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"Eleven years ago, when literary \u00FCber-agent Lynn Nesbit was working with Rose Tarlow on the decorator&amp;#039;s game-changing book, The Private House, she netted more than just her standard commission from the deal. She ended up with a pair of talented young designers to help her with her own recently acquired apartment\u2014and a whole new take on what she wanted it to look like.  Nesbit&amp;#039;s previous home was a combination of Gothic Revival, Victorian, Tudor, and Beaux Arts styles, and not a little crowded with objects. Sick of clutter and inspired by Tarlow&amp;#039;s stringently edited interiors, the agent decided she wanted something calm and restrained. &amp;quot;Open&amp;quot; was the new mandate. &amp;quot;I could never have afforded Rose,&amp;quot; Nesbit says, laughing. But her friend did offer to make a recommendation.  Click here to see the gallery for &amp;quot;Decor by the Book.&amp;quot;   Enter Courtney Coleman and Bill Brockschmidt. Coleman had worked for designer David Easton and done some freelance projects for Tarlow. Not long after Nesbit got in touch, Coleman established a design firm with Brockschmidt. Trained as architects, they were the perfect team for the job. The new apartment\u2014in a prewar Park Avenue building down the street from Nesbit&amp;#039;s offices\u2014was in serious need of renovation. &amp;quot;It had been decorated a long time ago by Parish-Hadley, so it still had some charming touches,&amp;quot; Coleman says. But these weren&amp;#039;t part of Nesbit&amp;#039;s vision. &amp;quot;She wanted a clean, loftlike space.&amp;quot;  To that end, Nesbit arranged for Coleman and Brockschmidt to visit the nearby apartment of fashion designer Bill Blass, whose spare and finely curated space had become something of a design-world shrine. &amp;quot;Everybody in our field was influenced by that apartment&amp;#039;s sculptural take on furniture, how you could really see the art,&amp;quot; Coleman says, adding that the taste and aesthetics of Tarlow and Blass were great influences on Nesbit&amp;#039;s project. But there were other considerations as well.  Nesbit kept only a couple of pieces from her former space (including a tufted chair that once belonged to Gypsy Rose Lee), but the designers still had to find room for what Coleman calls &amp;quot;acres of books.&amp;quot; Since Nesbit is renowned for her frequent dinner parties, ample space for entertaining was a must. The solution was to reconfigure the living room to create a library by day and party space by night. Floor-to-ceiling bookcases were installed. Two library tables were designed with extra leaves, so they could be transformed into a single table for 24, an idea inspired by Blass&amp;#039;s pair of large Parsons tables. &amp;quot;A big part of our work was figuring out the logistics of different types of parties,&amp;quot; says Coleman. She and Brockschmidt designed airy brass table lamps that don&amp;#039;t hinder conversation. In the powder room, the shower was transformed into a storage closet, where Nesbit stashes the chic green folding chairs she had commissioned in India while attending the wedding of the son of Knopf editor in chief Sonny Mehta.  Click here to see the gallery for &amp;quot;Decor by the Book.&amp;quot;   Now, when guests arrive at Nesbit&amp;#039;s home, they are ushered into a sitting room where drinks are poured at a bar housed in one of a pair of very Blass-like English museum cabinets. Afterward, when the French doors are opened onto the elaborate library, transformed for the night into a banquet room, there is always, says Nesbit, a great &amp;quot;aha!&amp;quot; moment.  Nights in the library may be dramatic, but lightness and calm are the order of the day. Color consultant Eve Ashcraft developed a stri\u00E9 glaze that was applied to the walls, which were then sanded and waxed to a subtle sheen. The once dark floors were bleached on the advice of Tarlow. &amp;quot;It almost looks like old ivory,&amp;quot; says Coleman.  The master bedroom is the perfect respite after an evening spent entertaining. The walls and headboard are covered in a Clarence House twill in Nesbit&amp;#039;s favorite celadon-green and hung with photographs. The chic dressing table was designed by Coleman and Brockschmidt and made by the same artisan who made the folding chairs.  Nesbit once signed up a young Michael Crichton as a client. He had interviewed a roster of more established agents, but he chose her, saying, &amp;quot;Let&amp;#039;s grow up together.&amp;quot; These days, she expresses an equally warm but slightly different sentiment toward Coleman and Brockschmidt, who, in a sense, have grown up with her. &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;re decent and old fashioned and lovely,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;I feel like they&amp;#039;re my children.&amp;quot;  For their part, the designers love that it&amp;#039;s an ongoing relationship. &amp;quot;We still go over and set up everything for the parties,&amp;quot; Coleman says. &amp;quot;And we have so much fun doing it.&amp;quot;  Click here to see the gallery for &amp;quot;Decor by the Book.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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