to an apartment decorated by the late iconic
designer Angelo Donghia, that Doug visited
in the 1970s after moving to Manhattan from
his native Kentucky. ‘It was just so grand and
cool, and very modern for that moment in
time. It always stuck with me,’ he says. Meade,
meanwhile, insisted on the bedroom being
grey, a design decision that led to Doug jokingly
referring to it as ‘The Prison’ – and sneaking
in a few select touches of pink and blue.
When it came to the apartment’s furniture,
a large majority of it was custom-made. There
is a cabinet Doug designed specially to display
his book, Heroes, which features portraits of
50 artistic figures who died from AIDS. There
is also a jewel-like console with protrusions
sprouting from it. ‘I love things that look like
they’re growing out of something,’ he says.
‘I always find it boring for the surface of a piece
of furniture to be flat.’ His own creations may
be highly decorative, but he also wanted other
elements that were freer and easier. The Warren
McArthur chairs in the sitting area, for instance,
were specifically chosen because they fold up.
‘I love that things are movable,’ Doug says. ‘That
way, they’re not that precious or permanent.’
His enthusiasm about the apartment is
certainly quite infectious. “When you create
something, whatever it is, you just get so excited,’
Doug says. ‘I love looking at this stuff.’ Still,
not everyone shares his fervour – an attitude
that constantly bemuses him. ‘A lot of people
say, “How do you live like this?” But for me,
this is totally normal. This is just how I think!’
O dougmeyerstudio.com
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The grey master
bedroom is accented
by a blue-hued glazed
ceramic wall panel
and Componibili
sidetable by Anna
Castelli Ferrieri for
Kartell (kartell.com).
Atop a plinth stands
a wood, plaster and
black rubber bust of
photographer Robert
Mapplethorpe from
Doug’s Heroes series,
which comprises
portraits of creative
icons lost to AIDS.