Before & After: “Classic Seven” Co-op Renovation
A gut renovation of an NYC Pre-War gem on the Upper West Side transformed this apartment into a vibrant, color-filled family home.
There is something so special about pre-war apartments in New York City. They bring you back to a time of elegant living, well-proportioned rooms and a reminder of how people used to live and what they valued: light, gracious living, and architectural details.
The elegant foyer of our Client’s apartment. Moldings were added to the walls to highlight the traditional details of the home. Photography by Gieves Anderson, Styling by Martin Bourne.
Like my clients, I immediately fell in love with this Classic Seven (reminder - Classic Sevens have 7 rooms: Kitchen, Dining, Living Room, Maid’s Room/Office, Three Bedrooms). Though the apartment was not renovated (old parquet floors, old bathrooms, and thin doors), it had high-ceilings, amazing natural light and the potential was there, all we had to do was peel back the decades of paint layers, replace the floors, and convince the Coop Board of our good intentions.
Gathering design inspiration.
The project started on a very fun note - with a trip to the Waterworks flagship showroom - to browse bathroom hardware, tiles and gather inspiration. We were going to tackle the bathrooms first…our plan was to infuse them with luxurious details where the owners and their guests would feel pampered. We were going for the 5-star hotel experience.
Lilac marble was going to be a big feature in this bath - but to tame its strong presence we paired it with a muted marble chevron and a white thassos tile border. And instead of installing brass fixtures, which is usually a go-to finish when using Lilac stone, we chose polished nickel to give the space an air of refinement.
Original sketch of the primary bathroom, before we decided to place the vanity next to the window.
We installed a custom designed marble sink in the shared bathroom to open up the floor space - which immediately made the bathroom feel more spacious. We kept the tile scheme light and bright and kept everything else neutral in the space, to maintain the feeling of ‘light-and-bright’.
A floating marble sink and polished Nickel hardware from Waterworks define the minimal elegance of this bath. Photography by Gieves Anderson, styling by Martin Bourne.
The Heart of the Home
The center of this home is the dining room - it opens up into the kitchen and living room and where most of the family activity takes place. Easy entertaining was an important requirement for our client, so the special feature of this room was going to be a built-in bar.
A look at some of our original sketches for the bar:
We placed the bar at the far end of the room, so that it would serve as the focal point of the space. We used a Platinum Crystal quartzite countertop from Bas Stone, chosen for its beautiful veining and durability.
Photography by Gieves Anderson. Styling by Martin Bourne.
Progress and close up images of the bar installation:
Vibrant Color & Modern Furnishings
We added pops of color to the living room through art and statement seating. The slipper chair in the living room was the first piece of custom furniture we designed for the home, and it informed the rest of our design choices.
Photography by Gieves Anderson. Styling by Martin Bourne. Art Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery.
Art by Adja Yunkers.
A look at some of our original sketches for the concept of the living room, and the statement chair.
Before & After: The Foyer
We brought back grace and elegance to the foyer, and highlighted some it’s original architectural details with the addition of panel moulding.
The dark floors did no favors for the foyer - with lighter floors, the whole home feels refreshed. We kept the silver patina on the entry door - they are cool in almost in interior. Another architectural detail that we brought in to elevate the space was a ceiling medallion. It highlighted the intricate carvings of the crown molding, and allowed us to cleverly center the light fixture on the mirror.
“Architectural details like ceiling medallions and panel molding enhance the old world charm of a pre-war aparment.”
When you renovate in NYC - and are dealing with concrete ceilings - you rarely can move a ceiling lighting junction box. Ceiling medallions are a clever design tool to allow you to hang your light where you want without the need for moving the existing junction box.
This project was published in Cottages & Gardens, read the full article here.
