K - Mc

Todd Klein

27 West 24th Street (212-414-0001)
Formerly with Parish-Hadley, Klein has translated that firm's elegance into a younger idiom, working from his love of natural materials and knowledge of art and architecture. He respects his clients' lifestyles (which have ranged from Gulfstream-mogul to bohemian), and his civilized interiors always come with a sense of fun. Clients: Caroline Kennedy and Ed Schlossberg, Robert Rosenkranz and Alexandra Munroe, Doug Kramer

David Kleinberg Design Associates

330 East 59th Street, fifth floor (212-754-9500)
Offering Balenciaga-quality details to the Park Avenue–Newport–Litchfield set, Kleinberg's firm creates tailored interiors with lush textures and interesting juxtapositions of period and modern luxuries. Kleinberg likes the lines of eighteenth-century furniture but will update a room with bold woven-leather textiles or subtle bleached woods. Clients: Scott Rudin, Jessye Norman

Richard Keith Langham Inc.

153 East 60th Street (212-759-1212)
Langham's ideal house is a nineteenth-century British villa, foursquare outside and bursting with color and cozy comfort within. He tends to pick a hue per room: Red walls lead to cranberry stripes to a cherry glass vase. The result is not overkill but a rainbow. Clients: Jacqueline Onassis

Naomi Leff and Associates

12 West 27th Street (212-686-6300)
Leff is hired for her ability to re-create many eras and moods, taking into consideration "architectural concepts of light, proportion, cleanness" and hitting her favorite notes: "wonderful woods and veneers, and objects from the twenties to the forties." Clients: Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, Tom Cruise, Barry Diller

David Ling

225 East 21st Street (212-982-7089)
Ling worked for I. M. Pei before opening his own firm, and his interiors reflect Pei's skyscraper gestures. Ling might cut a pond in a concrete floor, or cantilever a bridge from bedroom to study, turning a narrow house into a floating world. "I like to use everyday materials in unusual applications, so you do a double take: 'Hey, isn't that the same stuff I saw in aisle 4 at Home Depot?' " Clients: Alberta Ferretti, Monique Knowlton, Aaliyah

M (Group)

152 West 88th Street (212-874-0773)
Carey Maloney and Hermes Mallea have a great track record, beloved by clients for their lean, layered interiors -- uncluttered spaces, light tones, and practical arrangements, with exotic surprises like Fauve paintings and Greek antiquities. Clients: Barbara Warner

MAC II

125 East 81st Street (212-249-4466)
Mica Ertegun's work, with and without her late partner Chessy Rayner, is a model of uptown simplicity: sculptural, neutral furniture, from many times and places, arranged so that each piece has room to breathe but no element is isolated. There's no fussiness, only a modern feeling in prewar spaces. Clients: Bill Blass, Carolyne Roehm, Arnold Scaasi, Carly Simon

Peter Marino + Assoc Architects

150 East 58th Street (212-752-5444)
Marino can go minimal ("I like bleached wood walls, black or white floors"), as in his designs for the Armani stores, but his natural tendency seems to be opulently modern: his own double-height salon, say, with marble columns and an intarsia floor. His clients have the luxury of made-to-order spaces, furniture, fabrics, fireplaces in unified muted tones. Clients: Yves Saint Laurent, Bernard Arnault, the Aga Khan

Brian J. McCarthy Inc.

1414 Sixth Avenue, Suite 404 (212-308-7600)
Trained at Parish-Hadley, McCarthy is one of a flock of decorators with a fresh take on the colored walls, classical structures, and prints that were that firm's signature. He has an eye for accessories, modern and vintage, and is considered excellent company. Clients: Robert and Maria Tuttle, David Dangoor, Alexander Roepers

McMillen Inc.

155 East 56th Street, fifth floor (212-753-5600)
Designer Betty Sherrill leads this legendary firm, the last bastion of old-money taste since Parish-Hadley closed its doors. "We lean toward natural materials, rich textures, and a wide range of color palettes," the firm's Louis A. Rey says, "and we always keep in mind that we're designing for the client and not for ourselves." Clients: Carl Icahn, Robert Zoellner, Thomas Harris