“New York is the ultimate American melting pot,” says Chicago-based designer Heidi Avedisian, “and no one is really more New York than Ron Galella.” In designing Row NYC’s Ron Galella penthouse suite, Avedisian drew inspiration from the famed paparazzo and the era he captured in his emblematic photographs.
Taken in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Galella’s most iconic photographs feature celebrities like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Mick Jagger, and John Lennon. “In that time, celebrity was something different than it is now,” says Avedisian. “We wanted to give people a chance to go back and really feel like celebrities themselves.”
Mirrors and white tones are the essence of the suite’s design. The mirror-lined bar alcove, as well as the adjacent wall and shelves, are filled with cut crystal barware. Graphite maple floors contrast white linen drapery and white painted walls, while Calcutta marble covers the dining table and white granite tops the counters. To offset all of the white in the room and throw in a bit more glam, Avedisian wallpapered the powder room in a “rose gold faux reptile skin,” she explains.
This ’70s slant carries through into the living space. Challenged by a tight deadline, the designer re-covered an ordinary white leather couch in leopard fabric and topped it with black-hide kidney pillows. Mid-century leather and steel cantilevered chairs, a frameless glass coffee table, and a bone-colored hide rug complete the seating area. “I wanted it to feel a little bit Old Hollywood, a little bit Studio 54, and a little bit Palm Beach—all rolled in to one thoroughly modern envelope,” she comments.
The statement piece of the room is a reproduction 19th-century aluminum Marine standing lamp. “It’s dramatic and fun to play with and adds that element of whimsy that every space needs,” says Avedisian. A crystal and iron chandelier illuminates the oval tulip dining table, and in the bedrooms, a bold tangerine duvet brings in the hint of Palm Beach. Potted palms throughout the suite, including in the crisp white, black-tiled bathrooms add to the Florida aesthetic.
“In the morning the entire space is flooded with light, and in the evening it’s all twinkle and sparkle, just begging for someone to pop the champagne or shake up the night’s first martini,” Avedisian says. Still, the suite’s shining feature is its artwork. “That’s where the real magic is,” Avedisian adds. With full access to Galella’s archives, the designer adorned the walls with four black and white prints—including a previously unpublished piece of model and actress Jean Shrimpton holding a copy of New York Magazine. “There was a real connection with Galella,” she says, explaining the collaboration between the photographer and the hotel. “The suite was like coming home for him.”