London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 04, 2023

At Home, Apparatus’s Gabriel Hendifar Hones His Audacious Design Vision

At Home, Apparatus’s Gabriel Hendifar Hones His Audacious Design Vision

“What I’ve allowed myself to do in this apartment is to let my brain go where it wants to go.”

High above a cobblestone block in lower Manhattan looms a Herzog & de Meuron residential building with a twisting cast-aluminum gate and a facade of mirror-polished stainless steel, glass, and pre-patinated copper in brilliant green. The grandeur (and shine) of this material palette gives the 11-story 40 Bond the feel of an urban fairy-tale palace.

That would make Gabriel Hendifar, artistic director and CEO of the New York–based lighting and furniture design studio Apparatus, a rather buff, burly (and bald!) Rapunzel, peering down from a floor-to-ceiling window in his apartment. Hendifar, who has claimed an elevated perch not only in this building but also, increasingly, on the international design scene, moved into the apartment in 2019 with his former partner in life and work, Jeremy Anderson. After the couple split at the end of 2020, Anderson left both their shared home and Apparatus to focus on his burgeoning ceramics practice; since then, Hendifar has fully taken the reins at the company. He also put the finishing touches on the interiors of his apartment, turning it into both a design laboratory and a place to unwind; relaxation is as central to his creative practice as ideation.

In the decade since cofounding Apparatus in 2012, Hendifar has spent quite a bit of time ideating—and building his brand. From the start, and owing largely to his creative direction, the studio was one to watch, with lighting and furniture designs that oozed sex appeal and boasted fine craftsmanship. No surface went unconsidered. No detail was overlooked.


After the split with Anderson, Hendifar retreated inward. His home played a central role in this period of contemplation and experimentation. “After 10 wonderful years of living with someone, you start to understand what it means to be constantly negotiating space,” he says. “What I’ve allowed myself to do in this apartment is to let my brain go where it wants to go, to guard my time alone, and indulge in whatever feels inspiring.”

Hendifar’s apartment was designed by the British minimalist architect John Pawson and has a tripartite configuration, divided by two floating panels. When you walk in, your eyes meet a wall of windows that extends the length of the space, with views into a series of New York apartments straight out of Rear Window. Hendifar matched the floor-to-ceiling velvet curtains with the pistachio walls, drawing a line of continuity throughout the apartment. At the far right is the dining area, where a banquette in faux-bois velvet—dead stock discovered at Mood Fabrics in the city’s Garment District—is paired with a burl-and-brass oval table and olive wool sateen chairs of Hendifar’s design. There is a small kitchen, too, but Hendifar prefers takeout to cooking. (The evening I visited he served steak and artichokes ordered from Via Carota, a favorite West Village restaurant.)


At the opposite end is his bedroom, a seductive den with plush bedding and a mirrored wall facing the bed. Tucked behind an almost invisible door is the bathroom, where a vintage marble bust overlooks a deep tub. These two spaces bookend the heart of the home, a living area with a curved sofa and an L-shaped tête-à-tête that lends itself to conversation. Plush leopard-print carpeting reaches up and pulls you wholly into it. (Hendifar admits he spends many hours relaxing on the rug.) He is fond of creating a fully immersive sensory experience: At any given moment there are scents wafting, jazz playing, and candles casting shadows.

Equally important are the finishing touches: a Larry Collins still life picked up in Provincetown, Massachusetts, which makes a contemplative composition of a pair of bread rolls and spilled cream; an antique incense burner used as an ashtray; an inlay-and-marble bowl inspired by a delicate khatam marquetry box inherited from his Persian grandmother. Every object, he explains, is part of the narrative he is consciously creating. “These micro moments,” as he calls them, “help tell the story.”


Hendifar’s comprehensive approach to design is all-consuming. There is not a surface here he hasn’t embellished, from the hand-glazed finish he applied to Pawson’s panels in the living room to the languorous bronzed-mirror cladding on walls in the dining and sleeping areas. His eye never seems to stop, crafting spaces that are quietly cosmopolitan and filled with rich hues and opulent materials.

Hendifar’s personal history is the font from which this creativity flows. His parents, who fled Iran in 1979 and settled in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, were both musical: When he was a child, he loved to watch his father perform on the Persian drums while his mother sang and played the piano. He inherited that sense of showmanship. “My currency is my ability to perform and create,” he believes.

It’s fitting, then, that his first foray into design was as a teenager, when he concocted the most expensive theater set in the history of his high school in Pacific Palisades. The production he dreamed up for Guys and Dolls was so striking, it got him his first interior design client—a classmate’s mother. He was 17.

Now 40, he is just as theatrical. Each Apparatus collection is treated as an all-encompassing production with titles that reference the structure of literature and drama. In 2018, for instance, the Act III collection of lighting and furniture was introduced with a short film, directed by filmmaker and photographer Matthew Placek, in which a boy perches high above a desert landscape. Hendifar’s mother sings a Persian song in the background. “There are always musical and film references that provide the mood,” he says. “These are the mechanics of creating emotion.”

Hendifar’s aesthetic is thoughtful and sumptuous, as influenced by the simple luxury of Pierre Cardin and Halston as it is by the modernist utilitarianism of the Wiener Werkstätte. In many ways, the design of his apartment represents a rediscovery of himself that embraces every version of who he was, who he is, and who he hopes to become. And so it is, too, with the objects he creates for others. “Through Apparatus I’m expressing a need for human connection,” Hendifar says. “The creative act is one of hope, ultimately.”


Get a Closer Look at Gabriel Hendifar’s Apartment


Living room : The downtown New York apartment Gabriel Hendifar designed for himself in an interior created by the architect John Pawson. The sofas, ottoman, tables, pendants, and throw are by Apparatus; the rug by Stark; the curtains are in a Decortex velvet; and the antique Japanese embroidered artwork is from Sutter Antiques.

Dining room : In the dining room, a bronze-mirrored wall reflects a panel sheathed in spice-colored velvet. The table, chairs, banquette, and pendants are by Apparatus, and the Chinese bronze vase is from Naga Antiques.

View from dining room : Panels carve out distinct “rooms” in the loftlike apartment. On the table, the brass candlesticks are from the 1970s, and the Chiavari chair (right) is from the 1920s. The painting is by Larry Collins.

Bedroom : A custom brass bed is topped with a bedcover and bolster in Zak+Fox fabrics. The pendant and nightstand are by Apparatus.

Bedroom : A custom brass bed is topped with a bedcover and bolster in Zak+Fox fabrics. The pendant and nightstand are by Apparatus. The artwork on the pedestal is by Peter Brooke-Ball, and the piece over the bed is by Liam Pitts.




Newsletter

Related Articles

London Daily
Close
0:00
0:00
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
You Are So Beautiful
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Postmodern Jukebox European Tour Version
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
An old French tune (by Georges Brassens) Pomplamoose ft. John Schroeder
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Sattahip Motor Show 20
Greek PM offers tourists affected by wildfires a free stay in Rhodes next year.
SONATE AU CLAIR DE LUNE - Moonlight sonata
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
A kiss to build a dream on
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
Mean Blues
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
La Chansonnette
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Pattaya Addicts
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Franz Liszt - Liebestraum - Love Dream
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Dream a little dream of me
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Unchained Melody sung like you've NEVER heard!
How “peacekeepers” at the UN spend our American tax dollars.
Dave Brubeck - Take Five
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Édith Piaf - Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (Sofie)
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Rondo Alla Turca
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
Kiss of fire
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Tom Jones - I´ll Never Fall In Love Again 1967, 1989, 2001
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
Israel Cachao López - Guajira Clásica
San Francisco car crash
Edward Maya - Stereo Love (feat. Vika Jigulina) (Extended Mix)
This camera man is a genius
Strauss - Radetzky March - Karajan
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
La vie en rose
Next level gaming
The Temptations - My Girl (Smokey Robinson Tribute) 2006 Kennedy Cent
BMW driver…
Orlando Cachaito Lopez Redencion
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Edith Piaf - NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
RADETZKY MARCH-2008-Wien, New Year Concert
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
Only you (And you alone)
The future of sport
Strangers In The Night
New York City Agrees to Compensate Demonstrators Subjected to Excessive Force and Unlawful Arrests Amidst Widespread Protests
Charles Aznavour - La Boheme
Paul Simon: "I can't perform anymore due to hearing loss"
Summer time
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
Sting and Stevie Wonder - Fragile (from Sting's 60th birthday concert)
The future of sports
Aux Champs Elysees
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Stand By Me - Ben E. King (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
La Mer (Beyond the Sea) – Avalon Jazz Band
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
She
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Nathalie Song by Enzo Petrachi Stjepan Hauser Cello
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
Shape of My Heart - Sting (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
Swedish Embassy in Baghdad Engulfed in Flames Amidst a Firestorm of Protests
Radiohead - Creep
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Quizás,Quizás,Quizás - Andrea Bocelli - Jennifer Lopez
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps - Multi-Couples
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Pentatonix Havana
House of Commons rejects nine significant amendments from the Unelected, Privilaged House of Lord - Overturn Crucial Migration Bill Amendments in a Bid to Curb Unauthorized Maritime Immigration
Paula Cole - Autumn Leaves
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Oscar Benton Bensonhurst Blues
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
OH NANANA vs ABUSADAMENTE
Muslim Tycoon Asif Aziz Receives Approval for the Transformation of the iconic London Trocadero Landmark into Mosque
Nina Simone - ”I Put A Spell On You”. Vezi aici cum cântă Jeremy Ragsd
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
NIGHTWISH - The Phantom Of The Opera
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
Motorshow 2016 Tanjay Negros Oriental
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Monica Bellucci - Ti Amo
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean Milena The Voice France 2018
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Hospitalized Due to Dehydration Amidst Summer Heatwave
Michael Buble (Help Me Make It Through The Night) feat Loren Allred
Memories Canon In D - Maroon 5 (Boyce Avenue piano acoustic cover)
Matteo Simoni - Marina
Maroon 5 - One More Night
Maroon 5 - Memories
Mark Knopfler - Brothers In Arms (Berlin 2007 Live)
Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - Romeo And Juliet (Real Live Roadrunni
Marina, Marina - The LUCKY DUCKIES intimist live concert at Guimarães
Major Lazer & DJ Snake – Lean On Mauranne The Voice France 2016
Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet - Joslin - Henri Mancini, Nino Rota
LoLa & Hauser - Love Story
Linkin Park Jay-Z - Numb Encore (Live 8 2005)
Hallelujah Mennel Ibtissem, The Voice France Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen - Dance Me to the End of Love
Leonard Cohen & Natasha Rostova - Dance me to the end of love
La casa de papel - Bella Ciao
La Camisa Negra
L'italiano (Toto Cutugno) - The Gypsy Queens
Juanes - La Camisa Negra
Jonathan and Charlotte - Britain's Got Talent 2012 Live Semi Final - U
John Powell - Assassin's Tango
Joe Cocker - You Can Leave Your Hat On (LIVE in Dortmund)
Joe Cocker - Unchain My Heart 2002 Live
Joe Cocker - A Whiter Shade Of Pale
Jay Z & Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind LIVE
Jason Mraz - Im Yours (live)
Jarrod Radnich - Bohemian Rhapsody - Virtuosic Piano Solo
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
James Blunt - You're Beautiful & Bonfire Heart (Live at The Nobel Peac)
If You Go Away - Helen Merrill & Stan Getz (Tribute to Virna Lisi)
I'LL BE MISSING YOU
I Say a Little Prayer
Hotel California ( Eagles ) 1994 Live
Historia de un amor - Luz Casal. Vezi interpretarea Biancăi Sumanariu
Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover) on Spot
Heart - Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin - Kennedy Center Honors
HAVANA by Camila Cabello Zumba Pre Cooldown TML Crew Kramer Pastra
HAUSER and Señorita - I Will Always Love You
HAUSER - Waka Waka
HAUSER - Sway
HAUSER - Lambada
HAUSER - Historia de un Amor
HAUSER - Despacito
Great Pretender
Georgia May Foote & Giovanni Pernice Samba to 'Volare' - Strictly Come
Gary Moore - Still Got The Blues
GIPSY KINGS VOLARE Penelope Cruz
Fugees - Killing Me Softly With His Song
French Latino - Historia de un Amor
For A Few Dollars More The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Live)
Flashdance • What a Feeling • Irene Cara
Filip Rudan - “Someone You Loved” Audicija 4 The Voice Hrvatska Sez
Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
Enya - Only Time
Enrique Iglesias - Bailando (English Version) ft. Sean Paul
Enrique Iglesias - Bailamos
Elena Yerevan Historia de un amor
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (Official Music Video)
Ed Sheeran - Perfect Symphony [with Andrea Bocelli]
Ed Sheeran - Perfect (Official Music Video)
Easy On Me - Adele (Boyce Avenue 90’s style piano acoustic cover) on S
ERA - Ameno
ELENA YEREVAN- Cancion Del Mariachi-IN STUDIO-2017 DPR
Dust In The Wind - Kansas (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Despacito x Shape Of You - Pentatonix
Deep Purple - Child In Time - Live (1970)
David Foster When A Man Loves A WomanIt's A Mans World (SealMichael Bo
Dance me to the end of Love ( Pi-Air Design )
Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (feat. L.V.) [Official Music Video]
Conquest Of Paradise (Vangelis), played on Böhm Emporio organ
Cielito Lindo
Chico & The Gypsies - Bamboleo
Canción Del Mariachi - Antonio Banderas, Los Lobos • Desperado
Camila Cabello - Havana (Audio) ft. Young Thug
Camila Cabello - Havana ( cover by J.Fla )
California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas José Feliciano (Boyce Ave
Buster Benton - Money Is The Name of The Game
Hallelujah Pentatonix
Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy (Official Music Video)
Bob Dylan - Knockin' On Heaven's Door Emilia The Voice Kids France
Besame Mucho - Cesaria Evora
Ben E. King - Stand by Me Sax Cover Alexandra Ilieva Thomann
Bella Ciao
Bella Ciao - INSTRUMENTAL
Beautiful in White x Canon in D (Piano Cover by Riyandi Kusuma)
Bad Romance - Vintage 1920's Gatsby Style Lady Gaga Cover ft. Ariana Savalas & Sarah Reich(1)
BELLA CIAO 2020 - KARAOKE ITALIANO
BAMBOLEO - Gipsy Kings • Antonio Banderas, Katya Virshilas
BAILANDO (original)
Awesome Ukrainian yodeler - SOFIA SHKIDCHENKO (with English subtitles)
Avicii - The Nights
Atom - The Great Gig in the Sky
Aretha Franklin - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Official Ly
Antonio Banderas - Cancion del Mariachi (Desperado)
André Rieu - Zorba's Dance (Sirtaki)
André Rieu - Can't Help Falling In Love
André Rieu & Mirusia - Ave Maria
Andrew Reyes Elton John - Don't Let The Sun Go Down The Voice 2020 (
Andreas Kümmert Whiter Shade Of Pale The Voice of Germany 2013 Showd
And I Love You So
All About That Bass - Postmodern Jukebox European Tour Version
Alan Walker - Faded (Piano Cover)
Ain't No Sunshine -- Bill Withers (cover by Canen 12 y.o.)
African music
Adriana Vidović - “Creep” Audicija 4 The Voice Hrvatska Sezona 3
Adriana Vidović - “Believer” Nokaut 3 The Voice Hrvatska Sezona 3
A Fistful of Dollars - The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Tuva
4 Beautiful Soundtracks Relaxing Piano [10min]
2CELLOS - Whole Lotta Love vs. Beethoven 5th Symphony [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
2CELLOS - Smooth Criminal (Live at Suntory Hall, Tokyo)
2CELLOS - Smells Like Teen Spirit [Live at Sydney Opera House]
2CELLOS - Despacito [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
13 Year Old Girl Playing Il Silenzio (The Silence) - André Rieu
094.All About That Bass
00 - SADNESS PART 1
(Ghost) Riders In the Sky (American Outlaws Live at Nassau Coliseum, 1
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You - Bryan Adams (Boyce Avenue ft. Conn
What a wonderful world
Moon river
×