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    Amity Street Residence is a “minimal but warm” New York apartment

    Interior design studios Rawan Muqaddas and Selma Akkari have renovated an apartment in a 20th-century building in Brooklyn, New York, adding warm and natural materials to the residential space.

    Amity Street Residence is located on the fourth floor of a stone building that was built in 1910, overlooking a quiet but central corner of the city at the intersection of Amity and Clinton street.
    Amity Street Residence has been renovated into an open plan apartment. Photo by Clement PascalNew York studio Selma Akkari collaborated with London studio Rawan Muqqadas on the 1,400 square-foot interiors, which have been updated from a “neglected” apartment into a space filled with warm colours.
    As part of the renovation, the studios rearranged the rooms to create space for an additional third bedroom if required.
    Rawan Muqaddas collaborated with Selma Akkari to create a warm interior”A dialogue of opposites was the main theme behind the creation; minimal but warm, understated yet rich,” said Rawan Muqaddas, founder of eponymous studio Rawan Muqaddas.

    “We wanted to retain the essence of the 1910 building by reinterpreting the original traditional details, which we were excited to build on,” she told Dezeen.
    “The previous owners of the apartment called this their home for decades, leaving behind layers of history and some areas that were left neglected.”
    Stained oak shelves line the back of the dining areaThe two studios transformed the single floor apartment into an open-plan living, kitchen and dining area. A handful of original features, such as the decorative cornice and bold skirting, were preserved.
    The living space now boasts views across the street from the two large bay windows, which had previously been obscured.
    Cream coloured paint lines the walls. Photo by Clement Pascal”The first thing that caught our eye was the 30-foot apartment frontage composed of the width across both bay windows,” recalled Muqaddas.
    “As it stood, the windows felt shy and in hiding; we wanted to do the opposite and celebrate the curve.”
    Large bay windows were made into a focal pointFloors in the apartment have been covered in warm wood, while the walls were painted in a creamy neutral colour. A couple of contemporary chairs frame the window and let the inhabitants enjoy the street views.
    “A warm colour palette was deployed to unify the spaces by way of gentle oak floors, cream-hued walls that contrasted with dark stone, and stained wood inset bookshelves,” said Selma Akkari, founder of Selma Akkari.
    A study area sits at the back of the room and could easily be swapped for a third bedroom if necessary, the designers said.

    Rawan Muqaddas designs Sloane Street Deli to be a “classic neighbourhood spot”

    The studios also retained the apartment’s curved interior arches that run through its core. These openings help create a feeling of space.
    “To encourage a dialogue between the interior and exterior, we wanted to carry through the historic curved facade into the curved interior arches,” Akkari told Dezeen.
    “This was the guiding theme throughout the process: opening up the front area as the living and dining space and dedicating the quieter area to the more private spaces at the back.”
    The apartment has oak flooringThe apartment now has an airy aluminium-clad kitchen with an island counter and a long marble shelf in place of overhead storage cabinets.
    “We were very attracted to contrasting and unexpected colours and textures, in particular, the brushed metal counter topped with a veiny marble, with a backdrop of dark smoked oak shelving,” said Akkari.
    The same warm palette is continued in the bedrooms. Photo by Clement PascalThe warm material palette continues in the master bedroom and second bedroom, where the same flooring and beige furnishings can be found.
    More Brooklyn interiors include a townhouse with a striking staircase by New York studio Space4Architecture and a family-friendly townhouse called Bed-Stuy by Brooklyn studio Civilian.
    Photography is by Sean Davidson unless stated otherwise.

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    Schissel Montgomery Architects renovates Brooklyn flat for art gallerist

    New York City-based architecture office Schissel Montgomery has completed a minimalist renovation of a three-bedroom apartment in the Park Slope neighbourhood.

    Named Wendy’s, the studio decluttered the 1,300-square-foot (120-square-metres) apartment’s living spaces to create “a quiet, generous background for art and life”.
    Schissel Montgomery Architects also converted one of the bedrooms facing the street into a study.
    The kitchen uses only lower cabinets to create a sense of openness
    The renovation centres around a new kitchen, which is partially open to the living and dining space. Previously, these two areas were separate.”The intervention focuses on creating connections between the shared spaces of the apartment and selectively removing materials accreted over time,” said the studio.
    A key move was to declutter the apartment’s living roomA new banquette along the wall integrates storage beneath the seat while consolidating the previously separate spaces.
    At the end of a corridor, the studio repurposed an existing bedroom to create a study for the owner. Furniture selections here include a table by midcentury designer Eileen Gray and a Barcelona Daybed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

    BC—OA hides storage behind metal panels in renovated Soho loft

    Since the apartment is at street level, Schissel Montgomery designed sheer fabric curtains to cover the bottom portion of the windows.
    This gives residents more privacy, while still admitting light into the space.
    The new study occupies a former bedroom at the far end of the apartmentThe project has a restrained palette with light wooden floors, white painted walls and selectively curated furnishings and artwork.
    “The intervention focuses on creating connections between the shared spaces of the apartment and selectively removing materials accreted over time,” Schissel Montgomery explained.
    The entrance includes a full-height mirror and built-in storageCustom details include a handmade concrete enclosure to protect the building’s steam pipe.
    It is made of stacked, textured cylinders that resemble a classical column’s fluting motif.
    Custom details include a concrete sleeve to cover the building’s steam pipeAnother additional at the apartment’s entrance is a floor-to-ceiling mirror that was to expand the space and brings more light to a darker area of the apartment.
    “The intervention uses painted surfaces, whitewashed floors and window sheers to maximise bounced light in the space,” explained Schissel Montgomery.
    The pipe enclosure nods to similar classical columns visible from within the apartmentThese pipes are left exposed in many New York City apartments and can become so hot that they are hazardous to residents, in addition to being unsightly.
    Schissel Montgomery was established in 2019 and is led by two graduates of Columbia University’s architecture school, Michael Schissel and Talene Montgomery.
    Other apartment renovations in the Brooklyn area include a townhouse by GRT Architects that is filled with eclectic art objects and a monochrome interior renovation by local firm Arnold Studio.
    Photography is by Daniel Terna.
    Project credits:
    Architect: Schissel Montgomery ArchitectsConstruction: WK Renovation

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    Home Studios fills 20 Bond apartment in New York with one-off decor details

    Design firm Home Studios used a medley of bespoke furniture and vintage finds to revamp this family apartment in New York’s NoHo neighbourhood.The 20 Bond apartment measures 2000 square feet (186 square metres) and is set within a building that dates back to 1925. Since the 1980s, it hasn’t undergone any significant renovations.

    Above: custom lights hang above the dining area. Top image: the apartment’s living room
    Brooklyn-based Home Studios was asked to carry out the much-needed overhaul of the dated apartment.
    Its owners – a couple with young kids – had grown to be a fan of the studio’s aesthetic after frequenting two New York restaurants it had designed, Elsa and Goat Town.
    This is, to date, only the second residential project that the studio has worked on, but founder Oliver Haslegrave says the creative process was much like developing a restaurant.

    A copper hood contrasts the kitchen’s blue-grey cabinetry

    “Like our hospitality projects, we envisioned an updated and modern space that defies the conformity of a typical residence,” Haslegrave told Dezeen.
    “20 Bond is a direct reflection of our practice in that the end product is both expressive and finely detailed, and marries contemporary and vintage influences.”

    Copper frames the apartment’s curved internal windows
    In the open-plan kitchen, a trio of ring-shaped pendant lamps made bespoke by Home Studios dangle above a walnut dining table. The nickel and brass spotlights that illuminate the central breakfast island were also crafted by the studio.
    Opposite the island is a series of cupboards painted a blue-grey hue called Pigeon by Farrow & Ball, accompanied by a custom extractor hood that’s clad in gleaming copper.

    Home Studios designs cinematic cocktail bar in West Hollywood

    Copper goes on to border the apartment’s rounded door frames and skirting boards. The metal also frames the guest bathroom’s internal window, which bows outwards to form a curved wall.

    Curved forms continue into the guest bathroom
    Curves continue throughout the rest of the bathroom, where a mosaic of tan-coloured tiles sinuously winds around the shower, tub and a seating nook which is inbuilt with a storage box for towels.
    Haslegrave says that these features are meant to act as a small homage to the shapely form of buildings created by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.

    Tan-coloured tiles serve as a backdrop to the shower and bathtub
    “The freeform curves found in [Aalto’s] work represent both a fluid motif and an engaging playfulness that we aim to incorporate in all Home Studios projects,” he explained.
    “We included images of Aalto’s Screen 100 and the Maison Louis Carré – the residential building in Bazoches-Sur-Guyonne, France designed by him and his wife, Elissa – in our initial project mood board.”

    The doorways and skirting in the apartment are also edged with copper
    More bespoke and vintage pieces can be found in the master bedroom, for which Home Studios has made a walnut and travertine headboard.
    A French floor lamp from the 1940s stands in the corner of the room, beside a boucle-upholstered armchair by LA brand Atelier de Troupe.

    A bespoke headboard and vintage French lamp feature in the master bedroom
    In the living room, two antique Danish chairs with woven leather seats have been contrastingly paired with a blocky side table by Sabine Marcelis, which is cast from candy-pink resin.
    An oak and brass shelving unit made by Home Studios dominates a peripheral wall.
    “The final product is a near-ideal extension of our process and values – a tailored place that offers its residents something special,” Haslegrave concluded.

    The nearby living area is dominated by a shelving unit made by the studio
    Home Studios was established by Haslegrave in 2009. Previous projects by the studio include the revamp of Bibo Ergo Sum, an eclectic bar in West Hollywood which takes visual cues from the early 20th-century Viennese architecture, French film posters and the 1967 film The Graduate.
    Photography is by Brian Ferry.
    Project credits:
    Architecture, interior design, furniture and lighting, styling: Home StudiosFabrication: Works Manufacturing, Shelton Studios, Zalla Studios, Anthony Hart, Anders RydstedtConstruction: Vertical Space

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