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06/04/2026 General, Modern & Contemporary Art, 19th & 20th Century Furniture & Decorative Arts, General Furniture & Decorative Arts
Whitney Robinson is the founder of Pineapple, a private membership platform connecting design lovers, collectors, and travelers to extraordinary homes, experiences, and recommendations around the world. Formerly Editor in Chief of ELLE Decor, he has spent two decades at the intersection of design, fashion, hospitality, and culture. Based between New York, London and Doha, Robinson believes that spending money is an art—and that the most valuable luxury is access to people with great taste.
• Your interiors are admired for their layered and highly personal sensibility. Are there particular objects in the sale that served as anchors or touchstones within your home?
I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by some of the world’s greatest interior designers, tastemakers, architects, and antiques dealers throughout my career, and to work with fabulous brands in Europe and the Middle East. On top of that, Marc is German and Persian, and has his own amazing career in the fashion world. These days we divide our time between Long Island and London, so naturally our interiors have always reflected a global point of view.
People like Kathryn Ireland, David Kaihoi, Tom Scheerer, India Mahdavi, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Robert Kime, and Jamb (and so many more!) have all shaped the way I think about interiors. But I’m always the first to say that I don’t have their talent (though my boarding school teachers still ask me for advice on what to do with their spaces. I tell them I have no idea, but I can recommend a fabulous designer!). My specialty—and often it frustrates decorators (sorry!)—is that I have really good taste, I absolutely love shopping, and I never know when to stop. (Though I’m learning, slowly).
The Central Park South apartment was especially meaningful because I actually grew up in the same building, a few floors above, in the apartment of my grandfather, Irving Mansfield, who was the other half of Jacqueline Susann of Valley of the Dolls fame. Because of that, so many of the objects in the apartment seem to have lives and stories of their own.
I especially love the gold mirror from Newel, the legendary New York antiques emporium run by brilliant Jake Baer and his family. It anchored not only the CPS apartment but also my former Madison Avenue offices, which were designed by David Kaihoi. The Max Brand paintings, which we sourced from a gallery in Berlin, are enormous in scale. Brand is such a cool painter. There’s so much color, detail, and layered family history in the work when you get up close, though from across the room they read almost as abstracts. And at a fraction of the price of a Pollock. A lot of look, as they say. The BDDW puzzle paintings are jewels for anyone who loves and admires Tyler Hays as much as I do. We always hung them as a triptych.
I credit the brilliant Kate Brodsky with introducing me to Maison Jean Roger, the family-run French ceramics house tucked away on the Place des Vosges that still produces every piece by hand. I’ve been obsessed ever since. I think we’ve bought every gilded frog that Kate has ever sold, and this group would make an amazing instant collection. Who doesn’t want a Scalamandré tiger print velvet sofa?! If the answer is not you, we’re probably not friends. The Josef Seiler table is another favorite. I found the dealer in Germany on Instagram. The table expands from seating four to twelve through an ingenious original hand-operated mechanism and has racked up nearly a million views online. The entire family got involved demonstrating it last Passover dinner. It was a huge hit with the guys.
• The pieces in your collection reflect a strong point of view rather than adherence to a single period or style. What draws you to objects that create unexpected juxtapositions?
I used to despise the word eclectic, but that was in the before times, before being a multihyphenate—in your career, your life, your interests—became de rigueur. These days I’ve made peace with it. And honestly, when I look back at my years at ELLE Decor, what I responded to most wasn’t a particular style or period but interiors with a bold and unapologetic point of view. I love a rustic Alpine chalet as much as I love French grandeur, English country houses, modernism, or the exuberance of 1980s decorating. Why should anyone have to choose?
I’m drawn to objects that have a story to tell. Robert Kime used to say—I’m paraphrasing—that objects have a way of coming back to you and that we’re only their stewards for a certain period of time. I’ve always loved that idea. I think it’s one reason it’s relatively easy for me to part with things. There will always be another treasure around the corner. (Though you should absolutely bid up all of these pieces.)
The truth is that I’m usually drawn to the object itself, not necessarily how it will look in a room. That’s probably a terrible thing to admit if you’re an interior designer, but I’m not. I’m a collector, which is why we have so much storage. (Help.)
What fascinates me is the conversation objects have with one another. A Ted Muehling candlestick next to a Christopher Spitzmiller lamp. A Daniel Arsham bronze bust reflected in a 1970s brass-and-acrylic mirror. Butterflies from Deyrolle in Paris resting on a Maison Jansen lacquer coffee table.
The magic rarely comes from matching sets. It comes from the tension between things—from different periods, different countries, and different points of view somehow finding harmony together.
Not to get too woo-woo about it (I am a Scorpio, after all), but I also think objects have soul and energy. Even new things carry the energy of the person who made them. The best objects seem to know where they belong before you do. Sometimes you just have to listen to what they’re trying to tell you.
• Looking back at the years spent living with these works, are there pieces you feel transformed the atmosphere of a room or shaped the way you experienced your home day to day?
Definitely the Hermès desk. It has been with me for many years and is one of those rare pieces that enhances almost any interior. Whether your taste runs minimalist or more traditional, it just works. (It is Hermès, after all. They practically invented chic.) They’re increasingly difficult to find, and this is a particularly handsome example.
When I purchased the Galerie Blanchetti chairs, I learned that Selena Gomez had them on hold as well, which only made me love them more. Fortunately for me, they ended up coming home with us. They’re wonderfully versatile and would look equally chic in a New York apartment, a Paris pied-à-terre, or a mountain house in Aspen.
We entertain a lot, so many of the pieces I’m most sentimental about revolve around the table. The colorful Saint-Louis crystal goblets, the Jean Roger candlesticks, the Christofle ice buckets (we have more!) and glass photophores from KRB, the gold-speckled Elsa Peretti glassware, the Gio Ponti glasses, and the blue-and-white platter. You can never have enough candlelight in my opinion (speaking of, there’s other great lighting like the Atelier AVM mushroom lamp!). All these objects just glow all day long and sparkle at night, is exactly what you want when the table is full and the conversation is flowing.
• Are there any discoveries or interesting stories behind pieces in the June 9 sale that you would like to share?
Every single piece has a story. DM me @whowhatwhit and I’ll be glad to share every morsel.
Auction Tuesday, June 9, 2026 at 10am
Exhibition June 6 - 8
View The Collection of Whitney Robinson & Marc Karimzadeh