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Good things come in small packages. Case in point: the 585-square-foot Manhattan studio apartment of interior designer Forrest Walterhoefer. Charmed by its tennis club views, oak parquet floors, and quiet Sutton Place surroundings (he ignored the friends who deemed it “boring”), he signed a lease upon moving to New York in 2017 and began crafting his own little corner of the city.
A large bronze mirror from Wyeth anchors the entry, hanging alongside a geometric charcoal study by Walterhoefer’s grandmother and an antique portrait. The bench is a French antique from John Derian.
JOSHUA MCHUGH
In the living area, a 1980s aerial photograph of Aventura, Florida, hangs over the Crate & Barrel sofa, re-covered in a Holly Hunt linen; the side table and armchair are by Milo Baughman; and the pair of mirror-polished cocktail tables are by Joe D’Urso. Vintage Nessen marble lamp; sisal rug from Sacco.
JOSHUA MCHUGHWalterhoefer, who cut his teeth in the studio of Mark Cunningham before setting out on his own just last year, was used to working within much larger footprints—and budgets. But by taking a savvy (and sometimes counterintuitive) approach to furnishings, he was able to maximize every precious inch of the pint-size apartment.
“I didn’t shy away from bigger pieces of furniture, and I think that makes the space feel larger,” says Walterhoefer. When his eight-foot sofa—a Crate & Barrel model he’d re-covered in Holly Hunt linen—wouldn’t fit on the elevator or in the stairwell, he had to hire New York institution “Dr. Sofa” to cut it in half and reupholster it on site. (“I cried a lot that day,” he recalls with a laugh.)
A Saarinen table serves as desk and dining surface, surrounded by Hans Wegner Heart chairs and a Mies van der Rohe Brno chair. The console displays a paper table lamp by Christopher Baker from Dobrinka Salzman. The vintage pendant is by Jo Hammerborg.
JOSHUA MCHUGHUnfortunately, when it came to the welded steel canopy bed he arrived with, there was no such option. To take its place, he opted for a simple Room & Board model that he updated with a custom black cork headboard. Such high-low hacks—where material and form are prioritized—proved the secret to achieving the same tailored, collected look that Walterhoefer strives for in his professional projects.
“Clean lines and simple shapes are classic and timeless,” he explains. “If you need to save, save on those pieces, then complement them with items that have more history, more texture, more life, and it all balances out.” A bit of luxe upholstery can also take a piece to the next level: A hair-on-hide from Holly Hunt elevates a vintage Mies van der Rohe Brno chair, while a simple ottoman is sheathed in Rogers & Goffigon mohair.
In a tiny hallway, a vintage Guillerme et Chambron dresser displays a 1950s lamp from Vallauris, France, and a shark jaw; porcelain sculptures by Anat Shiftan, from Hostler Burrows gallery, hang above.
JOSHUA MCHUGH
A trio of artworks frames a vintage metal hoop chair in the living area.
JOSHUA MCHUGHJust after arriving in New York, Walterhoefer visited the 2017 Kips Bay Decorator Show House, where Robert Stilin’s art-filled salon made a deep impression. “It really inspired me to take a small room and just cover it in art,” he recalls. Starting with a 1980s aerial photo of Aventura, Florida—a piece he acquired while working as a design assistant for Miami-based Robert Rionda—he began building out his own collection. Today, walls are hung with charcoal drawings by his grandmother, sidewalk art purchased in SoHo, a Guillaume Linard Osorio work from Carvalho Park, and, as fate would have it, a Jean Lurçat lithograph acquired from Stilin himself.
“I wanted to create a smooth transition from the living room area into the bedroom area, so I used a larger than usual nightstand,” explains Walterhoefer, who selected an antique console to separate his sofa from the Room & Board bed, which he updated with a cork headboard. The custom ottoman is upholstered in Rogers & Goffigon mohair and the artwork is by Guillaume Linard Osorio from Carvalho Park.
JOSHUA MCHUGHWalterhoefer’s array includes everything from a shark jaw that belonged to his grandmother to a special set of Hans Wegner Heart chairs he found in Palm Beach. “These are probably my most prized possessions,” he says of the pair of mirror-polished Joe D’Urso cocktail tables he hunted down over the course of a year, finally scoring a matching pair via two separate dealers. “The excitement was unbelievable.”
“More than anything, I just wanted it to feel layered and collected over time.”
Forrest Walterhoefer
These days, says Walterhoefer, who is splitting his time between New York and Miami, “I spend most of my time at this table,” referring to the Eero Saarinen tulip in his office-slash-dining room. An avid cook, he eats nearly every meal here as well. He still loves the neighborhood—and his friends are coming around. “Younger people are moving here every day, but it’s still very quiet and well maintained,” he says. Plus, “I discovered recently that Thom Browne’s townhouse is two blocks away,” he adds, giddily. “I just feel cooler knowing that.”
THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 14 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!
