While typical strategies for taking advantage of precious New York City real estate may involve cramming many rooms into a floor plan, the solution for this home’s compact layout was just the opposite. By converting a one-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side into a studio apartment and lofting the bedroom, the entirety of the living space was vastly expanded.
Leading into the main area, a single piece of elegantly curved millwork at the apartment’s entry houses a banquette for resting and removing shoes or layers, a coat closet with storage above, plus displays and additional storage on the rear side. The kitchen opposite is carefully planned down to the inch to maximize space, and to leave functional appliances in places for easy, though concealed, access. The kitchen peninsula’s lower section doubles as a flex dining space, accommodating hosting or a larger cooking station.
The lofted bed is accessed through a winder stairway, opening onto a room complete with closets, built-in charging stations, and rotating glass privacy screens. And just below, storage, an office, all-in-one home gym equipment and a bathroom all fit snugly into strategically confined programs. The bathroom even takes advantage of a pocket of unused storage space under the stair as pull-out cosmetic shelves. Through combined functions and skillfully compressed programs, this previously small apartment now exemplifies how careful customizations can yield unforeseen spaciousness. The design not only opened up the aesthetic properties of exposed brick, but also adroitly advantaged every cubic inch to transform the home into a bright and open New York loft.
Client: Confidential
Program: Residential, Apartment
Status: Built
Size: 400 SF
Location: New York, NY
Team: Architect: KM,A (Kyle May, Kaya Ramirez, John Diven, Zak Wosewick, Percia Gomez)
Images: Credit Joan Porcel