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"The demand for his services is such that Los Angeles\u2013based decorator Michael S. Smith finds himself aloft almost as much as Ryan Bingham, the highflier of Up in the Air played by George Clooney (who is, just coincidentally, reported to be one of Smith&amp;#039;s many heavyweight clients). Due to his increasingly bicoastal business, Smith has maintained a pied-\u00E0-terre in New York for nearly a decade. But by last year his work on the East Coast was becoming so extensive it seemed time to find a real Manhattan home.  The classic six he had maintained on the east side was generous by Manhattan standards, but for a Californian, its dearth of sun and outdoor space was a soul deadener. &amp;quot;To wake up with no natural light is kind of sad. I found myself getting depressed,&amp;quot; he admits.  Fortuitously, Smith heard that an apartment he had long admired from afar was on the market. He first noticed the penthouse duplex atop a venerable 1920s co-op while working in an adjoining building. &amp;quot;I kind of became obsessed with it,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;It was situated in such an interesting way\u2014with really beautiful outdoor spaces.&amp;quot;   Smith, a provenance maven, also was intrigued by thoughts of the apartment&amp;#039;s previous owners, Osborn &amp;quot;Oz&amp;quot; Elliott, a former editor of Newsweek, and his wife, Inger, founder of the fabrics company China Seas. Supposedly, the \u00FCber-urbane pair were the models for Flan and Ouisa Kittredge, the protagonists of their friend John Guare&amp;#039;s play Six Degrees of Separation. The apartment&amp;#039;s ballroomlike living room, giving out onto a spectacular wraparound terrace, had been the scene of many a swell party. &amp;quot;It was the center of a certain intellectual and social world, which I found fascinating,&amp;quot; Smith says.  The remainder of the space had less charm and presented more of a challenge. Originally, the penthouse had been a triplex, but its lowest floor was sold off at some point, and a warren of halls and rooms had been carved out of what remained. Nonetheless, Smith moved in immediately with his boyfriend, James Costos, an HBO executive whose job also requires him to divide his time between coasts.  &amp;quot;I always tell my clients to live in a place first, then feel out what it needs,&amp;quot; says the designer. So Smith just gave his a quick paint job, recut curtains from his previous apartment, and hung matchstick blinds at the windows. Though things will most likely change, the living room and bedroom mantels, bathroom fixtures, kitchen cabinetry, and even the wall treatments and shelving in the master bedroom all remain the way he found them. Of course, he has brought in an eclectic assortment of antiques he already owned, including a 19th-century Russian secretary, a suite of George IV chairs, and an imposing Coromandel screen, which became the focal point of the living room. &amp;quot;I just mixed everything together. I always admired old New York apartments like Leo Lerman&amp;#039;s,&amp;quot; he says, referring to the legendary Cond\u00E9 Nast editor, &amp;quot;with books everywhere and collections of interesting things.&amp;quot;  Smith opted to transform what had been a dining room into the master bedroom, where he installed a spectacular German-silver bed made in Jaipur, India. The luxe Fortuny cotton used for the curtains and 19th-century Dufour wallpaper panels of exotic Incan scenes give the room the air of a gentleman explorer&amp;#039;s lair. Upstairs, what had been the master bedroom was made into a guest room. This has left him without a proper dining room, but not for long. He plans to turn a maid&amp;#039;s room into a gilded-and-trellised Chinese box where he can entertain.  And entertaining is clearly important to him. In fact, Smith&amp;#039;s knack for merging warmth and comfort with elegance was one factor that led Michelle Obama to choose him as the decorator for the private quarters of the White House. &amp;quot;Michael shares my vision for creating a family-friendly feel,&amp;quot; she said when the appointment was announced. Smith feels the assignment is going remarkably smoothly. &amp;quot;It has strangely been like a very normal project, because they&amp;#039;re a very normal family. It&amp;#039;s important that it not be precious,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;But I wanted to bring in the best of American art and craftsmanship. Because if ever there was a place to highlight the best of America, that&amp;#039;s it.&amp;quot;  Considering that he is upending his life in Los Angeles\u2014he recently sold the redbrick Georgian-style villa he spent five years painstakingly rebuilding in Bel Air\u2014it&amp;#039;s a good thing Smith finally has a real home on the East Coast. &amp;quot;With its light and outdoor spaces, this apartment just makes it a pleasure to come to New York,&amp;quot; he says. Flan and Ouisa Kittredge undoubtedly would approve.  Click here to see the gallery for &amp;quot;New Life for a Classic Penthouse.&amp;quot; For more from the White House decorator, see our roundup of the dazzling interiors of Michael S. Smith. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/celebrity-style/a3995/new-life-for-a-classic-penthouse-a-64096/>