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"Sometimes the most successfully decorated rooms are the ones that seem not to be decorated at all, spaces where the 1960s dining table or the tint of the wall paint don&amp;#039;t speak of pricey shopping trips or custom-calibrated mixes. Instead, they quietly tell a story about where the occupants have been and whom they&amp;#039;ve been there with, their narratives unfurling in a kind of three-dimensional pidgin made up of nubby linen and ivory limestone. The Manhattan duplex shared by Ray Booth and John Shea is just that kind of place. When they met on a beach in Ibiza seven years ago, the chemistry was promising but their living situations were a major complication. Booth had just moved from New York to Montgomery, Alabama, where he is a partner in the top-notch design firm McAlpine Booth &amp;amp;amp; Ferrier Interiors. Shea, on the other hand, was bicoastal, jetting between New York and Los Angeles as a marketing executive for MTV Networks. &amp;quot;We thought it was an unlikely long-term anything,&amp;quot; says Shea. &amp;quot;But we just kept figuring out ways to meet.&amp;quot; Two years later a solution was found: Shea was able to develop a more permanent New York presence, and Booth was allowed the flexibility of a foothold in the city. &amp;quot;We decided we were going to buy a place and create a life together,&amp;quot; says the designer. They set out with high hopes. Camped (and cramped) in Shea&amp;#039;s studio apartment in Chelsea, Booth dreamed of a loftlike open plan. Shea, on the other hand, craved outdoor space. Then, fate stepped in. &amp;quot;We were due at the airport for a flight to Ibiza two years almost to the day from when we&amp;#039;d met,&amp;quot; says Shea, when the couple got a call from their real-estate agent about a killer apartment down the block from where they lived, and the men rushed to see the duplex before heading to the airport. &amp;quot;I made an offer and shut off the phone to go through security,&amp;quot; Shea adds. Soon the place was theirs. The following sun-filled days were spent drawing pictures in the Spanish sand. &amp;quot;We talked about each room\u2014what if we took this wall out, what would we do for color,&amp;quot; says Booth. &amp;quot;Our plans were all born back in Ibiza.&amp;quot; Those Mediterranean roots are reflected in the walls of the main level, which are painted the color of the beach on which the imaginary floor plans were first scratched. Khaki linen slipcovers an armchair, an ample sofa is airily cane-backed, and there&amp;#039;s thick sea grass covering the ebonized-oak planks. The ceiling\u2014once blank Sheetrock accented with meager cove moldings\u2014has been ripped out and replaced with coffered sections of rough-sawn cedar hemmed by pale painted-poplar planks. Devised by Booth, the generous open layout of the main living area is pragmatic, but ingeniously subtle\u2014and was achieved by knocking out three walls to create a space that incorporates living, dining, and media areas. The kitchen is part of this sweep, though except for a sculptural faucet craning its streamlined neck above a marble countertop, you&amp;#039;d almost never know it. In the absence of conventional walls, furniture is used to delineate the so-called rooms, and the scale has been kept intimate for a seamless visual flow. The round dining table\u2014a 1960s treasure made in the former Belgian Congo\u2014is slightly lower than most, for example, so it doesn&amp;#039;t have too much distracting presence. The electronics are hidden, with the television obscured behind curtains along a wall of windows and everything else tucked behind limed-oak paneling by the fireplace. If the main floor&amp;#039;s colors, textures, and materials reference the isle of Ibiza, the private quarters on the second floor get their inspiration from a seaside spot a bit closer to home. The blue-gray tones in the master bedroom and adjoining office\u2014the two spaces are connected by pocket doors\u2014recall a summer the couple spent on Fire Island and are meant to mimic the color of a wave as it crests, sunlight glinting behind it. &amp;quot;Ray would point at the water and say, &amp;#039;There! Right there!&amp;#039;&amp;quot; says Shea, who adds (only half-jokingly) that when he squints at the oversize Noguchi lamp hanging in the office, he can almost imagine the moon rising over the water. The crowning detail in the residence of these irrepressible beach bums is the roof terrace. For six months of the year, Booth and Shea spend as much time as possible lounging here\u2014grilling and dining, soaking in the sunsets, and, yes, happily reviewing the aesthetic fruits of their relationship from the comfort of orange-cushioned sofas. &amp;quot;In the past, I&amp;#039;ve looked around at the CDs and books I&amp;#039;ve brought to a space and thought, Okay, this is an expression of me,&amp;quot; explains Shea. &amp;quot;But this is the first place I&amp;#039;ve ever lived where the walls and furniture do that. Everything here builds a narrative.&amp;quot; And best of all, one that has togetherness written all over it. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/interior-designers/tips/a1542/swept-away-a-42761/>