Asian Infusion (continued)
In lower Manhattan, designer Shamir Shah created a sophisticated, understated flat for a client whose passion is modern and Asian art.
Details
(1) An ancient Chinese "contemplation root" rests on a sofa table designed by Shah, with a red lacquer cutout that reflects Asian influences. A Keith Haring subway drawing hangs on the wall. Artifacts like Ming Dynasty terra-cotta figurines and Indonesian "bone rings" stand on shelves designed by Shah to allow sunlight to reach the dining area. The rug, with elements of wool, silk and hemp, was woven in Nepal.
(2) A Japanese screen and a carpet made of woven sisal turn the 45-foot-long entry hallway into a posh gallery: It culminates in a piece by the French New Realist artist Jacques Villeglé, who specializes in a technique called decollage. Shah kept the hallway dark so that the rooms it leads to would "feel lighter and more exuberant," he says. "It's an age-old design trick."
(3) People compare the Vittorio Bonacina kitchen light fixtures to lobster traps, says Shah, who bought them in Milan and knew their natural bamboo would balance the room's high-gloss surfaces.
(4) Shah turned a powder room into an oasis, using hand-screened wallpaper by Cavern Home. He assembled the sink using a resin top from Atta and glass legs with nickel fittings from Urban Archaeology. The round mirror with leather strap is from BDDW.
(5) In the master bedroom, Shah used a console and an Asian-inspired lamp by Christian Liaigre. The daybed is Shah's design.
(6) A painting by Zhu Yi Yong hangs over a woven horsehair headboard in the guest room. Walls covered in Donghia fabric allow visitors to feel as coddled as the owner does in his own room.
What the Pros Know
Few things are as luxurious as a warm floor on a wintry day, says Shah, a fan of radiant floor heating. In wood-frame buildings, where there's room between the floor joists for plumbing, the usual method is to pipe hot water through polyethylene tubes. Here, in a condo building with concrete slab floors, Shah used an electric system, which consists of heating wires set into a fiberglass mat (picture a room-size electric blanket). Installing the mat requires setting it into a layer of thin-set cement, then covering it with a second layer of cement before installing the finished floor (in this case, tile). Once the mat is in, Shah warns, the contractor has to be careful: Something as simple as installing a door stop in the floor could sever one of the heating cables, which would mean tearing up the floor and starting over.
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