Renovation and interior design of a prewar classical apartment.
This has been an ongoing relationship with the clients, the first renovation was done in 2002 with the most recent project being an upgrade of the kitchen completed at the end of 2012.
The clients had purchased the apartment some years earlier and because if it’s good condition lived there with their 4 children without doing much work.
As the children left home the use of the space needed to change.
The building is one of the grand New York Apartment buildings constructed at the beginning of the 20th century this one was developed by the Astor’s for stately living.
The kitchen had been left nearly unchanged from the original design but the old commercial style range had to be replaced so the whole kitchen and butler’s pantry got new cabinets and appliances with minimal changes in layout, an AGA range replaces the old one and has become the hearth of the house.
The servant’s quarters had been minimally changed to allow for a laundry area and a bedroom, this area was fully reworked to house the home office for the wife, a real estate lawyer, as well as laundry and bathroom facilities.
Later when the rest of the children left home one of the bedrooms became the study for the husband now retired from a career in finance and another larger bedroom became a guestroom with a sitting area.
All along new built in cabinetry and new window treatments were created, furnishing and finishes selected and or upgraded.
The result is a formal but very friendly lived in space.