New York City and Nevadas Black Rock City share very few things in common, given that one is a bustling metropolis marked by towering skyscrapers and the other a barren desert except, perhaps, for that one week a year when Burning Man turns the sandy expanse into a similarly bustling city of artistic self-expression. There is, however, one sky-high Manhattan pied--terre that serves as a colorful reflection of the homeowners imaginative, yet refined, Burner aesthetic thanks to help from fellow Burner and interior designer Peti Lau. [The festival] is about celebrating life, adventure and creativity, and thats how I began thinking about the finishes and materials for the project, shares Lau, whose eponymous firm is based in Los Angeles. It also sparked my return to Burning Man after not going for 22 years! And her clientan entrepreneur, educator and avid traveler with homes in New Zealand and The Bahamascould not have been more aligned with Laus design vision. Brittany AmbridgeThe pair of Karl Springer Coffee Tables were sourced through Todd Merrill Studio. Lau chose a jewel-toned velvet Harlequin Amazilia fabric for the sofa she custom designed with Master Craftsman. At each end of the sofa are vintage Japanese Lucite side tables from The Gilded Owl in Los Angeles which, according to the shops owner Andy Goldsborough, were owned and designed by Tom Ford for his office.When we met to do a walk-through of the apartment, it wasnt her at allit was a very contemporary early 2000s white box that she hadnt touched since purchasing it in 2012, and the only colors inside were grey, white and silver, she says, recalling the moment inspiration struck. But laying around amongst all her things were all these big, beautiful feathered headdresses. Brittany AmbridgePeti Lau poses in the primary bedroom.So, there on Columbus Circle, like a perch high up in the stratosphere on the 67thfloorwith sweeping views of the city and Central Parkis a vivid 1,830-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom nest thats the ultimate design expression of its free-spirited resident. Shes literally my unicorn client, says Lau. Her only requirements were that the sofas had to be really comfortable and that I incorporated jewel tones into the color palette. Having spent the better part of the last decade using the apartment as layover spot every few months between trips, Laus client made do with the furnishings that came with the place. It had been newly renovated to be extremely modern and was filled with all this awkwardly curvy J. Robert Scott furniture; it was very high-end but didnt work at all. Shes so creative, curious and bright, and now its a home that resembles her.After emptying the apartment of its dated decor, the designer was left with white marble floors (which she kept) and stark white walls and columns (that she immediately plastered over in Roman clay). Then, during a trip to the New York Design Center with her client, Lau selected three items that would set the tone for the project: A Paradise chandelier from Lindsey Adelman and a pair of unusual Wendell Castle desk chairs. Shes very creative and loves costume parties, and I felt the chain-link and handblown glass chandelier was like an elegant piece of Burner jewelry shed wear. And those chairsdesigned [around 1975] for the Gannett Company in Rochesterwere just so unusual. Peek Inside This Singular SkyscraperFrom there, all the other furnishings and design elements began to fall into place with relative easeincluding in the primary bedroom where Lau completely plumed the walls in homage to her original inspiration. This was the most expensive wallpaper I have every installed in my career, she says with a laugh about the organic fan-shaped iridescent peacock-feathered wallcovering from Koket that completely envelops the space. There was absolutely no room for screwups because each panel was perfectly pre-cut. In the endgiven the designer and her client were birds of a featherthe result was flawless. Shes so creative, curious and bright, and now its a home that resembles her.