For the recurring series, Critical Eye, we present the creator of a room with our interpretation of its design and ask him or her to respond. Our Design AssessmentALEXANDER SMALL’S Harlem living room reads at first like a flouting of decorating rules. The chef and restaurateur clad a traditional Chippendale sofa and Queen Anne ottoman in a sporty houndstooth check, the stuff of nattily tailored jackets. And where such a coat might be slyly lined in scarlet or accessorized with a peep of red pocket square, Mr. Smalls subverted the whole notion of a “pop of color” by slathering the walls in a dashing, rakish red.

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