Imagine stepping into a gorgeous West Village townhouse that has been impeccably designed with contemporary décor only to find that every object you see is for sale.
This is Casa Perfect, the brainchild of David Alhadeff, who founded contemporary design gallery The Future Perfect in 2003. Alhadeff, who has been described by the New York Times as the "foremost champion of American design" seeks out pioneering furniture and décor, which is curated in his gallery spaces in New York and California.
In 2017, he launched the first Casa Perfect in Los Angeles, a modern Hollywood Hills home that served as a bespoke showroom, exhibiting The Future Perfect's custom contemporary design. Later, he opened a second California edition at the Trousdale Estates mansion, once owned by Elvis Presley.
This March, he debuted the first New York edition of Casa Perfect in the West Village, which is stylishly decked out with the best of The Future Perfect's wares, but also doubles as Alhadeff's residence when he's in the city. Open only by appointment, Casa Perfect New York is an inspired way to shop top design, fusing the lines between gallery, boutique and a liveable home.
The five-story Italianate townhouse at 8 St. Luke's Place was built in 1852 and purchased by banking heir Nat Rothschild in 2000, who then spearheaded a massive, almost three-year gut renovation.
Sparing no expense, he entrusted the project to famed British architect David Chipperfield, restorer of Berlin's Museum Island and designer of New York's Bryant Park Hotel, and London-based decorator David Mlinaric, whose impressive resume includes the British Embassy in Paris and the Royal Opera House in London. Chipperfield's pièce de résistance is the geometric oak wood staircase that infused the home with a loft-like airiness.
The house was remarkably suited for a gallery-like space as Rothschild envisioned an open-layout bachelor pad that was conducive to house parties, with just one bedroom in the whole 5,000-square-foot house.
In 2015, the eccentric financier listed the townhouse on the market for $17.5 million (£13.38 mil) in 2015, over three times his original purchase price. Alhadeff, who toured a hundred houses all over Manhattan before he discovered the row house, now holds a five-year lease on the residence.
"Casa is first and foremost about the experience. The shopping comes second," Alhadeff said. "The townhouse I found will assuredly create a meaningful and noteworthy experience".
Found throughout the home are statement works by both established and emerging contemporary designers. Sleek design meets playful touches: Arnout Visser's mushroom-shaped floor lamps illuminate a dark wood-panelled nook, a whimsical Piet Hein Eek for Veronese chandelier dangles over the travertine marble bathtub and colourfully painted ceramic stools by Reinaldo Sanguino placed throughout the floors add vibrant panache.
Casa Perfect reflects the growing trend of bespoke, carefully curated experiences, where shopping is more about discovery and innovation than simple acquisition. As David Alhadeff told Architectural Digest, "[Casa Perfect is] a bold statement but it’s also an amazing minimalist experiment and a smart consideration of the space. For us it presented this incredible opportunity to assume stewardship over a place of architectural significance.”
Furnish your own home with modern and contemporary design on Barnebys
