Manhattan-based interior stylist Colin King‘s Light-Filled Manhattan Loft was featured in the Architectural Digest November issue. That’s precisely the vibe—calm, unstudied, anecdotal, inviting—that has made King such a hit with brands on the order of West Elm, Zara Home, and Anthropologie, not to mention top designers and magazines like AD. The open kitchen’s floating shelves display tableware and glassware from Roman and Williams Guild, whose photographic narrative he has helped conceive through recurring shoots.
The vast living area, meanwhile, features pieces from other favorite New York City sources, including Gallery Dobrinka Salzman, MDFG, Demisch Danant, and Dienst + Dotter Antikviteter. Rocks add a tectonic leitmotif, appearing as sculptural objects on shelves and sills, as well as the base of his homemade cocktail table. Each harks back to a childhood spent collecting stones, which he would smash open in search of geodes. King proceeded to update every detailed bit by bit—plastering the walls and ceiling at the suggestion of Kamp Studios; living with 15 paint colors before settling on a custom shade of beige; and installing bespoke doors, air-conditioner covers, gallery rods, and more.
Only upon moving the furniture from his previous apartment in Brooklyn Heights did he realize it would all look dollhouse scale in his new aerie. To anchor the vast living area, King designed an oversized daybed and sofa, both of which had to be constructed on-site. Among the pieces that followed him to Tribeca, however, was the travertine pedestal table that served as the stage for his pandemic photo series, “Stay Home Still Life.” Confined to his Brooklyn apartment during the lockdown, King composed whatever items he could find (eggshells, scissors, a glass of milk) into poetic tableaux, the success of which made him an overnight Instagram sensation.