For years, the design world knew Colin King by a very specific, highly curated aesthetic. The creative polyglot and artistic director-at-large for Beni had previously resided in a light-filled Tribeca loft, its limewashed walls acting as a stark, neutral canvas for a spare, restrained mix of furnishings. That space became legendary among design lovers, serving famously as the cover image for King’s hit 2023 monograph, Arranging Things. It was a calling card that established his reputation as a master of reduction, subtlety, and quiet minimalism.
Yet, as King would soon discover, that very success came with a stylistic trap. While the Tribeca loft put him on the map, it also pigeonholed him in the public eye.
"I got placed in a beige box," King reflects, noting that because the apartment also doubled as his professional office, "it never totally felt like home."
When the time finally came to move, King envisioned a dramatic departure from the open-plan loft living that had defined his career up to that point. He craved the intimate, compartmentalized charm of a prewar building—a space defined by a warren of cozy rooms, a working fireplace, coveted outdoor space, and, most importantly, a long-overdue physical separation between his personal life and his demanding professional endeavors. He needed a fresh architectural canvas to express a different, more layered side of his artistic identity.
Now, that vision has materialized on the 11th floor of a 1930 building in Chelsea. Featuring classic casement windows and a generous terrace that looks out across neighboring rooftops into a postcard-perfect sweep of the New York City skyline, it is, in every sense, the most elevated space he has ever called home.
Stepping inside, visitors are immediately met with an interior that feels remarkably rich, historical, and deeply personal. The spare minimalism of his past life has given way to an eclectic convergence of choice antiques, vintage treasures, and a rapidly expanding collection of fine contemporary art. Childhood collections, such as the stones he has gathered since he was a boy, have been carefully packed away. His bed, once artfully tussled for editorial shoots, is now a masterclass in military-tight corners. And, much to the amusement of those familiar with his internet-famous design tropes, there is not a single decorative pear to be found anywhere on the premises.
"Every time people visit, they’ll say, Wow, so different for you," King muses. "लेकिन this side of me was always there."
A Foundation Built on Luxury and Texture
Where his previous apartment was an exercise in stripping everything back to its bare essentials, King’s new Chelsea aerie leans heavily into texture, pattern, and rich layering from the ground up. The transformation truly began with the floors, specifically through a partnership with Beni for their new Chelsea collection. Handwoven by expert Moroccan artisans, these rugs utilize a painstaking, high-density technique that was historically reserved for royal palaces.
"This construction let us try things we never could before," King explains, pointing to the extraordinary density of the weave, which features upwards of a million knots per 8-by-10-foot rug. Because of this intricate foundation, the motifs across the apartment lean toward the elaborate and curvilinear, ranging from framed medallions to sweeping fields of leaves, vines, and blooms. The tactile luxury of the textiles has even changed his domestic habits. "I had never been a shoes-off guy, but now I have to be—they’re too beautiful."
This emphasis on tactile richness extends across every surface. Walls throughout the apartment are painted in warm, inviting tones like Farrow & Ball’s Slipper Satin, wrapped in rich sisal paper from CMO Paris, or cocooned in moody wallpaper by Élitis. Rather than relying on stark white emptiness to create drama, King uses subtle shifts in wall coverings and paint to define the intimate, prewar character of the rooms.
The Guiding Force of Contemporary Art
While the textiles set a luxurious tone, art served as the secondary guiding force in shaping the apartment’s distinct atmosphere. With the assistance of eagle-eyed art adviser Joe Sheftel—whom King was introduced to by television titan Ryan Murphy—the designer spent the past two years thoughtfully amassing a moody, provocative collection of contemporary paintings.
Works by talents such as Nate Antolik, Nicholas Bierk, Dominique Knowles, and Kate Spencer Stewart are thoughtfully positioned throughout the home. In the bedroom, a striking 2025 self-portrait by John Kelly—modeled compositionally after Caravaggio’s dark and dramatic The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist—stands anchored against an antique 19th-century Coromandel screen. Meanwhile, the den, where King retreats to pore over his extensive library, is anchored by a circa 1890 canvas by Henri Fantin-Latour depicting three classical nymphs.
For King, acquiring art is a far more serious and permanent endeavor than collecting furniture. "Someone recently asked me if, given the choice, I would want 10 incredible pieces of furniture or one great piece of art—I said art," he notes. "That to me is more of a lifelong commitment."
A Masterclass in Vintage and Contemporary Juxtaposition
Naturally, the furniture and decorative objects populating the apartment are equally extraordinary, spanning a multitude of eras and styles while unified by leitmotifs of gilding, wood grain, and chinoiserie. In the living room, a vintage Pierre Jeanneret desk rubs shoulders with an ornate Egyptian Revival candelabra. Nearby, Joe D’Urso cocktail tables stand in quiet contrast to an altar-like console table.
Lighting solutions vary dramatically from room to room, shifting effortlessly from Jasper Morrison floor lamps to a glowing Fortuny silk pendant light suspended over the dining room. Antique vessels crafted by historical houses like Christofle, Tiffany Studios, and Josef Hoffmann mingle comfortably with King’s own modern commercial designs for Zara Home and Audo Copenhagen. Every vignette across the apartment functions as an intentional study in contrasts, balancing rough with smooth, antique with modern, and dark tones with luminous light.
Despite the stylistic evolution, King acknowledges that he has not entirely abandoned the sophisticated restraint that built his brand. The soft, neutral envelopes of paint and natural fibers still anchor the rooms. Yet, for an artist and designer who spent years boxed into a single aesthetic category, the Manhattan aerie represents an exciting new frontier.
"As I figure out the next chapter of my career, home will be an experiment," King says. For now, he is simply enjoying the altitude, the privacy, and the perspective. "I have never lived above the third floor. The light up here is incredible."