07/21/2026
Moons ago, I got a call that would define a chapter of my life and career: bringing the Hotel Chelsea to life.
If you know the Chelsea, you know it’s not just a hotel, it’s a piece of New York’s soul. Dylan Thomas wrote here. Leonard Cohen loved here. Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe happened here. Every hallway has a ghost story and a guest list that reads like a history book. Getting to design for that legacy, to translate a century of grit and glamour into a room someone could stay in, was the kind of project you don’t take lightly.
For six years, I lived inside every detail - the finishes, the furniture, the feel of a space that had to honor its past without becoming a museum piece. It was some of the most demanding, most rewarding work I’ve done.
Eventually, the hotel changed hands. New ownership, new direction. Our chapter closed. I won’t pretend that part didn’t sting, but I had the privilege of helping shape a small piece of an icon, and that is the kind of experience that lives with you for a lifetime.
Grateful for the years. Proud of the work. Still completely in love with that hotel.
