The Guiding Light
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

Alampshade provided the inspiration for the rich color palette that dominates Jarrod Moses’s West End Avenue apartment. The espresso-colored shade, perched on top of a narrow bronze and marble table lamp, once adorned Midtown’s Copacabana Club, where Mr. Moses’s late grandmother, “Bubbe Doris” Stark, was president a half-century ago. The shade is embroidered with threads of aubergine, mocha, sage, and gold — and those colors are echoed throughout the elegant three-bedroom cooperative that Mr. Moses shares with his wife, Jacque, and their two young children, Skyler, 3, and Mason, 1.
While the lamp is the apartment’s piece de resistance, two other antique possessions also shaped the décor of the classic six. A pair of wood Copacabana wine boxes serve as night tables in the master bedroom — another hand-me-down from Stark, who, according to family legend, was a paramour of director Vincente Minelli and Hollywood super-agent Irving Paul “Swifty” Lazar. Mr. Moses’s great-grandfather left him an aspen pine ladder that leans against a wall in the same room.
Dark wood furnishings, in addition to paisley and damask upholstery and curtains highlight the unit’s pre-war bones: high ceilings, crown moldings, and original herringbone floors. The family, who also owns a home in Sagaponack, purchased the Upper West Side gem about four years ago, and spent more than a year renovating it with the help of an interior architect and designer, Evan Galen. Today, the finely appointed, antique-accented interior recalls a bygone era when men wore white smoking jackets and drank bourbon and branch water. The living room features an oversized chestnut and oak armoire that doubles as a well-stocked bar, as well as dramatic wall sconces.
“We like to feature special pieces for a while, and when we feel like a change, we’ll take that piece to the Hamptons and replace it in the city with something new that we fall in love with at the same time,” Mr. Moses, 37, said.
The living room’s one obvious concession to the 21st century is large plasma television. The screen is an important allowance, given Mr. Moses’s métier. As the chief executive of Alliance, he is one of the founding fathers of “branded marketing.” Over the past decade, Alliance has facilitated $1.5 billion in partnerships between retailers and popular movies and films. For example, Mr. Moses was behind a J. Crew catalog that featured the cast of the television drama “Dawson’s Creek” and the integration of Cover Girl cosmetics into the storyline of the feature film, “Beauty Shop,” starring Queen Latifah.
Mr. Moses, who is also a committed philanthropist, said “Bubbe Doris,” a slight firecracker of a woman, influenced more than just the décor of her grandson’s home. Her tales about the Copacabana and Hollywood stars inspired Mr. Moses to choose and pursue a career in the entertainment industry. “That’s where I got the bug,” he said. “I was enthralled with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and New York.”
Skyler’s whimsical pink and seafoam green bedroom is the sole exception to the rich color scheme.The child’s room looks out on the First Baptist Church — a two-towered Romanesque Revival at the corner of Broadway and 79th Street. “She likes to pretend it’s Cinderella’s castle,” Mr. Moses said.
So tidy are the rooms that every furnishing — from the 1950s Louis Vuitton advertising poster hanging in the foyer, to the knee-high Buddha sculpture in the corner of the living room, to a nature-inspired painting by the one-named artist Joseph — seems to be installed in its rightful place.
“We made a decision when we rebuilt the place to design lots of hidden storage and closets that a traditional pre-war doesn’t really have,” Mr. Moses said. “That helps a lot. Additionally, Jacque and I aren’t clutter people. With Evan’s help, we enjoy decorating with the eye of a minimalist combined with some feng shui,” he said. “So we keep the rooms open, allow natural light to flow throughout, and only permit ourselves to buy things we really love but also can be positioned in places that allow the piece to have its own ‘living space.'”