Spencer Dodington, MBA ’95, has spent the past 16 years living in Shanghai, where he runs Luxury Concierge China, a company that gives personal tours of Shanghai and offers concierge services.

His work restoring his Shanghai apartment to its original 1928 state was featured in The New York Times "On Location" real estate column March 9.

Dodington is passionate about Art Deco and used this passion to buy and refurbish his own Art Deco home. He began searching in 2007 and after a two-year search, eventually found a place in Shanghai’s old French concession.

“There are only 80 Art Deco apartment blocks in Shanghai, so I’ve been to all of them.”

Dodington learned who designed the building, studied his architectural style in Russian Orthodox churches, and inspected other apartments in the building. The renovation took six months and cost $15,000.

“You can have a building that feels right, with all the right decorative touches and the right architecture and the authenticity,” Mr. Dodington said. “But for me, I also want the feel in the detail down to the furniture and the fixtures.”

Dodington stayed true to the time period by using building materials and techniques typical of 1920s Shanghai. He even recreated picture rails, doorknobs and baseboards.

“I didn’t think I would ever have the energy to do it again. So I wanted it done right.”

Read more about Dodington's renovation and view photos of his apartment on the New York Times website.