Sometimes, no matter how smart, connected, and well-resourced you are, you simply need an expert—and not just any expert, but the rarefied insider other specialists call when they need help. 

Luckily, Robb Report has a roster of such world-class pros on speed dial. We’re even rolling out a highly curated directory of heavy hitters across categories: the Masters of Luxury. 

This month, it’s David Alhadeff, founder of the 22-year-old contemporary-design gallery the Future Perfect, based in Los Angeles—where he operates out of an Arthur Heineman–designed mansion from 1916 that was once home to movie producer Samuel Goldwyn—and with satellites in New York and San Francisco. 

Have a conundrum you’d like to see solved? Email askrobb@robbreport.com 

Name: David Alhadeff
Occupation: Founder, the Future Perfect Gallery
HQ: Los Angeles, Calif.
Specialty: Pied piper of contemporary design

I’m finally ready to pull the trigger and start renovating all of my houses—we’ve got properties in Aspen, the Hamptons, and Palm Beach. I need some big-picture advice on juggling the design of those homes, especially as I’m determined to try to work with a new interior designer or two, rather than my typical go-to. Can you prime me with some advice before we engage? 

Don’t make different homes match to one aesthetic. I’m a big fan of using different talents to help you in different spaces. Designers will create a fabulous shell, but you’ll see the space realized as yours when you go shopping for, say, little bits and bobs for your Aspen home in the mountains. 

“And with a new designer, ask yourself: Would I trust this person to make a decision that I’m not totally comfortable with on my behalf? If you’re going to do great work with someone, as a client, you should be ready to be uncomfortable—remain engaged, or the designer has nothing to work with, but you’ll be asked to take risks, so be ready. For new objects, ask if something is a render; these days, they are so good you have to. And then make sure to see it in person. Proportions are so important, because elegance is trapped in the details. And is there a screw on the side of that chair that’s not visibly photographed? 

“Just remember there are certain locations and materials that don’t work well. Anywhere with a variance in temperature—super-cold winters, hot summers that are a little humid—watch out for oak. If the space isn’t perfectly humidity- and temperature-controlled, it has a lot of expansion and contraction. That’s Colorado or New York. It can be really scary to see large slab dining tables in oak there. And unless you appreciate patina, metal will not remain the same color you purchased it in on the coast. Brass will turn, unless it’s super sealed, and I personally don’t love that, other than waxed.” 

Forgotten design name you’d like to revive?

“Ward Bennett, a person who glorified steel. With the tariffs that we have, it has a chance to return as a glamorous and rarefied material once again.”

Should collectible pieces always be limited editions?

“Popularity isn’t a bad thing—design classics defined a period through their popularity. And contemporary design from the aughts isn’t going to be a small-editioned piece but something that really had an impact, like Lindsey Adelman’s bubble chandeliers.”

Who’s your design MacGyver?

“Xavier Van Degna, of Designs by Xavier in New York, who’s a reupholsterer. He’s relied on for some name-brand show houses.”

What’s the biggest design U-turn of the past two decades?

“When we started in 2004, wallpaper was a sure no-no, but we showed it. Now there’s a real appreciation of granny, or cottagecore, so it’s a yes. No matter what you want to do, there’s wallpaper for it now, like murals, digital prints.”

Which room should clients budget to spend the most on, in every home?

“The kitchen, with the trend for a public kitchen upstairs and a private one downstairs. If you have your three best friends over, you sit at the bar in the kitchen and open a bottle of wine.”

“For me, the function is beauty. I’m one of those people whose eyes burn if something isn’t pretty.”

“Plaster creates depth paint can’t achieve, and you can use it anywhere. It soaks up light beautifully.”

“I’m a contemporary dealer, but the reality is it’s about eclecticism, not one or the other.”

“There’s something to be said for a little bit of separation of space. It gives you more opportunity to do versions of rooms.”

“Those comfortable neutrals? They’ve had their moment. Look at the Met or the Louvre—they’re very colorful spaces.”