Adam Lippes
photo by William Waldron
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? Normandy
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? My first bedroom was all deep orange Formica built ins! But once I wised up, it became paisley wallpaper, an 18th c. single bed with pineapple finials that I begged my parents for, and an English oil painting of a horse. I was very into Ralph Lauren, if you cannot tell.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? A painting by Kenneth Noland. When I was 27 I renovated my first apartment in Manhattan. My parents wanted to buy me a house warming gift but little did they know I had my eye on one of Kenneth’s long, narrow pictures. I went to Christies and bid in person. Thankfully I was the only bid!
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer, who would it be? Renzo Mongiardino.
No room is complete without a dimmer.
People think of me as an extrovert, but I am really a frustrated recluse.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Any filler
An hors d’oeuvre platter: I don’t like platters of anything, so I guess the platter!
A bar cabinet: When it comes to a bar cabinet, the more the merrier! I look at it as the kitchen of the living room.
A song for:
Dinner at home: Nina Simone
Working at your desk: Tchaikovsky
Going for a run: Either top 40 or old school disco
Biggest Vice? Furniture auctions
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy?
This 18th C cabinet!
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? No, I don’t think so. My interior sensibility is a bit English grandmother but my uniform is jeans and a white t-shirt.
Who is your star crush? Vicky McClure from The Line of Duty.
What is the one thing you would never decorate your home with, but don’t detest when you see others do it? Mid century Swedish furniture.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be?
David Hicks “My Kind of Garden”
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for?
Ease, refinement and timelessness.
photo by William Waldron
A Few Favorites
Movie: Dangerous Liaisons
Book: Giovanni’s Room
Scent: Tam doa
The fabric you always come back to: Double face cashmere
Dream project: No budget no guidance
Meal: Stone crabs
Drink: Single malt scotch neat
Hotel: Ballyfin
Travel Destination: St. Barths in the summer
Artist: Balthus
A cause near and dear to me: The Sandra Lippes Fund for Gynecological Cancers
Thing to collect obsessively: Anything that makes you smile
Era in the history of design: Belle Epoque
Museum: Musee de la Chasse
Paint Color that always looks great: Farrow and Ball Setting Plaster
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Carlos Mota
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Dogs
