torrey: private spaces: an intimate retrospective of andrew torrey’s american design

atelier dyakova designs new monograph for andrew torrey

The new monograph Torrey: Private Spaces: Great American Design offers an expansive look into the work of architect and designer Andrew Torrey, whose practice has grown from a solo endeavor in New York City into a studio synonymous with polished, modern American interiors. Published as Torrey’s first book, the volume charts a path across residences in Manhattan, Miami, Los Angeles, London, and Cabo San Lucas, capturing how his spaces balance architectural clarity with expressive materiality.

Written by art historian and journalist Gay Gassmann and documented through the lens of photographers including Manolo Yllera, Douglas Friedman, and Tim Lenz, the book spans twenty-three projects that articulate Torrey’s evolving point of view. Each project reveals an interest in crafting environments that feel composed yet personal, often layering custom millwork, contemporary art, and vintage objects within precise geometries.

images courtesy Rizzoli

A Design Language of Opulence and Restraint

Growing up in Kansas before moving to New York at twenty-one, architect Andrew Torrey channeled a sensibility shaped by American optimism and the desire for transformation. The book situates his career within a broader narrative of self-made success, while also attending closely to the details that define his interiors: clean architectural volumes enriched by saturated color, textural contrast, and custom furnishings.

Torrey’s design philosophy emerges in subtle combinations: a high-gloss lacquered cabinet standing against raw plaster walls, or a polished brass light fixture set above matte travertine. Throughout the book, these pairings are documented with clarity, avoiding any sense of staging in favor of showing how clients inhabit the rooms. Celebrity residences — such as those belonging to Antoni Porowski and Alex Pall — are presented alongside lesser-known commissions, underscoring the consistent rigor of Torrey’s approach regardless of scale or prominence.

Andrew Torrey’s first book documents twenty-three private residences across the US and abroad

Typography, Form, and a Cohesive Visual Statement

The book itself reflects the character of Andrew Torrey’s design work. With art direction by London-based studio Atelier Dyakova, the object makes a deliberate statement through a deep red treatment that extends uninterrupted across cover, spine, boards, and endpapers. This chromatic saturation conveys both confidence and restraint, inviting readers to see the monograph as more than a catalog of spaces but as a study in material and form.

Typography reinforces this impression. The primary typeface, GT America, with custom Rs derived from Cartier’s archives, anchors the layout in Torrey’s brand identity. Bold letterforms mirror the architectural qualities of his interiors, communicating a visual language as resolved as the projects themselves.

the monograph highlights Torrey’s blend of modern design with rich materials and vintage details

In an era when design publications often pursue either a documentary neutrality or an overproduced aesthetic, Torrey: Private Spaces finds a measured middle ground. The book privileges direct observation and avoids excessive narrative framing, allowing the work to convey its own atmosphere.

At its core, the monograph affirms Andrew Torrey’s place among American designers who balance modernism with a tactile sensibility. It offers a resource for architects, stylists, and collectors who share his fascination with spaces that feel deliberate yet accommodating. As an object, it signals the same qualities as the interiors it chronicles: weight, clarity, and a sustained attention to detail.

photographers including Manolo Yllera and Douglas Friedman bring clarity to each interior