Daily News from New York, New York • 339

12 You I 1. Ji It- i Rust velvet sofa and peach damask chairs mix with American Empire antiques in forma! parlor. N.Y. painted linen cupboard is oldest piece at mansion. By ISABEL FORGANG OWNTOWN.

at City Hall. 0 I Mayor Koch may be able to 3 1 give orders to underlings with rather formal but every effort was made to make them warm and inviting, the designer says, adding: "We didn't want the rooms to be so lavish they were intimidating." The mansion has its share of formal rooms, as well, including the blue-and-gold parlor furnished with American Empire pieces, and the dining room with its Duncan Phyfe sideboard donated by a descendant of Archibald Gracie. But here, too, is the green-walled library with its comfortable upholstered chairs where the mayor has dinner on a tray and watches television. JMrf IPSTAIRS ARE the four bed quite a while. "I love living here," he says, "and hope to continue that pleasure for many years to come." Now that the farmhouse Archibald Gracie built in 1799 and the Susan E.

Wagner wing added on in 1966 have been refurbished, living in Gracie Mansion should be much more pleasant indeed. Koch noted with relief that he can finally get rid of the electric heater he hates, but has had to use in his bedroom since he came to Gracie Mansion. The heating, plumbing and air conditioning have been overhauled, the fireplaces put in working order, the kitchen rebuilt, and the porch repaired and enlarged. In addition, a new passageway between the Wagner wing, which is used for official functions, and the mansion, which serves as the mayor's living quarters, has been built to ease traffic problems at the house. But it is the furnishings that have everyone in awe.

A special effort was made to showcase the work of New Yorkers, says Joan K. Davidson, chairman of the Conservancy, and through loans by the city's major cultural institutions and private donations the mansion is now the repository of some of the finest New York historical pieces. But despite the presence of numerous antiques, the place is not a museum. The mayor, who had final approval on rooms: the pale silvery-green State bedroom furnished with impunity, but uptown, in his own home, he's the one who follows orders. "There are places where my shoes have never touched the floor, only my stocking feet, because of admonitions of artisans working round the clock to finish renovations to the house," he said the other day.

Koch at last can wear shoes when he answers the front door at Gracie Mansion. The wide entry-hall floor, with its dramatic diamond marbleized pattern painstakingly done over the past three months by artist Stephen Gemberling has finally dried. Although there are still a few rugs and an accessory or two missing, most of the yearlong $6 million renovation project under the direction of the Gracie Mansion Conservancy is complete. To celebrate, the mayor invited the press to view the mansion, showing it off much as any proud homeowner would do. (The public will be able to see it when tours of Gracie Mansion begin in April.) Of course, Koch is very aware that Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence since 1942, is his house "at will, the will of the people," but he's hoping he won't have to move for late 19th century faux bamboo pieces; the folk art bedroom with two string beds (mattresses will be provided so guests can sleep in comfort); another room soon to be furnished with early 20th century pieces; and the mayor's off-white, bed-sitting room with its two reclining loungers, circa 1800 New York Federal linen press (where the mayor keeps his shirts and socks), and the black and white three-foot high papier mache rabbit that adds a needed bit of levity to the rather spartan room.

As he showed off the renovations, Koch noted, "It's a wonderful house, just right.for me!" EUGENE KAPPOCK DAILY NEWS Mayor Koch, in the dining room, toasts the end of renovations. every aspect of the renovation, was firm on that. "I did not want any chair in this house to have a sign that says 'do not sit on me, he says. The grand ballroom and two smaller reception rooms in the Wagner wing, decorated in the American Federal style by Mark Hampton, are mm i- ti i si ft I ll I I I CO CO 1 '-i-J Antiaue child's rocking horse adds a light touch to folk art guest bedroom. uimciis uuiiditru uy si.r.

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