diamond tufted, stretches out luxuriously between two
walls; the wall above it is a rich, memorable tableau of
eight framed nudes. This concatenation places the interior
in the 19th and early 20th century tradition of the salon,
where it was usual for pictures to be hung two deep; one
thinks of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas on the rue de
Fleurus. More works adorn the other walls, all of which are
upholstered in a pale cocoa-colored fabric. Passal's colors
are muted but not neutral, rich browns and pale olive. An
august yet lively pair of armchairs, upholstered in leopard
velvet, vie with steel chairs for visual interest about the
round dining table.
This room belongs in the history of smallish yet superlative
apartments marshaled and inhabited by legendary 20th
century decorators such as Billy Baldwin and Van Day
Truex, so authoritative yet personal are its ensembles, so
casually meticulous its selection of objects. It may be said,
also, that Passal's is a visibly masculine domain, that of
the cultivated man steeped in things visual and historic,
although there are, in places, faint quotes of Madeleine
Castaing, herself anything but frilly.
Passal's living room is a rather lighter essay, painted a pale
citrine, animated by an amusing mirrored coffee table from
the 1970s and a crystal lamp; a huge potted palm and
tapestried brass stools; accents of turquoise blue glass
filled with fresh lilacs. The bedroom, too, is bold and vivid,
its walls and beams painted a Pompeian red, its floor
carpeted in zany zebra.
HYLAND
