Discourse on design

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Discourse on design

Robert Gaul and Philip Rafshoon cleverly pair modern and classic design elements in decorating their Midtown loft.

Architectural designer Robert Gaul (left) and Philip Rafshoon, president and general manager of Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse in their 1200-square-foot loft set in the pulse of Midtown.

"The location, the quality of the building, the historic nature of the building [and] the design of the building," are attributes that attracted Gaul and Rafshoon to the Midtown condominium they bought in 2001. "There was one Social Security building in Georgia and this was it," adds Rafshoon. The building dates back to the 1940s.

A chair and panel of sheer stripe from Pollack greet guests in the loft's foyer. "The curtains are a way of creating spaces within the space without blocking in with stationary walls," offers Gaul who used curtains to frame the kitchen and sleeping quarters.

The great room features a coffee table with Murano Venetian glass and Donghia base, and chairs by Philippe Starck for Kartell. The wall-mounted sculptures "are by Curtis Jere, a famous artist from the '60s," explains Gaul. "I found one of these in Atlanta, I thought it was so over the top I just had to buy it. Two weeks later at a flea market in New York I saw another one, I couldn't believe [it]. It cost three times as much, but I had to buy it because a pair is always better than one."

A room is complete when there is a "perfect balance of color, light, space, appropriate furnishings, fresh flowers and happy clients," attests Gaul. For the seating area in their great room Gaul was anchored to a palette of gray, periwinkle and lavender. This palette seems to prevent the few pieces of furniture from being too pronounced or heavy for the bright and airy loft.

"I designed a gallery in Toronto several years back and saw his work [artist Douglas Stone] up there and was blown away," recounts Gaul. He tracked down the artist and mounted the piece he got in the entry to their loft beside a graphic vignette he constructed with books. "It's pencil, crayon and pastel on paper."

Gaul designed an eye-catching vignette in the great room using roughly 186 book titles. "Most of them are read books, most are signed," shares Rafshoon (pictured) who hosted book signings at Outwrite Bookstore for many of the authors in this collection. They have titles autographed by Greg Louganis, Ellen DeGeneres, Jocelyn Elders, E. Lynn Harris, Edmund White, Tammy Faye Messner, Douglas Blackmon and Gregory Maguire.

Gaul employed lightweight sheer curtains from Pollack to create separation between the kitchen, foyer and great room without completely enclosing the kitchen. The pair of hanging globes in the kitchen are from Artemide Lighting.

Gaul designed the dining table. "It's maple and statuary white marble, my cabinet maker in New York made it." It's paired with six La Marie Ghost Chairs by Philippe Starck for Kartell. "Those lights are from the church I grew up with in Ohio," explains Gaul, "I helped to consult with the colors of the church [during renovation]. I was talking [to] my mom and asked about those [church] lights. She said, oh they're going to throw those away; they were the only cool things in the whole church."

The lacquered wood and maple custom cabinetry set near the sleeping quarters offers loads of storage and conceals three workstations. This lean space-saver spans 22-feet and is in the design repertoire of Robert Gaul Architectural Designs.

"I wanted to make it bright and light," describes Gaul of his design approach, "because we were living in a little house in Loring Heights that was shaded by trees and kind of dark. So having the windows is great to have all the light."

For another vignette atop the custom cabinetry, Gaul pairs Holmegaard vases found in a New York flea market, a portrait of a train station in Brighton, England by Craig Bromley, a botanical-styled print and a lithograph found in Prague.

"I like putting the composition of objects together," shares Gaul. In this vignette set on cabinetry he designed are Italian black and white hour glasses, photographs of Poet's Walk in Central Park and bleached shells.

"These I actually bought when I was in India working on a project," notes Gaul pointing to the vibrant bedding, "they're scarves that I turned into pillowcases." The image mounted above the headboard is a close-up of a fish's gill. The lamps are Italian (circa 1920s) and another flea market find.

Bedtime reading is illuminated by a pair of Italian lamps from the 1920s. Nightstands display a few adornments, cool reads, a photo of artist Keith Haring and "portrait of Philip and I at a gay pride parade 12 years ago."

The bathroom in a cozy and chic loft would be incomplete without designer towels and a disco ball. "The great thing about disco balls," says Rafshoon, "people see it as something you use in a disco, but it's great to put in different spaces because it spreads light." And surely it makes bubble baths with a Donna Summer soundtrack more fun.

Living spaces, kitchens and bathrooms are Gaul's favorite spaces to design. Their bathroom is appointed with fragrant candles, warm hues, designer towels and contemporary fixtures by Kohler.

In addition to a view of Midtown skyscrapers "the location gives us the ability to walk to restaurants and to work," offers Rafshoon who is president and general manager of Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse, "yet be just a little bit removed from it. We're up on Peachtree while the work is in the Piedmont corridor. We spend a lot of time in Piedmont Park, we run and bike."

"It's a great central location for having friends over to go out in Midtown," shares Rafshoon whose loft has a bird's-eye view of his condominium's stylish pool and lounge area. "We entertain often, we had neighbors over last weekend. We usually host birthday, New Year's and pool parties," adds Gaul.

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Architectural designer Robert Gaul (left) and Philip Rafshoon, president and general manager of Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse in their 1200-square-foot loft set in the pulse of Midtown.

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