One-Day Tour: Philippe Starck in NYC

Designeratti, this one’s for you. All Philippe Starck, all the time. Immerse yourself in this one-day uptown/downtown Starck tour of New York City -- a version that includes 18th-century paintings with moving eyes, floor-to-ceiling fireplaces, chairs fit for giants, and three-foot-high chess pieces. Look for a lot more from Starck in the upcoming decade, as he’s under contract to work exclusively with Los Angeles nightlife mogul Sam Nazarian until 2022.

Stay
Hudson Hotel. In a city notorious for small spaces, this Starck-designed hotel doesn’t deviate from the norm. No need to fret though, because staying here is not about size; it’s about the ambiance and abundance of style. Starck, who partnered with hotelier Ian Schrager of Studio 54 fame to open the Hudson Hotel, will have you feeling like you walked into a trendy late-night spot from the second your heels hit the fluorescent green-lit escalator up to the lobby (loud music, dim lighting, and all). Alongside an expansive reception area complete with a huge hologram-lit ornate chandelier, the hotel has two bars, a restaurant, and an expansive outdoor terrace.

11 a.m.
Head all the way downtown to Wall Street, and stop by Downtown by Starck. With one-bedrooms starting at $1 million-plus, this is the real deal for NYC ballers. Check out signature Starck gimmicks including 30-foot curtains and a massive chandelier that uses video screens to display photos of people as they wander by.

Noon
Stroll (or cab it) up to Soho and check out Moss, where you can marvel at the sometimes puzzling, but nonetheless cutting-edge design pieces that include Starck-designed flyswatters, lamps, and chairs. The Starck-heavy selection is no surprise, given that owner Murray Moss will be curating a design retail concept in the Sam Nazarian-backed, Starck-designed SLS Hotel lobbies, the first of which is due to arrive later in 2008.

1 p.m.
Continue your real estate trek uptown to the Gramercy Starck luxury apartment building. The 800-square-foot white-stoned reception area comes complete with soaring ceilings, oversized lamps, jet-black royal furniture, and perhaps the world’s only Venetian mirror fireplace.

1:30 p.m.
Starck-on and check out the uber-stylish Butterfly Studio Salon, where the washbasins and adjustable white leather chairs are all designed by Starck.

2:00 pm
Start heading uptown to make up your own mind on the Royalton Hotel renovations. The Royalton was initially designed by Stark, but recently underwent a $17.5 million revamp that was subsequently panned by the French design aficionado.

2:30 p.m.
Keep going north and grab some Pan-Asian eats with all the Anna Wintour-wannabees at the Starck-designed Mezzanine Restaurant, located in the mezzanine of the Paramount Hotel.

4 p.m.
Pick up dessert at the Pinkberry in Columbus Circle. The popular frozen yogurt chain features Starck-designed chairs as the anchor to the modern décor.

5:30 p.m.
Hop in a cap and head way uptown to check -out some of Starck’s furniture pieces, including his well-known Louis XVI Ghost chairs, at Soha Style, the latest and greatest modern furniture store in Harlem. Then it’s back south to pick up your own cult-classic-must-have Starck juicer at Alessi on Madison Ave in the UES.

7 p.m.
Make like a true furniture-phile at Cassina on 56th and Lex, where you’ll find Starck’s Privé collection of expansive sofas, armchairs, chaise lounges, big and small islands, and ottomans—all of which can be manipulated to suit a variety of positions via removable cushions and multiple chair backs and arm rests.

8:30 p.m.
Continue your journey for the ultimate Starck-fix at perennial hot spot (and of course, Starck-designed) Asia de Cuba. The popular Asian restaurant has off-shoots in Buenos Aires, London, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and you can nosh on calamari salad, crab croquetas, chickpea dumplings, and Thai beef salad, all of which are served family style.

10:30 p.m.
Head cross-town to the Hudson and shoot some pool at the mammoth pool tables at the Library Bar. Be sure to appropriately marvel the Jean Baptiste Mondino’s designer-hat-wearing-cow photographs.

Midnight
Save on cab fare and walk the few meters to the Hudson Bar. Ro-Sham-Bo to decide among the sea of innovative seating options: Do you fancy a faux-wooden log, an Eames chair, or perhaps a Versace-print regal couch?