Studio Sofield
Glamour’s melodic side
Could this be heaven? It’s a question that visitors to this building, just a few steps from Carnegie Hall, might ask not once but a few times during a stroll through its limestone reception hall. Custom rock-crystal urns flaunt gilded palm fronds; antique tapestries (acquired on 1stDibs) fill corner niches. “The room is highly idiosyncratic and could only exist in New York,” says its designer, William Sofield, seen here with his firm’s vice president, Emma O’Neill. “The project juxtaposes the saturated extravagance of New York’s Gilded Age with the restrained modernity of the elegant sliver tower.” Not heaven, then — we’re in 111 West 57th Street, the former Steinway Hall. And for those who need a little grounding amid all this extravagance, Sofield has laid an entry floor of end-grain hemlock, recycled from the building’s original piano loading docks.
“We’re responsible for bringing joy and beauty into people’s lives when they come home and inspiring artisans to craft environments of enduring quality.”
— William Sofield
