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"Good light is often a critical factor when apartment hunting, with sunshine sometimes outweighing square footage, Sub-Zeros, and other amenities. For interior designer Todd Klein, however, it was the illuminated world outside his home in New York&amp;#039;s West Village that sealed the deal. &amp;quot;All I saw was this panorama of the city,&amp;quot; he recalls of the night he first visited the one-bedroom, whose perch on the seventh floor affords unobstructed views up Eighth Avenue. &amp;quot;There was the twinkle of the traffic, the street lamps, the buildings. I walked over to the windows, stood there, and thought, I&amp;#039;ll live here.&amp;quot; Never mind that the parquet floors were dingy and dilapidated and the kitchen and bath were 1950s eyesores. &amp;quot;Other potential buyers fled,&amp;quot; Klein says. But he spotted promise in its modest 700 square feet. Once the papers were signed, he immediately embarked on an ambitious six-month renovation. Out went that kitchen, replaced with rift-sawn wood cabinetry, modern appliances, and Italian quartzite countertops. Sleek aqua glass-tile surfaces transformed the equally forlorn bath.  And though New Yorkers are accustomed to putting up walls both physical and emotional, Klein boldly knocked down the one separating the bedroom and living area. In its place, he installed open floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, uniting the two rooms into one uninterrupted expanse. &amp;quot;Now, when I lie in bed I&amp;#039;m not just staring at a wall. Instead, I get to see some of my favorite things!&amp;quot; the decorator exclaims, referring to the distant Chrysler and Empire State buildings.   Treasured items on a smaller scale are on prominent display throughout the apartment, such as a photography collection that includes heavyweights like Jack Pierson, Thomas Ruff, and Candida H\u00F6fer. To highlight it, Klein painted the floors, walls, and ceiling in glossy tones of bone and parchment, then applied a mottled layer of glaze. &amp;quot;I wanted to create this really bright, light space as a backdrop for art,&amp;quot; Klein says. Other keepsakes (framed butterfly specimens, a Calder mobile, family snapshots) fill the bookcase and a vintage gilded \u00E9tag\u00E8re from the offices of Parish-Hadley, the renowned interior-design firm Klein worked for until it disbanded in 1999.  Recalling his two-year tenure there, he says, &amp;quot;I worked on apartments that were beyond my wildest dreams,&amp;quot; including that of Brooke Astor, whose posh Park Avenue aerie with its famous red-lacquer library was decorated by his mentor Albert Hadley. It proved a formative stint for the Kentucky-born Klein. Hadley, he explains, &amp;quot;opened my mind to the quality of color. Before that, my palette had always been subdued. I came to understand that bright colors countered with neutrals could be really exciting.&amp;quot;  That lesson has continued to inform Klein&amp;#039;s projects, his own home not least of all. &amp;quot;I think of this apartment as a jewel box,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;I wanted tiny bits of gold to tie everything together.&amp;quot; Metallic touches generate a delicate leitmotif -- from the nailhead trim on the antique French fruitwood settee and the glittering legs of the kidney-shaped love seat (his own design) to the hammered-brass cocktail table and iridescent kitchen wallpaper. There&amp;#039;s also a bronze-lacquer pocket door that closes off the sleeping area. Complementing the sparkle are vibrant red accents: a framed collection of antique wax seals from Germany in the \u00E9tag\u00E8re, scarlet storage tins on the bookshelves, and, most dramatically, floor-length curtains in the bedroom.  Of the glamorous studio apartment he&amp;#039;s created, Klein enthuses, &amp;quot;There is something so comfortable about living in one room.&amp;quot; To do so, however, requires considerable self-control. &amp;quot;I really needed to edit my possessions,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;Now most of what I have serves a practical purpose.&amp;quot; A suite of 18th-century Italian country side chairs upholstered in -- what else? -- gold patent leather pull up to Knoll&amp;#039;s sculptural glass PaperClip table for dinner parties; graphic children&amp;#039;s puzzles on decorative display double as entertainment during visits from Klein&amp;#039;s young nephews; and the chimes of an antique Italian mantel clock are relied on to keep him punctual.  Though the designer calls the apartment a &amp;quot;perfect sanctuary,&amp;quot; all too often it sits unoccupied due to a hectic travel schedule that includes visits to clients, summers on Fire Island, and winter ski trips. &amp;quot;My home almost begins to feel like a hotel,&amp;quot; Klein jokes of his peripatetic lifestyle. But when he is in town, he says, &amp;quot;there is nothing better than having dinner in bed and catching up on TV shows.&amp;quot; And when those are over, there&amp;#039;s always the scintillating vista to watch just outside his windows. Click here for the resources. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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