D - E

Drake Design Associates    (Photo: Courtesy of Drake Design)

Delson or Sherman Architects

945 Pacific Street, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (718-789-2919)
"Though our work tends to be modern and spare, we don't shy away from experimenting with bold materials and strong color," says Perla Delson. Oriental rugs and upholstered furniture also warm up the brownstones and apartments renovated by this five-year-old Brooklyn partnership. Clients: Bruce Weber

Denning & Fourcade Inc.

111 East 56th Street (212-759-1969)
Technology permitting, Robert Denning would happily return to the nineteenth century. Since he can't, he devotes himself to re-creating -- with international mixes of opulent furniture -- the sumptuous interiors of his favorite era, using damask, silks, and taffetas. Clients: Jean Vanderbilt, Oscar de la Renta, Henry Kissinger

Thierry W. Despont Ltd.

10 Harrison Street (212-334-9444)
Despont is no shrinking violet -- his dream client is the pope -- but for a price, he'll re-create all the custom-made, ballroom-size drama of an Italian palazzo, French château, or Deco ocean liner. A master of spectacle and size, Despont is perfect for would-be barons. Clients: Bill and Melinda Gates, Mickey Drexler, Calvin Klein

Diamond Baratta Design

270 Lafayette Street (212-966-8892)
American traditional decorating is William Diamond and Anthony Baratta's terrain, with every room steeped in color and pattern-on-pattern layers. Not for the pastel at heart, but a bold and unique point of view.

Dineen Nealy Architects

49 West 38th Street, Floor 12A (917-342-0060)
Joan Gould Dineen and Craig Nealy streamline cluttered interiors with elegant storage walls, opening rooms so that public and private areas flow into one another for maximum space and light. "We respond to the bones of the residence and work from there," Dineen says, using some of their favorite materials: ebony, resin, Plexiglas, and stainless steel. Clients: Wayne Maser, Sarah Jane Hoare

T. Keller Donovan Inc.

325 West 38th Street, Suite 1101 (212-760-0537)
Donovan puts a twist on the traditional interior, with an innovative approach to color and arrangements that can make the most mundane space pop. He chooses furniture (European and catalogue) with clean lines and clear shapes, happily juxtaposing proportion, texture, and hue. "My style is like all-American sportswear: traditional with a twist." Clients: Karen and Eric Freeman, Jennifer Bruder

Drake Design Associates

315 East 62nd Street (212-754-3099)
Put it this way: Jamie Drake is good enough for Mike Bloomberg. Fittingly, Drake is known for striking mixes of genres, periods, and cultures, just like the city he and the mayor call home. Current favorites include metal meshes in copper and steel, intricately patterned marble floors, and rugs. Clients: Mayor Bloomberg, Amanda Urban and Ken Auletta, Madonna

Easton-Moss & Company

72 Spring Street, seventh floor (212-334-3820)
A recent partnership of greats. David Anthony Easton brings a stellar reputation, both for sumptuous country homes and for apartments, and a charming sense of humor. Charlotte Moss also designs with a countrified eye, mixing flea-market finds with great antiques. An inveterate traveler, Moss likes to build libraries and help design gardens for select clients. Clients: Patricia Kluge, Carroll Petrie

1100 Architect

435 Hudson Street (212-645-1011)
Juergen Riehm and David Piscuskas have created pockets of modness all over the city. Fond of curvy corners and dramatic lighting effects, they stick to a palette of cool glassy blues and shiny whites, giving their projects a retro-futuristic feel. Clients: Jasper Johns, David Byrne, Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson, Willem Dafoe

EOA/Elmslie Osler Architect

526 West 26th Street, Suite 821 (212-989-0652)
The bright mix of cheap-chic Ikea and blue-chip Knoll in Robin Elmslie Osler's own home is a small taste of the calm, colorful, wide-open spaces she creates for her clients. She designs for low maintenance and high visual impact. Clients: Isabella Rossellini