ewYorkCity-
baseddesigner
DougMeyer
isnotinto
monochromatic
interiors.‘I’ve
beeninsome
beautifulrooms
thatarebeige
andgreyand
monotone,but
theydon’tmake
mehappy.Good
sually,’hesays.
Dougprefersthingsthatare‘odd’,andsees
hisowndesignschemesas‘moreconceptual,
likeapieceofart’.Hisformerapartmentin
Manhattanwasaperfectcaseinpoint.There,
hecoveredthewallsinalmost 3000 sheetsof
paper: there were vertical stripes of 13 different
colours in the living room, and rectangles with
more than 500 distinct motifs in the bedroom.
Doug’s new home, which he shares with his
husband Meade Ali, is equally fantastical, but it
required a fair amount of work to get it that way.
Located in a nondescript brick hi-rise in Chelsea,
the interior was previously unprepossessing
and littered with the remains of its previous
inhabitants, a young family of hoarders. ‘It
was crazy,’ says Doug. ‘Literally, there were
paths where you could walk and the rest was
just stuff – boxes and kids’ toys and clothes.’
Still, he and Meade loved the apartment’s
location, and the layout worked perfectly for
them, especially the fact that the living area was
large enough to be split in two. One part is now
home to a sitting area; the other to a guestroom-
cum-library. ‘We wanted to be able to put people
up, but we didn’t want them to stay that long,’
says Doug. ‘It’s comfortable for just one or two
nights.’ He compares the space in question,
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Doug stands in the
entrance hall of his
home, where a blue
cameo hangs against
back-painted glass wall
panels decorated with
motifs inspired by micro-
organisms; in the library,
a custom bookshelf-
cabinet clad in mirrored
Plexiglas is stacked with
an assortment of Doug’s
artworks and objets,
including a pink papier
mâché head that dates
back to the 1960s and
is from Andy Warhol’s
personal collection.