Innehållsförteckning för December 2017 från Architectural Digest

“When I see that something works, then I see the beauty,” Laplace says. There are houses built for the image they project outward. And there are those conceived to support the life inside. Argentinian architect Luis Laplace is of the second school. “I believe that form follows function, not beauty for the sake of it,” he explains one bright morning in his Paris studio. “I say I don’t know beauty. When I see that something works, then I see the beauty.” That was the approach Laplace used for the French Alps vacation home he created for art collectors who wanted the family getaway, he explains, to “be playful and used easily by everyone.” Hence the practical and memorably stylish rubber-paneled mudroom, where skis can be propped against the walls without…

It was 1989, and Australian designer Marc Newson was contemplating the oeuvre of German artist Joseph Beuys—particularly the Fluxus star’s work in felt. The coarse, thick, utilitarian textile was simultaneously structured and pliable: Could it make a truly sculptural seat? Newson had just returned to Tokyo from Sydney, where he had completed his futuristic Orgone lounge (several surround antiques dealer Yves Gastou’s pool, above). One day he devised a spin-off, slicing off the back, bending it open, and allowing the chair’s flanks to curl down to the floor. “I wanted it to look like a folded piece of felt,” Newson says of the design, in which a thin, undulating shell of molded fiberglass was sandwiched between two thick layers of the Beuys favorite, handstitched around the edge, and propped up…

Like an impassioned docent, three-year-old Sunny Donnelly, with baby sister Lee in tow, leads the way around her family’s artfilled home in Brooklyn. From the living room, through bedrooms and outdoor spaces, and into one back room she calls the “Haring Room” (in reference to the large Keith Haring painting hanging there), Sunny points out everything of interest. The tour is very thorough, especially when we reach her bedroom, where she shows off her many beloved toys, books, and her own favorite work of art, a frog painting by Chris Martin. “She is very proud of her room and her art,” says Sunny’s mom. Mom is sculptor Julia Chiang, and Dad is artist Brian Donnelly, more famously known as KAWS. A veritable rock star in the art world, Donnelly has…

Stéphanie Busuttil and her husband, Sébastien Janssen, have something of a collecting habit. “We adore attending auctions and hunting for things wherever we travel,” she declares. “Within the decorative arts, we more or less like everything.” That “everything” stretches from silverware and crockery to rugs and furniture. They are equally passionate about fine art. He runs the wittily named Sorry We’re Closed contemporary gallery in the center of Brussels, while she was the longtime companion of the playful and provocative French artist César Baldaccini (better known simply by his first name), who passed away in 1998. César’s creations are almost everywhere you look in the Busuttil-Janssen household. The gooey-looking bronze-based dining table is part of his Expansion series; tiny bronze insects stand at attention in the master bedroom; and plaster…

IN AN AGE-OLD CHINESE STORY, a praying mantis tries to stop a chariot with its arms. “It’s a fable of immoderate courage,” says Korean-French artist Seulgi Lee, who abstracted such dicta into vibrant quilts for her Blanket Project U in 2014. Now, working with Korean artisans who practice the traditional Nubi technique—long lines of stitches, separated by as little as half a centimeter—she has turned three of the designs into limitededition cashmere quilts for Hermès. Look closely and you can make out graphic renditions of that strong-willed mantis (shown), a pipe-smoking tiger, and a horse’s hindquarters. “I like to imagine that these proverbs can influence the dreams of people who use the blanket,” she says; $17,400. hermes.com…

C reatively speaking, artist Tom Sachs has often traveled to the moon and back. As part of his ongoing Space Program, he has revived NASA’s Apollo project, re-creating components from the lunar expeditions. He has simulated flights into Jupiter’s orbit. And he has staged missions to Mars, among other extraterrestrial adventures. These days, with a range of furniture in the works, Sachs finds himself absorbed in a more earthly realm. Encompassing both unique and limited editions, the pieces all riff on his signature bricolage technique, wherein Sachs puts everyday materials to extraordinary use. “Building with the limited resources available—that concept is in everything I do,” reflects Sachs. A side chair, for example, pairs a bent polycarbonate back and seat with a sculptural plywood frame. Circular cutouts and drill holes reduce…

“The idea was to bring warmth into this industrial building.” “Every project is a challenge—as you get into it, you make the best of the space you have.”…

Looking good at 100 is quite an achievement. A stone’s throw from the King’s Road in Chelsea, a Grade II–listed London townhouse (lead drainpipe distinctly dated 1914) is home to a worldly and cultured family of four. Captivated by the breadth of its elegant façade—echoed in the grandeur of the interior spaces—the perspicacious owners enlisted their trusted decorator Jacques Grange, with whom they had completed two previous projects, to collaborate on a sensitive renovation. Untouched for decades, the interior was not in the best of shape; yet ghostly elements of former decorative schemes tantalized the team. A Grade II listing recognizes a property’s historical and architectural significance as being “of special interest.” It’s a warrant of distinction with strings attached: The Historic England council must be consulted on every proposed…

Items pictured but not listed here are not sourceable. Items similar to vintage and antique pieces shown are often available from the dealers listed. (T) means the item is available only to the trade. AD VISITS: ALL AGES PAGES 38–40: Interiors by Charlap Hyman & Herrero; ch-herrero.com. Architecture by David Bers Architecture; davidbers.com. PAGE 38: Clay chair by Maarten Baas from Carpenters Workshop Gallery; carpentersworkshopgallery.com. Vintage Bessarabian rug from Bukowskis; bukowskis.com. On walls, custom-mixed paint by Sherwin-Williams; sherwin-williams.com. PAGE 40: In master bath, Isamu Noguchi Akari floor lamp; shop.noguchi.org. Knottedrope chair by Marcel Wanders from Cappellini; cappellini.it. Shower fittings by Sunrise Specialty; sunrisespecialty.com. Leopard rug by Orley Shabahang; orleyshabahang.com. Encaustic tile flooring from Villa Lagoon Tile; villalagoontile.com. In parlor, Capitello chaise longue by Studio 65 from 1stdibs; 1stdibs.com. Terra-cotta Plant…

In the Bronx, what was long a bare stretch of asphalt has been transformed into a tapestry of color thanks to the Trust for Public Land, which worked closely with students and landscape architects at Studio HIP to design a new playground for a trio of local middle and elementary schools. Whimsical paintings add life underfoot; vibrant equipment and athletic facilities invite games of all kinds; and freshly planted greenery and porous pavers collect runoff storm water—to name some of several environmentally conscious features. Unveiled this past September, the project marks the latest such transformation by the Trust, which has created nearly 200 playgrounds for New York City public schools over the past two decades, all the while launching similar programs nationwide. (Next up are Los Angeles and San Francisco.)…