Inside Graydon Carter’s Downtown NYC Duplex

It doesn’t hurt that Carter also knows how to sketch, which he starts doing to explain how the dining room at the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party was inspired by a fabled restaurant from Hollywood’s Golden Age. “I wanted it to be a little bit like what I imagined the Brown Derby to be like. Banquettes all went around the room in a circle, and then you had tables in the middle, so everybody could see everybody else. That was the most important thing in that room.”

Opinions like these inform every one of Carter’s homes, offices, and parties, and the editor’s attention to even the smallest details emphasizes that what most people take for granted as intangibly well-functioning or attractive can actually be chalked up to a series of discrete choices. Carter maintains that any hardware should have flat-head rather than Phillips-head screws, desks and worktables must be electrified whenever possible, and a room ought to have many sources of light, all of them shoulder height or lower. “One reason why Elaine’s was so successful is that the lighting was so good,” he says, referencing the much lamented bygone Upper East Side publishing watering hole.

Asked if there’s something that makes successful editors equally good designers and collectors, Carter shrugs and shakes his head. But the vast filing system in his office, which comprises 60-or-so black file boxes from an old French law firm—another thing that’s been carried over from his previous homes—suggests that keeping the past close at hand has been helpful in both pursuits.

Family pictures, including a portrait of daughter Izzy by illustrator David Downton (on wall) and photos in tiny Hermès frames, in Graydon’s dressing room.

Art: David Downton

The best editors are unfailingly optimistic, have a nose for what’s worked before, and can squeeze fresh life from what others might prematurely discard. Anyone who dares to practice this faith of fractions has to believe, time after time, that everything will come together at its appointed hour. And when something new isn’t working, editing, like decorating a new home, can also mean having a great inventory to fall back on.

Graydon Carter’s Connecticut storage unit is featured in AD’s May issue. Never miss a story when you subscribe to AD.