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7 Interior Designers Reveal Their Clients’ Strangest Obsessions

“What is a designer to do when his client falls hard for a life-size Yves Klein-blue flocked-velvet gorilla sculpture? Embrace it and give it pride of place in a dazzling white Miami house. Throw in a giant orange sectional for good measure—and don’t tell the husband.” — Brian Murphy, New York

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“A prominent American novelist asked that we insert a 60-foot handgun range in his luxury condo development in an East Coast city not unfamiliar with gun violence. We managed to design it and get it approved, but as construction began, word leaked to the press and the client decided not to proceed.” — Dominic Kozerski, New York

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“Clients purchased a monumental Botero art piece. Their West Village loft offered few walls and even fewer large enough, so the art now serves as pleasing art with architectural purpose, mounted as a screen providing privacy between the master bath and neighboring buildings—a rather tongue in cheek placement, considering the subject is a rear view of a zaftig bathing nude.” — Phillip Thomas, New York

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“A parrot occupied the living room where we were doing an installation. It swore repeatedly, sang opera loudly, mimicked radio commercials and, most disconcertingly, imitated the lady of the house’s voice convincingly. For the cage, we looked to English antique dealers, but in the end, I had one created to fit our client’s oversize bird.” — James Duncan, Key Biscayne, Fla.

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“A client collected French antiques known as ‘gobbi’ statues: dwarfs wearing opera garb. I convinced the client that the most evocative place for them would be on the woodland path to the children’s garden off to the side behind the hedge.” — M. Brian Tichenor, Los Angeles

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“One client came in prepared with floor plans, a checkbook and a fuzzy picture of his most prized possession which he insisted on keeping for the bedroom: a bed accessorized with clamps, straps and harnesses. To deflect from the bed’s gadgets, we added designer sheets, a heavy comforter with three oversize pillows covering most of the headboard and some abstract wall art.” — Vanessa Deleon, New York

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“I had a couple who refused to part with a stuffed teddy bear that needed to be consulted on every design decision. I thought the bear was a toy from one of the grandchildren, but the husband had given it to his wife during their courtship. Luckily, the bear only had opinions on the master bedroom.” — Jean Liu, Dallas

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