William Sofield is an eminence grise of the design world, possessing a rich portfolio of published projects for high-flying clients. When he comments on his work. it tends to be in lofty terms. Lofty, but also spot-on. About this bedroom overlooking much of Manhattan he says, “When designing with a very few objects, each one must be perfect. I am an animist at heart: Objects have voices. It is my obligation to keep those voices alive.” The designer evokes 1930s glamour with his choice of lamps and bedside tables by Jean-Michel Frank; the bed and gold-tooled parchment screens are his custom designs. Just visible at left is Eileen Grav's Transat chair. Sofield should have the last word on the sum of these parts: “I created this quiet, ethereal pied-à-terre as a proscenium for a star: the city itself?”