A Change of Scene

The living room. Photo: Kelly Marshall

Rayman Boozer grew up in Indiana and studied interior design at Indiana University. Five days after graduation, he plotted his move to New York City. “New York is the center of the art and design world,” he says, “and I couldn’t get here fast enough.” His dream of finding a glamorous job dissolved into the reality of taking on many different, not all that glamorous jobs, until he decided to cut his losses and opened his own home-furnishings store at 48 West 17th Street (hence the name: Apartment 48). “The store served as a spectacular launching pad into the interior-design world,” Boozer says. His design aesthetic in setting up the retail venue was to treat it like a residential space, with a bedroom, living room, and personal areas to give the furniture a spatial context. Eighteen years later, Apartment 48 has evolved into a thriving interior-design business, with projects ranging from commercial to residential to hospitality. Boozer’s office and home are one and the same, located under the original tin roof of an old factory in a building in Noho.

Above, the Trestle table and French Nailhead chairs from Restoration Hardware create a dining and work space within the open plan of the living room. The Ikat Stripe fabric on the chairs is from Thibault, the multicolored abstract painting is by Barbara Brewton, and the chandelier is vintage.

“I wanted a fresh start, so I primarily purchased new items,” Boozer says of the furnishings in the loft. He custom-designed the wall of bookshelves and cabinetry and painted the surface in Ol’ Blue Eyes from Benjamin Moore. The Carnival rug is by Paul Smith for the Rug Company and the Lucite coffee table is from Lilian August. The pair of Gus Atwood sofas are from ABC Carpet and the throw pillows are from Susi Bellamy. Photo: Kelly Marshall

“I never thought of myself as a loft person because I really love creating distinctive rooms within a home,” Boozer says. “However, after working on several lofts for clients, I began to understand the appeal of loft living. I was able to partition off a small work space that opens up into my living and dining areas. Rather than being restricted to existing walls, I was able to define the layout.” The reclaimed window within one wall from Olde Good Things adds an extra layer of architectural detail and allows natural light to come in from the living room’s south-facing windows. Photo: Kelly Marshall

Quadrille’s Persia-pattern paper covers the office wall with work chairs from Sit Down. Once you’re inside this perfectly organized work space, it feels much larger than it actually is. Photo: Kelly Marshall

The original brick walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Sea Life to highlight the photography collection, which includes Arthur King’s Lyric Moment to the left of Luke Smalley’s larger photograph of three men, Exercise at Home. Above that, there is a colorful sketch of James Dean and River Phoenix by Naruki Kukita. The Tiger rug is from the Rug Company, and the sofa is reupholstered in Kansai Zinnia velvet from Romo. Photo: Kelly Marshall

The kitchen flows into the living/dining with Rossi counter stools from Restoration Hardware. The backsplash is Nemo tile, and the plate with a painted portrait of a man by Kehinde Wiley is from the Brooklyn Museum. Photo: Kelly Marshall

The foyer welcomes you with a wall covered in Elitis Bronze Libero Java pattern, with a photograph by Bruce Weber. Photo: Kelly Marshall

The master bedroom is defined by a headboard upholstered in Bora Bora fabric from Schumacher against the same Sea Life paint from the living/dining room. The bedside table lamps are from Safevieh, and the Kimono curtain fabric is from Fabricut. The bedding is Signoria Firenze from ABC Carpet and Home. Photo: Kelly Marshall

No detail has been overlooked or deemed too trifling. Here, the closet enjoys a touch of color with Prism wallpaper from Lee Jofa. Photo: Kelly Marshall

Boozer in an uncharacteristically quiet moment at home, taking a break between meetings and installations, one of the most recent being his collaboration with members of the Black Artists and Designers Guild in which they created a table for the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS event last week. Photo: Kelly Marshall