Behind the Blue Door: A Maximalist Mantra

The décor of entrepreneur John Demsey’s six-story townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan is an explosion of color, pattern, and art.

The muted, understated exterior of the townhouse on a tree-lined New York City street belies the sumptuous feast for the eyes that hits you upon opening its blue front door. Every room of its five main floors has its own saturated colour scheme, filled with a David Hicks-inspired geometrically patterned rug, vibrant fabrics, new and vintage furniture, art and photographs covering walls, and sculptures and knick-knacks topping tables and filling shelves. For the owner, John Demsey, the starting point was a pair of multicoloured Louboutin boots, which inspired the palette of the living room rug. Working with interior decorator and friend Bibi Monnahan, he carefully chose and positioned each piece of furniture, work of art, and decorative object, and mounted his enormous photography collection. The result is a tour de force of maximalist design, now captured for all to see in Douglas Friedman’s luminous photographs and with journalist Alina Cho as our eyewitness guide.

About the Authors:

John Demsey is a transformational business builder, prestige beauty pioneer and philanthropist who has led multiple luxury brands to unparalleled global success. Over his 30-year career at Estée Lauder Companies, he was instrumental in growing the company into a multi-billion-dollar beauty icon across established and emerging markets. A career-long innovator and creative mentor, Demsey is known for forging some of the most successful artist and designer collaborations in the industry and supporting several philanthropic organizations helping animals, addressing food access challenges, promoting performing arts and fundraising for HIV and AIDS research, treatment and prevention.

Alina Cho is an Emmy Award-winning contributor to CBS Sunday Morning, producer of the Netflix documentary on Martha Stewart, and host of 'The Atelier with Alina Cho', an interview series with fashion designers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For nearly a decade, Cho was a national correspondent for CNN, where she covered presidential politics and travelled twice to North Korea. She lives in New York.

Douglas Friedman is a renowned fashion, portrait, and interiors photographer whose work has appeared in Architectural Digest, ELLE Decor, Veranda, Vogue, T Magazine, Vanity Fair, and countless other publications in the United States and abroad. He has had several exhibitions of his fine art photography. He lives in Marfa, Texas.