In Her Light-Filled Riverside Apartment Muriel Brandolini Crafts a Mysterious, Luxurious Floating World

Filled with passionately collected art, precious objects, and a beguiling mix of furniture, the New York City home showcases the designer at the height of her powersMuriel Brandolini, in a skirt and top by Adam Lippes, in the dining room of her Manhattan apartment. A Cherry Blossom chandelier by Claire Cormier-Fauvel hangs above the table dressed with a cotton cambric by Brandolini for Holland & Sherry. A portrait of her husband, Nuno Brandolini, as a young boy stands in the corner, next to a painting by John Sergeant. Walls covered in custom block-printed silk taffeta.Hair by Fabien Magris. Makeup by Moyra Mulholland Botta.The magic carpet has flown full circle over Manhattan and landed at last in front of the East River. The analogy fits because magic is what best characterizes Muriel Brandolini’s interiors. Having known her for nearly 30 years, I’ve followed her work through all its incarnations. An autodidact, Muriel approaches decorating with absolute freedom, turning the rules upside down. She is gutsy and fearless—mixing improbable colors, combining antithetical styles, reinventing the narrative every time. Yet the alchemy always works to perfection.Sutton Place isn’t for everyone; to some it can feel empty and isolated. But Muriel got the glory of being right on the river, of the elegance of the building (a 1920s Rosario Candela with Cross & Cross), and of the sense that time has stood still. It’s an oasis of peace in the middle of hectic Manhattan.A doorway at one end of the living room opens to the dining room. ART: Battistello Caracciolo. Alexander Mihaylovich. Julie Becker / Greene Naftali, New York . © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Peter Schuyff. Jonathan Lasker. Thomas Sydney Moran. Henri Matisse. © Man Ray 2015 Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris 2026. Landau Myra. © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VEGAP, Madrid. Peter Dreher. Susan Hiller.A corner of the library features a Madeleine Castaing sofa, upholstered in a Claremont fabric with Houlès trim and a Gemstone table by Hella Jongerius. A Clochettes pendant by Louis Süe and André Mare glows above, and a custom Chinese lantern floor lamp by Hervé van der Straeten stands behind a side table by Martin Szekely; custom rug by Pepe López. ART: © Philip Taaffe / Luhring Augustine, New York. Paul Sharits. Ross Bleckner.Close-up of a Brandolini-designed Slipper chair covered in a patchwork of antique fabrics and trims. At one end of the library, a curved tufted-back sofa from a Paris flea market, upholstered in a Claremont fabric, and a pair of slipper chairs upholstered in a patchwork of antique embroideries gather around a Smarties coffee table by Mattia Bonetti. ART: © 2026 Estate of Tom Wesselmann / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. © Richard Prince / Gladstone. © 2026 Alex Katz / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.Brandolini, wearing a custom Adam Lippes dress, stands at a desk by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Saridis in the library. Curtains of a block-printed silk by Brandolini hang at the windows along the enfilade. The two-floor apartment previously belonged to John Fairchild, the late style czar and arbiter of New York fashion and society and former publisher of Women’s Wear Daily and founder of its glossy sister, W. The then and now is a study in how one space can be transformed by two drastically different visions. Fairchild’s was an ode to English decorating, all floral chintzes and deep sofas; garden-like, it could have been a London town house. Then came Muriel, who, with her wand, turned it into a mysterious, exotic floating barge.What strikes you first is the quality of the light: liquid and dappled in the morning, turning to atmospheric chiaroscuro at dusk. The presence of the river is strongly felt. Muriel, together with architect Alice Tai, saw that the water needed to be enhanced and took advantage of it, creating an enfilade of rooms that opens an airy perspective all along the riverside. (Muriel also relied on other longtime collaborators: The renovation was carried out by contractors Wojtek Lusinski and Mark Los of New Path Contracting, with painting by the firm’s Lukas Koszegi Andres; all wall upholstery and window treatments are by Pilar and Olivier Lhermite of Couture For Homes. “I’ve worked with this team for decades!” she notes. “Without them, I would not be able to be in AD!”)Dividing the living room in two, a custom ship chandelier by Claire Cormier Fauvel hangs above a pink marble table flanked by a pair of Jules Leleu bridge chairs. One of a pair of circa 1850 armchairs upholstered in antique embroidered fabric, that stands in the living room. In the primary bedroom, a vintage love seat and a custom Slipper Chair are both upholstered in a patchwork of antique fabrics and trims. A painting by Michael Zwack hangs on the custom block-printed silk taffeta wall. Art: Michael ZwackThe paneled library is furnished with a mix of treasured artworks and objects. To the left of the door, The Brandolini-designed Slipper Chair is upholstered in a patchwork of antique fabrics and trims. To the right, a custom Chinese Lantern floor lamp by Hervé van der Straeten stands behind a side table by Martin Szekely next to the Madeleine Castaing sofa, on which sits a vintage Brandolini-designed pillow. ART: © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris. © 2026 The LeWitt Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Paul Sharits. © Philip Taaffe / Luhring Augustine, New York. Ross Bleckner.Hervé van der Straeten Chinoiserie LanternsVis-A-Vis Paris Spring Percale Pillowcases (Set of 2)Clé Checkmate Cement TileVintage Italian Baroque Giltwood MirrorAt Sutton Place, Muriel has come fully into her own. The gut, the imagination, the freedom are all still there, but everything has come together into something peaceful and harmonious. One device unifies the apartment and makes the enfilade seem endless: The unlined block-printed silk curtains are identical from the library to the dining room. In the palest pink, they filter the light beautifully and lend a sense of airiness.Indeed, her use of color here is particular. “My choices were based on fabrics I created in India while the apartment was under renovation,” she recalls. The result, in that liquid river light, is a palette of muted hues—peridot greens of varying intensity, the softest pinks, pale citrine, opalescent silver—all “very soothing,” as she puts it, chosen “to put one at ease, to be warm and uniting.”In a corner of the dining room, a 17th-century tondo painting by Giovanni Battista Caracciolo and a 1961 drawing by Jean Cocteau hang above a 1920s console by Axel Einar Hjorth. The 1960s ceramic table lamp wears a custom shade by Blanche Field. Walls covered in a custom block-printed silk taffeta by Brandolini. The first room you enter is the library, where the pale sandy oak paneling was kept, forming the perfect backdrop for precious objects and furniture. One is immediately struck by how diverse and rarefied Muriel’s taste is, both mysterious and luxurious. A pair of original Madeleine Castaing tufted sofas, in a peridot silk damask by Claremont, are flanked by two Süe et Mare pendants, hung at eye level for a magical glow. There are Hella Jongerius tables and an exquisite bespoke floor lamp made by Hervé van der Straeten from antique Coromandel panels, gilt bronze, and semiprecious stones—a testament to the Vietnamese heritage that is never far from her decorating. A candy-pink 1960s Venetian mirror hangs between the windows, near a Robsjohn-Gibbings desk. On the opposite wall, a curved tufted sofa is paired with a Mattia Bonetti iridescent Smarties table and two slipper chairs upholstered in a patchwork of antique embroideries (one of her signatures).A custom sofa by Decour Décoration in a de Le Cuona fabric with Lesage borders, a Jules Leleu bridge chair featuring original tapestry, and a circa 1850 Brighton armchair in antique embroidered fabric gather around a crescent lacquer coffee table by Madeleine Castaing to form a seating area in the living room. Walls covered in a Brandolini-designed silk; custom rug by Fedora Design. ART: Peter Dreher. Susan Hiller. John Sergeant. © 2026 George Condo / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Giovanni Battista Pittoni.Jonathan Lasker. Peter Schuyff. © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. © Juan Uslé / Galerie Lelong.A view from the kitchen into the dining room. Jamaica stools by Pepe Cortés pull up to the counter. Another view of the dining room. ART: John SergeantJamaica Swivel Stool by Pepe Cortés for BD BarcelonaMuriel Brandolini x Holland & Sherry Silk Matka #68Butterfly Ceramic Platter by Birger Kaipiainen for Arabia of FinlandMuriel Brandolini x Holland & Sherry Silk Matka #5Stainless-steel cabinetry by Chemetal defines the kitchen. Cabinet curtains of Beige #30 cotton by Muriel Brandolini for Holland & Sherry; BlueStar range; Wolf hood; custom workstation sink by The Galley. The walls are clad in Clé subway tile, and a runner from Rugs USA sits atop the floor of Clé cement tile. Haremlique Seferî Pearl Round PlacematCarolina Irving & Daughters x Colonial Williamsburg Wren Dessert PlateLaguna~B Goto Large Murano GlassVis-À-Vis Paris Ikat Placemat & NapkinNext along the enfilade is the living room. The walls are upholstered in a block-printed silk in shades of sage, designed by Muriel in a pattern reminiscent of Art Nouveau, which gives the room unity and a sense of vastness. A massive pink marble table—above it, a crystal-beaded chandelier in the shape of a galleon by Claire Cormier-Fauvel—divides the space into two mirrored seating areas. At each end identical sofas by Decour Décoration in Paris, after a Jean-Michel Frank design, covered in silvered velvet face Chinese-style armchairs wearing amethyst silk embellished with embroidery, across black-lacquer semicircular coffee tables by Madeleine Castaing. With these two intimate anchors in place, Muriel gave her imagination free rein: a precious Rateau table here, painted neoclassical chairs there, Italian ceramic lamps, rare orchids in Art Nouveau planters—all contributing to the atmosphere of exoticism and refinement.Muriel and her husband, Nuno, began collecting art in the early ’90s. They befriended George Condo, Donald Baechler, and Philip Taaffe, acquiring several of their works alongside some 16th-century Italian paintings. Then came Vincent Risterucci, the erudite art adviser and a dear friend of the couple, who opened their eyes to a more conceptual, intellectual aesthetic—one that required effort and wasn’t as instantaneous. Muriel took to it at once, and with great passion. “I admired how open-minded she was, brave and passionate—never questioning investment or resale value,” Risterucci says. “It was really fascinating to work with her.” Theirs is an ongoing dialogue.In the primary bath, a custom block-printed silk taffeta by Brandolini covers the walls, while Bianco Dolomiti and Bardiglio Gray marble octagon and dot mosaic tile extends across the floor and wainscoting. Kohler Tea-for-Two cast-iron soaking tub; custom curved Silestone Quartz sink vanity; 1970s mirror in the shape of a figure by Pierre Cardin for Acerbis. Artworks hung salon-style in the guest room. ART: © Archivio Salvo / Archivio Salvo and Gladstone. Adrianna Eu. © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. © Jean-Louis Boucher / Les Douches la Galerie, Paris. Pietro Della Vecchia. Nobuyoshi Araki / Anton Kern Gallery, NY.A 17th-century Portuguese bed anchors a guest room. Walls upholstered in a Claremont velvet 1960s Mathieu Matégot rug acquired from Galerie Jacques Lacoste. In hanging art, Muriel is something of an iconoclast. “It’s not thought-out—it’s simply how one piece leads to another,” she says. “It can be an important painting next to a much less important one. It’s all about how it looks, and my own spontaneity in the moment of hanging.” Sol LeWitt, Paul Klee, Maurice Denis, Brion Gysin, Max Ernst—to name only a few—hang together in perfect conversation.At the end of the progression of spaces sits the dining room, an intimate jewel box with walls covered in block-printed silk in shades of cognac and green, an early-20th-century Swedish Grace console, and a vast beaded chandelier of trailing vines and flowers nearly the size of the table. Entertaining is a large part of Muriel’s life. “It’s about taking care of friends and giving them the best of you—from the food to the ambience,” she says. “I love mixing my guests, as each brings interesting conversation to the table. And I love it when they leave very, very late, because they’re having so much fun.”In the primary bedroom, the custom bed is upholstered in Silk Matka #58 by Brandolini for Holland & Sherry and is dressed in custom embroidered bed linens by Vis-A-Vis Paris. The Gio Ponti armchair wears a Dedar velvet. ART: Arturo Herrera / Corbett vs. Dempsey. © Philip Taaffe / Luhring Augustine, New York.An Opaline ceiling light by Richard Fauguet from Galerie Art: Concept hangs in the staircase, where custom shelving holds DVDs. The mixed-media artwork is by Donald Baechler. ART: © 2026 Donald Baechler / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkA staircase leads down to the bedrooms, past a landing where custom shelves hold Nuno’s vast collection of rare films on DVD. The guest bedroom, with two large windows on the river, has walls upholstered in mossy green velvet, an extraordinary 17th-century Portuguese bed, and an unexpected rug by the midcentury designer Mathieu Matégot—and yet everything is in harmony.The primary bedroom is a haven of serenity. The palette is feminine without being sugary: pale gray silk block-printed with tiny scattered flowers, a mauve Gio Ponti armchair beside the bed, pink opaline lamps, a pair of floral Art Nouveau mirrors, a pink cashmere throw, beautifully embroidered sheets by Vis-A-Vis Paris. It’s a room you would never want to leave—and, standing in it, I didn’t.Muriel has indeed come full circle. After all her years of experimenting, learning, and fearless exploration, everything has fallen into place.This story appears in the October issue. Never miss a story when you subscribe to AD.Not a subscriber? 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