Oh, Wesley

This is a Park Avenue apartment in the Upper East Side in New York. That should tell us all we need to know about what we saw. BUT (and this is a nice but) I have to admit that if I were a boy from the sticks in Georgia, this would also be my success story,  and that's what matters to me here.

I know. Yes, I agree with you. It is a lot. But there are some spectacular details here that I absolutely love. Do I love everything? No, I do not. Would I do this in my house? (hahahahahahaha silly you) Nope, but he designed this apartment for him, not for me. So yes. Some of the details are absolutely stunning and they may be probably are too much for a house in a subdivision in the suburbs, but this is not the Chattanooga suburbs, darling, no. Did you see that XIX century table? Fuck me laying down. Really. And the woven leather rug? That plaster on the walls? Perfect for the artwork he hung there. Everything here tells you that you're in his house. And you better know it. This house is his pride and joy but it is also his showcase. He customizes design: the proof is in the pudding. As the devil is in the details. And there are gorgeous details in this house.

It's obvious that went IN with this renovation. As in deep. The Before/After tells you all you need to know about what he can do if you give him free rein (and a very big budget) to decorate your house. But he knows what he's doing, of course. The living room: the wallpaper. The division of the room by pattern. And you know that he knows how to place artwork when you look at his opium den, with all the little art pieces he loves. He says he just 'threw them on the wall'. I cackled. That man has never just 'thrown' anything on the wall when decorating. 

Over the fireplace is what could be one of the most striking pieces of art in his house (and there are several): he commissioned it and the whole Tudor dynasty is there, customized with his grandma's photo and a couple of photographs of Wesley himself as Elizabeth, natch. Most everything in this house is custom. Because of course it is. It's his brand. The corner where the dining room is? Absolutely transformed. Shit, that wallpaper alone! I love how his stories are woven in his house and he can talk about everything he put there. For a boy born in Georgia (can you imagine him as a gayling yearning to leave the South? I can) having this house reflecting what he had only read about the world at large is fantastic. It should be like a dream come true.

And I think the library/guest room wins because it has Dolly. Dolly makes EVERYTHING better. Dolly made in Legos makes everything much, much, better. I think his apartment is like Dolly: a country boy's idea of glamour, but with actual luxury injected in it. This is not smoke and mirrors, because anybody living in his neighborhood could tell what's a cheap copy and what's an original. And he obviously has people over and entertains. And you know he does not cook, but you could, if you wanted to use that pretty kitchen (and the service door!). 

This apartment is full of incredible details and that cannot be denied. The sink in the bathroom? I died. The onyx doors? The vintage upholstered tapestry in the bedroom? The Fornasetti cabinet? Definitely not for the faint of heart. And where does he put his actual clothes, you'd wonder? Of course he's got a dressing room. This boy and I would have the same problem with clothes, though. I feel him. Did you see his shoe collection? 

XOXO