EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

ANCHORED BY A CONTOURED STAIRCASE, DESIGN AND ART BLEND IN NIKI SAMUEL’S HOME.

BY ELAINE RAFFEL

Bim Koehler’s large-scale 2012 painting, from Gebert Contemporary Gallery, combines with an area rug from The Rug Company. A mirror above the custom console reflects the entrance.

Above: A painting by New York artist Jeffrey Terreson hangs alongside Józesf Csató How You Always Help Me, 2020, from Galleri Urbane.; A custom chandelier by NPI is installed above a custom walnut-and-bronze dining table accompanied by de Sede dining chairs. Left: Niki Samuel perched in her sitting area with a custom peacock rug by The Rug Company. Photograph by Elizabeth Lavin. Opposite: Alberto Galvez, Blanco Dahlia, 2021, from Nuart Gallery hangs above 1940s French deco antique credenza.

Crossing the threshold of Niki Samuel’s University Park home, you know an art lover lives here. Straight ahead, a Bim Koehler oil, stunning in its simplicity, verdant in its green-washed palette, greets. “Using only a few colors, he masters the use of color with great complexity,” Samuel says. Immediately to the right, there’s a Jeff Wenzel collage; just beyond, a pair of classical Vatican etchings. But it’s not until you look left that you get the full impact of why Samuel, founder of NPI Design, calls the custom home she created for herself and her husband a very personal “Art Box.”

The hand-contoured, organically shaped circular staircase is an art statement in and of itself. It’s exactly what Samuel intended when she started drawing up plans back in 2012. “It was truly a labor of love. Construction alone was a year-long process,” she says. After the technical challenges were resolved, a steel spine was constructed offsite and craned in through a large-framed window. “At that point, the artistic phase could begin. Like a sculptor carves away the stone to reveal the art, this process was similar. We’d shave off a sixteenth of an inch here, a fourth there, until the perfect amount of gracefulness was achieved.”

It wasn’t until the shaping was complete that the stairs changed from utilitarian to a permanent art installation. At that point, wax plaster was applied. The finishing touch: A custom-shaped bronze handrail. “The staircase is artistically the axis point of symmetry, the melding of art and architecture,” says Samuel. “What I enjoy most about design is architectural problem solving and the opportunity to create.”

A bit of backstory: Samuel, a seasoned interior designer, wanted to design a house from scratch; one where she could control the entire vernacular. “My vision was to merge comfort and inviting living areas with an artistic purpose; a space designed for art and family. I worked the open-space plan and

Above: Jean de Merry’s sconces, a collaboration with Samuels, are installed above La Fragua’s custom fireplace elements.; A Mies van der Rohe MR1 lounge sits alongside a bronze-and-mohair Platner ottoman. Below: Michael Blair’s oil on canvas hangs above the Flexform sectional from Scott + Cooner; Friedemann Büehler’s red oakwood blackened vessel mimics the outdoors with showy branches.

Niki Samuel’s untitled, oil and charcoal on wood, hangs at the landing, with Richard Bettinger’s Central Park photographs at the end of the corridor. In the library a Mies van der Rohe MR40 chair sits beneath Glenn Ness, Lax, 2002, and alongside a Niedermaier polished-steel drum table; Heath West’s linear oil and acrylic from Galleri Urbane adds dimension to the striking rug from The Rug Company.

details around our needs of the desire to live in a space that reminded us of Parisian boutique hotels and the mansion turned museum, Musée Rodin,” she says. Putting Bauhaus principles to work—straight lines, glass, and function—the intention was to create an architectural box with museum-like form.

Samuel collaborated with an A-list team: Provenance Builders, artisan Luis Alvarez, La Fragua Metal Works, and Matthew Murray Design, among others. “It’s every designer’s dream job to have that much freedom,” she says. “The structure itself needed to be relatively simple in form—a shell for artistic features, many of which I designed, such as lighting, art elements, and screens.”

White was the requisite color. Samuels created the perfect custom shade, NPI White by Benjamin Moore. Neutrals are layered in, allowing art and nature to provide color and interest. Light floods the entire space (“a must,” she says). The spacious foyer shows off strong architectural features, including a monolithic block of limestone to help balance the weightiness of the sculptural stairs. A bronze Malcolm Alexander sculpture and angular Gubi chair are the ideal accompaniments.

The dining room features a beguiling mix of art and furnishings. On one wall, Spanish artist Alberto Galvez’s Blanco Dahlia hangs above a 1940s French deco buffet. “I looked for months for the perfect figurative painting before finding this at Nuart Gallery in Santa Fe. The beauty was captivating and graceful,” says Samuel. On the far wall, a commissioned textural piece by New York artist Jeffrey Terreson hangs alongside one of József Csató’s earlier paintings. “I was fortunate enough to be among the first to purchase his work from Galleri Urbane. They were just being unrolled. I simply had to have one.” The custom walnut-and-bronze patina dining table was made locally. “It’s a place where meals are shared and memories are made. We have a large family—seven grandchildren—so I designed a table that could withstand crafts, cooking projects, and other inventive activities.” The chandelier is yet another NPI Design original, a dichotomous mix of cube and curve.

A step down, the living room includes more of Samuel’s custom work. A black marble fireplace brings a strong, masculine quality to the room. A large abstract oil by local artist Michael Blair hangs above Scott + Cooner’s Flexform sectional. “The

painting reminded me of big city graffiti,” she says. Adjacent, the modern kitchen is sleek and functional. In place of traditional seating, Samuels opted for a comfortable sitting area. “My husband and I love having our coffee there in the morning,” she says. Just outside, a small patio is detailed in limestone hardscape, magnolia hedges, and ivy-colored walls. A mid-sized bronze sculpture, one of Samuel’s own creations, stands adjacent to a shallow pool. “I was inspired to add art after visiting the La Colombe d’Or in Saint-Paul de Vence.”

At the top of the stairway, there’s more of Samuel’s personal work. (“I’ve painted on and off for years,” she says.) Her large oil and charcoal on wood brings bold color and texture to an otherwise white corridor. Photographer Richard Bettinger’s Central Park hangs just down the hall. In the sanctuary-like primary bedroom, Swedish artist Leo Reis’ Contemplative Office— which Samuels rescued and restored—hangs above the fireplace. A terrace overlooks the pool.

Just off the primary bath, an intimate dressing area rejoices in a selection of carefully curated treasures: a Provasi desk, an Alexander Lamont lamp, and a vintage Pulegoso sconce. Also on the second floor, in the library, a Glenn Ness oil is another of Samuel’s favorites—not to mention, her first significant art acquisition. And while the room is small, it packs a lot of style, from the Heath West painting and The Rug Company textured carpet to the Niedermaier polished steel drum table and Mies van der Rohe MR40 chair.

“I’m so lucky to be surrounded by works that inspire me,” says Samuel. “Art has a story; one that should be remembered.” She thinks about a farmer she met in Leon, France, who tended two rows of grapes for a top-label winery. “It makes me appreciate the investment of time, the backstory, when having a nice glass of wine. Art is the same. As collectors, we are entrusted with a small piece of the artist. I find it a privilege to live with the works of such incredibly talented people.” P

Joanne Fleming’s expressionist oil, 2012, hangs in an upstairs bedroom. In the dressing area a Provasi desk, Alexander Lamont lamp, Pulegoso sconce, and The Rug Company’s area rug add intimacy.