Pure Perfection

Author:Abigail Stone

At the Future Perfect’s Casa Perfect, perfectly curated pieces from their extraordinary collection of furniture and home goods finds their ideal backdrop in a West Village brownstone. Photographs by Douglas Friedman

David Alhadeff has always thought outside the box. Since launching The Future Perfect in Williamburg, Brooklyn in 2003, he’s ignored naysayers who suggested that there wouldn’t be a large enough market for the pieces his well-trained eye was drawn to: gorgeous one-of-a-kind and limited edition furniture and home goods that straddled the line between art and furniture. The Future Perfect was immediately distinguished by its thoroughly buoyant vision and curatorial focus, forging strong relationships with designers and creators.

Soon there was second location on Great Jones Street in Manhattan, then another in San Francisco. Part store, part gallery, part showroom, Alhadeff took another leap when he set his sights on Los Angeles. It dawned on him that, with its unique urban plan, Angelenos didn’t shop the way that citizens in other cities did; without a central downtown district in which to focus their energies, shopping didn’t offer the same recreational cast. To addressed that, he launched Casa Perfect, testing the concept at a mid century modern house designed in 1957 by Korean-American architect David Hyunbefore before moving into the Beverly Hills home, formerly owned by Elvis Presley, it now occupies.

Again his instinct proved correct. The residential environment, which anchored the pieces within a framework that underlined their accessibility, was catnip to buyers and Alhadeff began his search for a space that would allow him to bring the experience back to New York.

When a renovated brownstone on St. Luke’s Place in the lower West Village came on the market, Aldeheff pounced. Erected in 1852, the exterior is anchored in New York’s history; the interior, which had undergone a gut renovation in 2001 under the supervision of English architect David Chipperfield that added an arresting and sculptural central interior staircase, a sub-cellar kitchen and a garden by Miranda Brooks, provides the layered yet modern backdrop that is the ideal partner to The Future Perfect’s collection. The appointment-only space opened to the public in March; it’s booked well in advance.

“Here’s a perfect example of why Casa Perfect is a better experience than retail,” says sales director Brian Oranté who guides my tour of the space. “In a store, pieces get lost because there’s all these other things going on. But here, in a residential environment, they stand out and have their moment to shine.” A sparkling light illuminating the best of collectible design.