A star from the East: an apartment with a refined Japanese aesthetic and a notable art collection is a sumptuous setting for holiday festivities.

House Beautiful, December, 2005 by Sulcas, Roslyn

ALEXANDRA MUNROE'S fine curatorial eye was quickly brought into play when she first saw this corner apartment overlooking the East River in Manhattan. "It was a complete shambles," she says, "but I fell in love with the light and the view." Munroe, who was the director of the Japan Society gallery for seven years (she stepped down this summer), could well imagine the possibilities.

She turned to the firm of Imrey Culbert, who had designed twelve exhibitions under her tenure. "I knew they could create the aesthetic I wanted: classical, minimal Japanese ...