have created a living—and livable—museum in an outer
borough, and, not unlike Comte Camondo, have made
sure that 21st century technology and accommodations
were subtly if not invisibly integrated into the consummate
Gesamtkunstwerk which constitutes their house. On
the basement floor is a compendium of conveniences:
exercise room with a small pool, a chef's and staff kitchen
and a staff apartment.
But it is the Gesamtkunstwerk, the connoisseurs'
seriously formal environs, which are most of interest
here. Couturier possesses a remarkably delicate, even
ethereal touch in rendering and recreating a style which
is three centuries old. His rooms are painstakingly
period yet they are not stuffy; his legerdemain would
have charmed Marie Antoinette. He has selected the
freshest, softest wall colors—palest blue or green—
animated by gorgeous floral brocades and rare
Savonnerie carpets, with attenuated arabesques of
magenta. Gilt surfaces are plentiful yet discreet, limited
to slender furniture and mirror frames, sconces and
HYLAND
