Curtains, draperies, and upholstery were all hand woven. There were large raised fireplaces in the drawing room and bedroom, and a working fountain in the two-level bedroom. There wasn't a dark nook in the whole place-except possibly the broom closet. Even the room we called the office was in light, gay colors. Sunlight permeated the whole apartment and was refracted by the white carpet.
There was a marvelous free-flying staircase, and the wall alongside it was punctuated with large green plants. I wanted to bring a California ambience with me so we picked bright colors and built in lots of the conveniences that aren't so common in the older buildings in New York. We broke them down into eight large ones, with huge windows. It was a very special place, occupying the top two floors and overlooking Central Park. "Billy helped me with the home Alfred Steele and I created in New York. Of the apartment, Joan said the following in her 1971 autobiography "My Way of Life": The remodel took so long that the Steeles neighbor sued them over the daily noise due to the construction. The apartment remodel consisted of many dramatic changes, which consisted of removing several walls (all of which are 12 foot tall), and converting fourteen rooms and six bathrooms into seven large rooms and four bathrooms the original curved staircase was removed and replaced with a modernistic floating staircase and the original master's bedroom on the first floor was removed, with the apartment's two main bedroom suites built on the second floor, with a smaller maid's quarters on the first floor. In addition to the apartment, in 1958 Alfred Steele also hired Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to design the new Pepsi-Cola head quarters at 500 Park Avenue. However, the Pepsi-Cola building was not completed until after Steele's death, with the building opening in 1960. Construction began in the autumn of 1956 and was completed in late 1957, with Joan and Alfred moving into the completed apartment in late December 1957. Additionally, Joan's long-time friend, former actor William Haines, was commissioned to design the furnishings and decorate the apartment. The apartment building, which consists of 18 apartments, and was originally built in 1928 and was designed by architect Rosario Candela and the architect firm Walker and Gillette. The Steeles hired the design firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, who was known for their modern design, to remodel the apartment. In March 1956, Joan and husband Alfred Steele purchased two apartments on the 13th and 14th floors of this apartment building (which were originally built and designed as a duplex), and remodeled them into one large 4,000 square foot apartment.
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