space of the week

Tour a Creative Consultant’s Apartment, Done in a Very on-Trend Shade of Pink

The apartment is in the Osborne, an 1885 landmarked building designed by James Ware. Photo: Kyle Knodell

Suzanne Donaldson, a.k.a. Mrs. Sizzle, has worn many creative hats over the years. She was the executive photography director at Glamour magazine for 12 years before going out on her own as a creative consultant and branding professional. Two-and-a-half years ago, she started her website, Mrs. Sizzle, addressing her love of fashion, and creative living, with stories about her friends’ pets. Her recent road-trip post announced that she has taken a job at Nike, so her lovely apartment (bathed in pink, the most divisive yet ubiquitous of colors) in the Osborne will now be more of a pied-à-terre.

All photos were styled by Ana Bial.

Photo: Kyle Knodell

My first visit to Mrs. Sizzle captured my heart when I spied a video of Isaac Mizrahi’s dogs filmed by William Abranowicz from a dog’s-eye view. It was totally hilarious. The website is designed with a beautiful pale-pink background, almost the same color as the walls of her one-bedroom apartment, which she shares with her husband and two sibling terriers, shown here with a gallery wall of work by artists including Clayton Pond, Brigitte Lacombe, Marvel Winn, and Kib Bramhall.

Photo: Kyle Knodell

The apartment is in the Osborne, an 1885 landmarked building designed by James Ware. Each apartment has varied, distinctive layouts, and here the original herringbone floors have the rich patina that comes with age. The little balcony with the delicate metal grill leads to a loft office space, accessible from stairs in the bedroom. The chandelier above the dining table is from John Derian.

Photo: Kyle Knodell

“I find pink to be the most relaxing color,” Donaldson says. “My mother loves it and has used it quite a bit. In trying to replicate it, I went through about three bad rounds of colors from bubble gum to vagina and finally settled on one called ‘ballet slipper’!” The highboy belonged to Donaldson’s grandmother.

Photo: Kyle Knodell

Donaldson’s husband, Steve Laird, designed the space and did a full renovation of the kitchen, shown here, tucked into a corner of the living room. The subway tile and mirror backsplash over the stove gives breathing room to the snug space.

Photo: Kyle Knodell

The brickwork wall in the bedroom is a surprising contrast to the pink painted walls in the rest of the apartment. Laird fabricated the headboard out of an antique mirror and an old mantle. The pair of mirrors by the bed was purchased from the former owners. The art above the bed is by Larry Wolhandler.

Photo: Kyle Knodell

The wall opposite the bed features photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe (whom Donaldson used to work for), Todd Eberle, Koto Bolofo, Peter Beard (who used to live in this apartment), Scavullo, Kurt Markus, Elisabeth Sunday, and two Robert Longo gravures on the right.

Photo: Kyle Knodell

The loft office space is where Donaldson attends to Mrs. Sizzle with Edie and Clair, seen napping here on their dog bed from Cloud 7 with a toy from Mr. Dog. The two other wooden dogs were gifts from a friend and are from a Bergdorf Goodman window.

A Creative’s Apartment Done in a Very on-Trend Pink