3 min read
Above: In the bedroom, Cullum accented a bed by RH Restoration Hardware with finials by Marble Paper Scissors, fabric he found in Tangier, and a tinsel skirt he made himself. Custom wallcovering from David Bonk; nightstands from Doyle; artwork (right) by Kevin Earl Taylor.
For William Cullum, it all began with a letter 15 years ago. His father, a landscape enthusiast, had traveled to Falls Village, Connecticut, for a tour of famous gardens belonging to interiors legends Bunny Williams (an Elle Decor A-Lister) and her husband John Rosselli. During his visit, Cullum senior told Williams and Rosselli about his son’s interest in design, and Rosselli said that if William wrote to them they would try to lend a hand. A letter was sent, and an introduction was made to New York designer Thomas Jayne (another Elle Decor A-Lister), who went on to hire Cullum. William worked at Jayne Design Studio for 14 years.
Jayne is known for historic preservation and a classical sensibility, and while working with him Cullum deepened his appreciation for both. When the South Carolina–born Cullum opened his own New York firm last year, the past remained key to his approach. “My favorite part is playing with the history of a building,” he says. “Design is based in equal parts truth and the fiction you can create with that.”
Annie Schlechter
A sunburst pendant by Mike Diaz anchors the living area of designer William Cullum and Jeffery Rhodes’s New York apartment. Console table from the estate of Niall Smith; artwork by Hudson Heil; walls in Shamrock by Sherwin Williams.
That narrative playfulness is on vivid display in the designer’s own exuberantly layered 450-square-foot studio in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, which Cullum shares with his partner Jeffery Rhodes, jewelry director at the Indian fashion brand Sabyasachi, and their cat Leopold.
“Design is based on equal parts truth and the fiction you can create with history.”
—William Cullum
Cullum and Rhodes purchased the apartment in 2021, and Cullum got to work almost immediately researching its past. The 1938 building was designed by architect Emery Roth, known for such notable Manhattan addresses as the San Remo and the Beresford, and Cullum found an original advertisement that offered buyers the option of choosing an apartment with a scenic mural. So Cullum and Rhodes decided to create their own in the entry, a purple scene painted by New York artist Jody Morlock.
Some of the history referenced is personal. Morlock used a chalk pencil to sketch glittering green and gold animals and motifs that are significant to Cullum and Rhodes: An alligator symbolizes Rhodes’s childhood growing up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; a cat memorializes their late, beloved tabby Bash; an evil eye is a memento of their travels. Morlock injected her own sense of humor in the form of a crab wearing stilettos. “How can you be anything but happy in that apartment when you have a crab wearing stilettos?” Rhodes asks.
Annie Schlechter
The chest that holds the TV is from Chairish. Floor lamp from the estate of Fred Leighton; antique armchair. The entryway mural is by Jody Morlock.
The apartment retained its original sunken living room, which the couple were immediately drawn to. “The living room felt very Auntie-Mame-on-a-budget, very Old New York,” Cullum says. Traces of the building’s past can also be found in the bathroom; there Cullum chose metallic gold tiles inspired by the ones that originally surrounded the building’s front door. It didn’t hurt that the gold evoked another of Cullum’s favorite eras, the 1970s. “My whole inspiration in the bathroom was Diana Ross’s crash pad in Chelsea,” Cullum says.
The couple’s love of travel is threaded throughout. Leopold’s litter box is concealed behind a carved Moorish arch inspired by a trip to Granada, Spain. And, of course, their shared history is on display in the form of treasures they have amassed together. A planter from Pickfair Mansion in Beverly Hills designed by Elsie de Wolfe and a floor lamp from Fred Leighton’s house have special meaning. “Little talismans of other people who you think are inspiring,” Cullum says. “This place is so dense and full. I can’t have an empty table. Each thing, individually, is special to me, and special to us.”
Step Inside This Playfully Maximalist Studio
Open Gallery
That includes two porcelain “hunks” by Brooklyn ceramic artist Beth Katleman, a friend and client, that perch above the couple’s closet. Katleman has long been drawn to Cullum’s facility for mixing a wild array of objects and references. “William has a deep knowledge of history and antiques that makes everything really fresh,” she says. “But he also has a playfulness and an irreverence. I appreciate him skirting the line of kitsch, but it never comes out that way.”
The apartment’s petite size was ultimately the only limit placed on Cullum’s expansive creativity. “When we first bought the place, we discussed not holding back,” Rhodes says. “William didn’t, and the place is far better for it.”
This story originally appeared in the May 2026 issue of Elle Decor. SUBSCRIBE