Designer Carey Maloney of M(Group) grew up in Texas : ‘It is a country. It’s a great place to be from.’ Every now and then he puts on an extra helping of Texan drawl—‘Ah’ m tellin’ ya’—that is a little self-mocking. He is very, very charming and his design work is sophisticated and confident. He laughed a lot in the first part of the interview but as we moved into talking about attitudes towards gay people, it is clear that he has a serious mind, and puts serious amounts of energy into his charity work, which he does together with his life-and-work partner, Hermes Mallea. They have worked with the New York Public Library for many years and have been instrumental in helping to promote and categorize what is the world’s largest collection of gay literature. They also organize the ‘Anti-Prom’ for kids who don’t feel comfortable going to their own school proms, one of those quintessential proofs of New Yorker generosity that help make the city the place that it is.

So things must not be easy right now – are you holding on to your clients? Is the money there?

[Laughs – and replies with plenty of irony] Oh, everybody’s inherited billions – sons of billionaires! Daughters of billionaires! That’s our target market anyway!

So are inherited billions different from people who have earned their billions?

[really laughs] Let’s not talk about money! Um … we’ve been very lucky with really smart clients that have great stuff already, and I’m tellin’ ya, when you’re shoppin’ in their own warehouse space or their other houses, you’re free! The treasures that they come to us with make the difference. I once said to a client: we need black and white photos and she pipes up, ‘Well there’s some photographs in that closet.’ Well the first one I looked at was Brancusi by Steichen. There were 36 photographs of that ilk. It was a treat!

Views of the dining room: An Asian screen from Naga Antiques was a housewarming present from Carey’s mom.

               

Looking into the dining room corner. The ‘440’ chairs are from M Group. A Pre-Columbian ‘Pancho’ from Trockmorton Fine Art stands atop an Art Deco sideboard purchased in Hudson, N.Y.
A tapestry from New Guinea hangs in the right corner of the dining room. Opposite, in the left corner, is an African statue
purchased at auction.

A detailed Persian rug from Symourgh International adds a touch of color to the dining room. A painting by artist Hugo Bastidas from Norha Haime Gallery hangs above the bar in the dining room.(more)