Description

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Behind the Blue Door presents the decor of pioneering beauty-industry entrepreneur John Demsey’s six-story townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, an explosion of color, pattern, and art.
 
“A riot of color, pattern, and art, beauty exec John Demsey’s six-story townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side bursts with exuberant life.”—Architectural Digest
 
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 color scheme, filled with a David Hicks-inspired geometrically patterned rug, vibrant fabrics, new and vintage furniture, art and photographs covering walls, and sculptures and knickknacks topping tables and filling shelves.
 
For the owner, John Demsey, the starting point was a pair of multicolored 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 Emmy Award-winning journalist Alina Cho as our eyewitness guide in a slipcased gift book featuring three gatefolds.

About the Author

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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.
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, a conversation series with fashion luminaries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For nearly a decade, Cho was a national correspondent for CNN. 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.

Praise For…

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"An aesthetic that celebrates not just the hunt for the right object but also its display, in conversation with more and more equally unique items. This is not about money; it is not solely about taste. It is about the eye of a beholder. . . . John Demsey’s New York City townhouse home in all its more is more glory has been captured in . . . Behind The Blue Door: A Maximalist Mantra with photographs by Douglas Friedman and text by Alina Cho."

— Tom Teicholz

"During John Demsey’s three decades at the helm of Estée Lauder, his business know-how came second only to his unique radar for rising stars. He had an eye for allure, recruiting everyone from Lady Gaga to Nicki Minaj for MAC campaigns in the early 2010s. After leaving the company last year, Demsey switched gears, turning toward decorating his six-story town house, on the Upper East Side, which is the subject of a new coffee-table book. In a testament to his “maximalist mantra,” every square inch of the home brims in color, pattern, and texture. Photographer Douglas Friedman captures the art and accessories that distinguish each room, and journalist Alina Cho delves into Demsey’s creative process."

— Paulina Prosnitz