember. Top: Designer John Beckmann in the first足floor living room. Right: In the adjacent dining area, an African tribal mask stands on a Tall Bridge con足 sole from Armani/Casa (in front of a Caadre mirror by Philippe Starck for Fiam). The dining table is surrounded by Versace Shadow chairs; the Muletas floor lamps with their hand足draped shades were designed by Salvador Dal鱈. Fireplaces throughout are from Chesneys. PrOducEd by Linda OKEEffE. PHOTOgraPHs by anniE scHLEcHTEr. WriTTEn by frEd a. bErnsTEin. 146 MET HOME MAY08 MH0408 EBERSHOFF 4-5 3/14/08 5:56:13 PM
- 3. BefoRe he BeGAn installing furniture and hanging art, galley. When you put a giant object in a small room, says Beckmann, Beckmann set out to create uncluttered surfaces. Where walls meet something exciting happens. The island is topped in brushed stain- floors, theres a half-inch gap (known as a gallery reveal); where walls less steel and bleached oak that matches the elegant Boffi cabinetry. meet ceilings, there are narrow vents called slot diffusers. Beckmann, The floor of snow-white terrazzo tiles by Bisazza practically disap- who worked for minimalist Joe DUrso early in his career, was cre- pears, making the room feel taller than it is. custom shutters with ating neutral backdrops against which he could arrange items with large round cutouts invoke the design work of Jean Prouv辿 and main- strong identities. his goal, he said, was to escape the confines of the tain privacy while allowing shafts of light to penetrate the space. Two narrow townhouse rooms. In the second-floor lounge, he mixed metal lolly columns couldnt be moved; Beckmann covered them in smallish pieceslike the red Patrick naggar sofawith larger ones anodized aluminum sleeves in cruciform shapes: a necessity turned into an architectural attention-getter (see page 20). (the gold-leaf bolt-of-lightning lamp by Dal鱈). The limestone fire- place surround, by Jasper conran, gives the room architectural This page: Claudio Silvestrins Le Spighe barstools look demure against gravitas, while books, the owners passion, give it human scale. the 15足foot足long island in the ground足floor kitchen; the pantry (left wall) has white足varnished glass doors. Opposite: The second足floor lounge Beckmann faced a great challenge in the below-stairs kitchen, features Dezza armchairs by Gio Ponti, a coffee table and lamp by with its not-quite-eight-foot ceiling. Instead of making everything in Salvador Dal鱈, a silk Fishkin rug by Carini Lang and a red velvet Galileo the room diminutive, he installed a cooking island as large as a typical sofa by Patrick Naggar from Ralph Pucci; the art is by Keith Haring. MET HOME MAY08 149 MH0408 EBERSHOFF 6-7 3/14/08 5:56:15 PM
- 4. Garden Master Bath Dining Room Guest Breakfast Suite Lounge Foyer Master Living Bedroom Room Kitchen Ground Floor Parlor Floor 2nd Floor 3rd Floor Details BeckmAnnS clIenT, Who grew up in a manhattan apartment, says he has always dreamed of living in a When he travels to Rome on business, the owner of this home stays in townhouse. As a teenager, he says, he ran away from home one night the Hotel de Russie, where one of his favorite features is the bathroom tilework: a field of gold-hued marble punctuated by vertical stripes of and camped out on the front stoop of a brownstone, fantasizing that black and white, suggesting fluting. With a photo in hand, he asked John the owners would come down and let him in. (In his familys flat, he Beckmann to re-create the look. Urban Archaeology custom-made dead- says, if he made too much noise, the neighbors would complain.) ringer tiles from a variety of marbles, but Beckmann added flourishes So when his career as an investment banker took off, he began of his own, including a 4-by-10-foot shower. To avoid a curb (which would looking for a townhouse. The one he found, in the West Village, was prevent the glass from meeting the floor cleanly), Beckmann dropped the shower four inches, which meant moving floor joists. Overhead, he in move-in condition (or so he thought). he ordered a new kitchen installed Ondines Electric Light shower head, which uses halogen and from Boffi and started shopping for furniture from such show- fiber optics to produce a deluge of colors. The designer went his own way rooms as new Yorks Ralph Pucci and milans Sawaya & moroni. with the Boffi bathtub and tub filler, but the heated towel rack is a pure But the cabinets couldnt be installed until the buildings wiring de Russie feature. When I walk into the bathroom, says the owner, Im and plumbing were updated. one thing led to anotherthe five- reminded of Rome, which I think is the most beautiful city in the world. word summary of every renovation joband soon he needed a designer. A salesman at Pucci recommended Beckmann. Then the contractor, who discovered structural problems the owner hadnt known about, was recommending that the interior be gutted. Two more years went by before Beckmann could install the furniture the client had already bought (plus other pieces they had purchased together). But the wait was worth it, according to the owner, who credits Beckmann with easing high-profile Armani and Versace furniture into a composition that goes beyond fashion. now, whenever Im in someone elses house, he says, I look around and I think, They should have talked to John. m See Resources, last pages. Above: In a guest bedroom, an Armani/Casa Negril quilt and a Basquiat painting explore divergent geometries. The headboard is upholstered in Christopher Hyland fabric; rosewood足and足chrome end tables are from Home114, a Shelter Island, New York, design shop. Reading lights are by David Weeks. Opposite: Beckmanns choices for the master bathroom include the sleek Boffi Monoblock bathtub (see Details, above left). 150 MET HOME MAY08 MH0408 EBERSHOFF 8-9 3/14/08 5:56:17 PM