In the latest issue of New York Design Hunting, New York magazine design editor Wendy Goodman tours the Hell's Kitchen dwelling of Karim Rashid, the Cairo-born designer who has made it his life's work to turn the world pink and purple and neon green (but mostly pink), one glowing hotel, psychedelic food court, or controversial condo tower at a time. Here is how the Sparkle King keeps house.
Rashid tells Goodman that there are three things he wanted out of the space: "high ceilings, daylight, and a different level for our child to sleep on." Which is one of the reasons that he and his wife Ivana looked at a total of 63 spaces while house hunting. As with his former Chelsea loft, Rashid turned the two-story townhouse they eventually settled upon into a proving ground for his own designs. "It's a way for me to experience what I just did and test it out," he tells the magazine, which helps him "find the soul" of his work. In the living room (↑), the sofas, rug, chair, and console are all his own designs.
Cosmetic changes done to the kitchen area (↑) include the addition of white wood floors, a green-mirrored backsplash, and all that pink paint. The Rashid-fest continues here with pendant lights, a dining table, and chairs he designed. Ceramics by Piero Fornasetti and Ettore Sottsass join his on the console.
The wallpaper in the bedroom (↑) recalls the mod-psychedelic insides of Rashid's East Harlem buildings. Find the issue on the stands to take a peak at the array of fluorescent suits in his closet, and learn how the utopian-leaning designer and dabbling mixologist realized his life's mission at age 5.
· Home Design [New York Mag]
· All Karim Rashid coverage [Curbed National]