Among Beautiful Things

Photo by myself on Riverside Drive, around 76th Street.

Many precious architectural details can be found on the old buildings on the Upper West Side. Here, a beautifully curved double hung window is protected with an elaborate metal grille. Carved brackets support a balcony overhead.

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Today, my coworker Cheryl and I went to survey an apartment for renovation.

Our clients, a lovely middle-aged couple, own a spacious apartment on the Upper East Side at 85th Street. The building fronts Gracie Square, which is a park along the East River with views out to Roosevelt Island.

The clients are avid collectors of traditional art. Framed Impressionist oil paintings and ink drawings were hung on every wall. I've been in some very fancy homes before, but this was fancy. There were bronze statues and marble fireplaces. There were heavy curtains at every window, each trimmed with colorful ribbon and tassels.

The apartment spanned two floors. There were several bedrooms, a media room, Living Room, Library, Dining Room, Powder Room, his and her bathrooms and dressing rooms. The Master Bedroom had a spacious sitting room. There was a maid's room, laundry room and crafts room. A graceful internal stair in the front hall connected the two floors. On paper, the place resembled a spacious two-story home except that it was on the high floors of a Manhattan apartment building.

Cheryl and I worked all afternoon, tip toeing around little tables arranged with bric-a-brac. We carefully measured all the walls and doors and windows. I had visions of little tables toppling over, spilling priceless objects to the floor.

Of course, our day was emergency-free. At the end of several hours, Cheryl and I measured all the rooms and documented the apartment with plenty of photographs.

The job was exhausting. Even though we were surrounded by ornate beauty, all we wanted to do was hurry home, pour a glass of wine and put our feet up.