More stories

  • in

    Stewart-Schafer renovates modernist house in Connecticut woods

    The founders of Brooklyn studio Stewart-Schafer have renovated a modernist home in Connecticut for themselves, using a natural colour palette to complement the surrounding woodland.

    James Veal and Christine Stucker, co-principals of Stewart-Schafer, chose to overhaul the modernist-style “architectural gem” for their family
    Stewart-Schafer principals James Veal and Christine Stucker added a personal touch to a house in EastonBuilt in 1984, the four-bedroom home sits within 18 acres of woodland in the town of Easton, a 62-mile (100-kilometre) commute from New York City.
    “The bones of the house and property were incredible,” Veal and Stucker told Dezeen. “You can tell the original owners who had this house built put a lot of love into it, no detail was spared.”
    The studio replaced some of the floor-to-ceiling windows and doors during renovation workThey had been searching for a house in Connecticut for a year, to no avail.

    But when they found this 4,700-square-foot (437-square-metre) residence on Morehouse Road it was “love at first sight” and they put in an offer almost immediately after viewing.
    The kitchen was given an update using wooden cabinetry”Sadly the second owners did not maintain it over the years and there were several things that needed to be fixed and replaced,” they added.
    An extensive renovation involved updating the family room, kitchen, and powder room, and redesigning the interiors throughout.
    A large bedroom was converted into a family room upstairsSeveral of the large glass windows and doors were replaced, and the exterior was transformed with new decking and planting after clearing the site of dead trees.
    The couple also renovated a cabin in the woods on the property, to serve as a guest house.
    Textures and colours were chosen to complement the original architectureIn both buildings, a blend of Japanese and Scandinavian decor was used to complement the existing wooden floors, ceilings and other joinery, in order to stay true to the original designs.
    Bedrooms and bathrooms were painted with earthy hues, while other rooms feature rugs, upholstery and bedding that continue the same palette.
    Rugs and upholstery continue the natural colour scheme in the bedrooms”With all the wood and views of the property we knew that inside we needed to play on those organic colours,” said the duo. “We used various textures throughout the home to balance things out.”
    The main house is split over three floors, with the majority of living space located on the central level.
    Clerestory windows bring light into the upstairs bedrooms from multiple sidesA double-height formal living room and adjacent dining area have decks on either side and connect to the separate kitchen that features white tiling and wood cabinetry.
    The primary bedroom suite on the same level leads to an indoor pool, which can be exposed to the elements by fully sliding back a floor-to-ceiling glass wall.

    Eric J Smith cantilevers Writer’s Studio over forested hillside in Connecticut

    Upstairs, a large bedroom was converted into a family room with a custom-made modular sofa.
    “Originally it was just a huge open bedroom with no real sense of direction or purpose,” said Veal and Stucker. “By adding a fireplace and custom millwork along an oversized double sided sofa this room serves so many purposes.”
    Bathrooms were painted in darker huesThis room and two further bedrooms on the top level have clerestory windows that allow natural light to enter from multiple sides.
    The lowest level accommodates a home office and a mechanical room. All of the floors are connected by both internal stair flights with open risers and a black spiral staircase outside.
    The project involved replacing the outdoor decking and planting new foilageOverall, Stewart-Schafer aimed to imbue the almost 40-year-old house with contemporary flourishes that respect and celebrate the original architecture.
    “We really feel like this house has been a great example of how good design stands the test of time,” the couple said. “We feel even in 30 more years it will still be very relevant.”
    Built in 1984, the house sits on 18 acres of woodlandThere are many examples of modernist architecture Southwest Connecticut – an affluent area where many New Yorkers have long chosen to live within easy reach of the city, but with the benefits of rural surroundings.
    Others that have been updated in the past few years include a Marcel Breuer home expanded by Toshiko Mori and a mid-century residence renovated by Joel Sanders.
    The photography is by Alice Gao.

    Read more: More

  • in

    OWIU creates tranquil environment in renovated LA home

    California studio OWIU has revamped the interior of a 1950s home, adding elements that were inspired by traditional Japanese inns to create a peaceful environment.

    The 1,516-square-foot (141-square-metre) house, called Palmero, sits within the San Rafael Hills in LA’s Mount Washington neighbourhood.
    On the exterior, OWIU applied smooth, tan stuccoThe single-storey residence was bought as an investment property by actor Kane Lim and was sold last month following a renovation by local studio OWIU, which stands for The Only Way Is Up.
    Originally built in 1955, the dwelling looks toward the city skyline in the distance.
    OWIU designed the home, which overlooks the city skyline”We were drawn to the home’s seclusion from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles,” said Joel Wong, who leads OWIU with Amanda Gunawan.

    When the designers embarked on the mid-century renovation project, the house was in rough shape, with soiled carpets, degraded flooring and broken windows, among other issues.
    It is a mid-century renovation projectThe designers aimed to transform the neglected home into “a refuge of calm” by drawing upon the landscape and using neutral elements that would help quiet the mind.
    “If you go in strong with design, it energizes you quickly and then promptly dies out,” said Gunawan.
    Palmero takes cues from traditional Japanese inns”Much of our design leans toward the ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, enabling us to achieve a visceral effect,” she added.
    On the exterior, the designers applied smooth, tan stucco. To create a more open atmosphere within, they removed several non-load-bearing walls and false ceilings and reconfigured part of the layout to create a main bedroom suite.
    Earthy colours give the home an organic feelEarthy colours like terracotta and beige – and materials such as light-toned oak flooring – give the home an organic feel.
    In certain rooms, walls are clad in Venetian plaster. The designers said that this material “brings the delicate texture of the surrounding mountains into the home”.
    Original wooden beams and panels were sanded down, revealing the natural colour.
    The kitchen has quartzite countertopsIn the kitchen, one finds quartzite countertops and oak cabinets, along with an island made of glass blocks. The same material was used for a partition separating the living area from a bathroom, creating privacy without obstructing flow.
    The designers noted that the glass bricks – which are structurally strong while still enabling the passage of light – are often associated with “a period of garish flash from the ’80s”.
    Retro glass bricks feature in the interior design”OWIU sought to restore the material to its original glamour and refigure what might otherwise be considered obsolete,” the team said.
    To furnish the house, the designers worked with the vintage collector Jullie Nguyen of LA’s Ban Ban Studio.
    Vintage collector Jullie Nguyen assisted on the projectNotable pieces include a modular sofa by Vladimir Kagan and a 1980s Hexa coffee table by Bernard Vuarnesson, both of which date to the 1980s.
    Lighting fixtures include three lamps by Isamu Noguchi and several George Nelson pendants.

    Heusch restores Beverly Hills home to honour original design

    “These pieces brought a distinctly modern-yet-practical touch to the home while remaining in harmony with the existing architecture and new design elements,” the team said.
    Beyond the interior, the studio reimagined the backyard by creating a sculptural, poured-concrete terrace and a custom bench around a fire pit.
    A small wooden desk takes cues from a platform in a Zen gardenMoreover, the studio added a small wooden deck off the main bedroom that is meant to evoke a platform in a Zen garden. It also takes cues from tea ceremony rooms found in ryokans.
    “The step down leads, almost imperceptibly, into the garden, easing the home dweller into the natural space,” the designers said, noting that the yard features bonsai and maple trees.
    “The action is so unassuming that one might forget this step after the routine of living, but this is precisely the goal: a ritualized transition into calming spaces.”
    Japanese ryokans informed the design of Palmero houseOther projects by OWIU include a renovated apartment in an old factory in downtown LA, which features Japanese design elements that encourage “a mindful lifestyle”.
    The photography is by Justin Chung.
    Project credits:
    Designer and builder: OWIUDesign team: Joel Wong, Amanda Gunawan, Claudia Wainer, Nathan Lin, Bonnie Wong and Leo Yang

    Read more: More

  • in

    Nivek Remas renovates founder's home to serve as its office space

    Toronto studio Nivek Remas has renovated its founder’s home to create an office for the studio based on changes in working conditions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    Early in 2020, the Canadian interior design studio led by Kevin Chan and Samer Shaath was poised to lease new office space for its expanding business. However, these plans were halted by pandemic restrictions.
    Nivek Remas renovated one of its founder’s home for the studio officesThroughout the lockdowns that impacted Canadians and the subsequent work-from-home standards, the office sought ways to work together in the future, without going to an office full-time.
    “[We] quickly recognized the shift in what defines an office and the culture that was evolving from those blurred lines,” Nivek Remas’ Kevin Chan told Dezeen.
    The home was converted to have spaces for work and leisureThe duo decided to renovate one of their homes to serve as an office for the young firm, which was established in 2016.

    The new studio was completed in 2021 and is located in an area of Toronto called Cabbagetown, just east of the city centre.
    The studio plays into the work-from-home trendIt occupies 1,250 square feet (116 square metres) of a standalone house in a residential neighbourhood.
    The completed studio has a main office area, conference rooms, as well a kitchen and a dining nook.
    The ground floor has eight workstationsVisitors enter the office along a green hallway accented with glass wall sconces. By the entrance, there is a powder room and a coat closet.
    The ground floor has eight workstations laid in an open-concept configuration. Most of the furniture is black, including the desktops and chairs.
    The space functions as a workstation for the interior design studioAt the front of the house, a kitchenette and breakfast nook look out onto the street. The designers used a darker palette of greens and olive tones in the kitchenette area to contrast the workstations, which are painted white and filled with light and plants.
    An open staircase leads to the upper floor, where the team included a new conference room that offers some privacy from the main work area. It includes a long table and a couch, for more informal gatherings.
    Dark greens were used for some walls and detailsOther amenities of this home-and-office combination include a gym and bike storage for commuters located in the basement.
    The founders of Nivek Remas said that although the new office space helps collaboration, they balance out the time spent there with remote work.

    Ten tranquil garden studios designed for work and play

    The studio said that it has embraced a fully hybrid model and that the office space allows for “creative gathering”.
    “We see this as our studio for at least another five years or until we outgrow the space,” Chan said. “It’s a true representation of our studio work and ethos but also a true representation of the times and how casually defined offices are now.
    “Corporate offices are trying to become more WFH and more casual with coffee bars, and table tennis or gaming break out areas, but we’re approaching it from the other direction and making a residential space more studio,” he added.

    Many architects and designers embraced the work-from-home trend, building out new spaces for themselves during the pandemic.
    Other examples include a coastal Maine cabin that 30X40 Design Workshop completed as its office, and the Beverly Hills home of Gerhard Heusch, who built himself an underground office using concrete.
    The photography is by Scott Norsworthy.
    Project credits:Interior design: Nivek RemasConstruction: Shape Building GroupMillwork: Ell-Rod Architectural Millwork

    Read more: More

  • in

    Bachmann Associés gives Belle Époque hotel in French ski resort a modern update

    Bare brick and concrete are exposed in this renovation of a grand hotel at the foot of Mont Blanc by French architecture practice Bachmann Associés.

    Set in the ski resort of Chamonix, La Folie Douce Hôtel Chamonix occupies the former Savoy Palace – an 18,000-square-metre Belle Époque building with 250 rooms and five restaurants that was originally constructed in 1904.
    La Folie Douce Hôtel Chamonix is set in the renovated Savoy Palace hotelIn the 1920s, the hotel hosted lavish balls and tennis tournaments. But it later fell into disrepair and was abandoned by French travel operator Club Med in 2018 after it stated that “the site simply no longer meets our criteria”.
    Commissioned by the hotel’s new operators – hotel groups La Folie Douce and Les Hôtels Très Particuliers – Bachmann Associés wanted to reconnect the hotel with its opulent heritage and create spaces that would appeal to an “eclectic clientele”.
    Concrete and brick are exposed throughout the interiorThe Dinard-based studio, founded by architects Christophe Bachmann and Jérôme Gesret, left many of the hotel’s walls and ceilings intentionally rough, using lighting to accentuate any cracks and uneven textures.

    These raw surfaces are contrasted with opulent antique furnishings and finishes, including velvet-upholstered chaises longues, bespoke patterned carpets and brass fixtures.
    Modern fixtures replace old-school chandeliers in the atriumIn the public areas, dark and intimate spaces are alternated with generous light-filled rooms blessed with expansive Alpine views.
    In the lobby, partitions and false ceilings were stripped out to create a grand atrium with a sweeping staircase and a series of contemporary suspension lights that replace the hotel’s old-fashioned chandeliers.
    On the first floor, a cocktail lounge called Le Janssen is anchored by a brass-fronted bar and surrounded by arched floor-to-ceiling windows.

    Roman and Williams turns historic police station into NoMad’s London outpost

    “For this project, we had an exciting playground,” Gesret and Bachmann explained. “It was demanding because we had to bring an old palace back to life by completely reinventing the codes of the classic hotel industry. But that is really what appealed to us.”
    “We really like to shake up and reinvent places and we had a lot of fun exploiting the volumes, imagining spaces of freedom and conviviality in the very spirit of La Folie Douce.”
    The cocktail lounge has a brass-fronted barWith a similar aim, Snøhetta recently updated another Belle Époque hotel set in a tiny mountain village in Norway, while Roman and Williams converted a historic London police station into the first international outpost from American hospitality chain NoMad.
    The photography is by Gaelle Le Boulicaut.

    Read more: More

  • in

    Light and Air updates Financial District apartment with open floor plan

    Brooklyn studio Light and Air has renovated a loft in New York City’s financial district by removing partitions to create an open, inviting space.

    Occupying the 12th storey of a converted commercial building in one of Manhattan’s historic neighbourhoods, the apartment has generous windows and floor area, but previously made poor use of these qualities and felt cramped.
    The apartment occupies the 12th storey of a Manhattan building”The existing conditions stifled the unit’s access to light and air,” said the design team. The owners tapped Shane Neufeld, of  Brooklyn-based Light and Air Studio, to rethink the space.
    “The space featured a low-hanging storage loft that hovered over the entry and a sprawling closet that loudly commanded the center of the space, disrupting any potential for meaningful visual connections,” said Neufeld.
    It was updated to have an open floor plan”Our goal was to maintain the functionality of the storage loft while creating a more generous entry and rethinking the programming and materiality of the apartment in its entirety,” the designer added.

    The team removed many of the apartment’s internal walls and reduced the footprint of the overhead storage loft to allow taller ceilings. Within the reconfigured welcome area, custom closets, shelving, and a sculptural wooden bench provide plenty of storage, some behind a slatted wooden wall.
    A minimal material palette was used throughoutLight and Air also updated the flooring in this area, marking the transition between the concrete of the building’s corridors and the apartment’s hardwood. The polished concrete is also found in the kitchen and bathroom.
    Within the 1,200 square-foot (111-square-metre) apartment, Light and Air partitioned the space using open shelving, allowing some perspectives to stay open between the living room and bedroom.
    Custom desks were built into the space”Our strategy took the shape of an open floor plan with minimal partitions and reducing the existing material complexity through a more straightforward approach,” said Neufeld.
    The living and dining room is positioned in the corner of the unit and has windows facing in two different directions.
    “Two exterior walls with multiple southeast and southwest exposures allow for significant natural light and impressive views of lower Manhattan,” said Neufeld.

    Schissel Montgomery Architects renovates Brooklyn flat for art gallerist

    These spaces were connected to the kitchen, which remained in the same location, but was updated with matching cabinetry, new appliances, and an additional sink that provides more functionality.
    Throughout the apartment, the designers employed a minimal palette. The walls have no base moulding, there is flush cabinetry, and custom, built-in desks.
    Wood takes centre stage in the project”As one moves in and around the different elements (some floating effortlessly off the ground), its functional variety and formal character become more readily apparent,” Neufeld concluded.
    Light and Air studio, also known as L/AND/A, was founded in 2017. The firm also designed a townhouse in Brooklyn, with a skylight illuminating a central staircase.
    Other New York City apartment renovations include a “minimal but warm” apartment that was designed by Selma Akkari and Rawan Muqaddas, and a loft on Broadway that local studio Worrell Yeung reconfigured to meet the needs of a growing family.
    The photography is by Kevin Kunstadt.

    Read more: More

  • in

    Urselmann Interior renovates own office using recycled and biodegradable materials

    Düsseldorf studio Urselmann Interior has renovated its own office interiors using biodegradable, recycled or upcycled materials, including glueless joinery and a cellulose-based wall cladding.

    The interior design studio said that it renovated its self-described “circular” office in the German city to only feature materials that are either recycled, upcycled or biodegradable.
    Urselmann Interior’s office is in DüsseldorfThese include existing wooden and terrazzo flooring that was salvaged during the renovation, as well as heaters obtained from resource-efficient building material platform Concular.
    Spread over one main workspace, a kitchen and a meeting room, the single-level office features clay paint walls and is designed to be used as both a co-working space and a showroom.
    The renovation includes a kitchen”The office also serves us as a laboratory in that we can [use it to] test new qualities, materials and construction methods,” project manager Liz Theißen told Dezeen.

    A solid wooden frame was used to create simple kitchen cabinets, which were constructed without glue so that the structure is fully demountable.
    Joinery was created without glue in much of the projectThe frame was fitted with panels formed from recycled strips of fabric supplied by textile brand Kvadrat from its Really collection.
    For its walls, the studio used Honext wall cladding – a cellulose-based material that is produced using paper sludge and cardboard waste.

    Honext develops recyclable construction material made of cellulose fibres from waste paper

    Poplar wood from a tree felled in the nearby city of Krefeld was chosen for the ceiling, which was also assembled without glue.
    Throughout the office, neutral and minimal colour and material palettes were applied to the interior design, which also includes clusters of carefully arranged potted plants and books.
    Second-hand lighting encased in wiggly orange felt from Hey-Sign adds a splash of colour to the otherwise sandy-hued atmosphere.
    Wiggly orange lighting adds a splash of colourTheißen explained that all of the components that Urselmann Interior used for the renovation have been listed in a published “material passport” that can be referred to for future projects.
    “We want to develop a new design language for ourselves, in which we smartly combine high-quality materials such as solid wood with ecological building materials as well as reusable components [to achieve] a positive footprint in the construction industry,” she concluded.
    Honext panels line the clay paint wallsUrselmann Interior is a Düsseldorf-based interiors studio founded by Sven Urselmann.
    Similar projects to the studio’s office renovation include a Madrid restaurant by Lucas Muñoz with furniture formed from site construction waste and a bar made out of recycled stereos, bottle crates and fridges by Michael Marriott.
    The photography is by Magdalena Gruber. 
    Project credits:
    Design and build: Urselmann InteriorFounder and designer: Sven UrselmannDesigner: Petra JablonickáProject manager: Liz Theißen

    Read more: More

  • in

    New Practice brings warmth and colour to Glasgow's century-old Kinning Park Complex

    A historic community centre that was saved from demolition by activists – including Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon – has been given a new lease of life by architecture studio New Practice.

    New Practice founders Becca Thomas and Marc Cairns opted for a light-touch approach in the renovation of Kinning Park Complex, a century-old former school building in the southwest of Glasgow.
    A new roof dotted with skylights makes the building weather-proof againAlthough the building was in a poor state, with an extremely leaking roof, faulty electrics and a broken heating system, the Glasgow-based architects’ approach was to save as much of the existing structure and interior as possible.
    They adopted a reuse and recycle strategy, while also making subtle changes that improve the building’s functionality and accessibility.
    Pink denotes the community space on the first floorThe revamped interiors are animated by a system of colour-blocking, which helps to ensure the building can be easily navigated by people of all literacy levels.

    “One of our key aims was to keep the building feeling familiar,” explains Thomas in a video about the project.
    First-floor workspaces are picked out in yellow”Lots of people have hugely strong memories and love for the building and we didn’t want to change that too much. By taking this adaptive reuse approach, we just kept the building feeling like itself and tried to elevate that,” she said.
    “Every choice to remove something original has been taken only where we absolutely needed to remove that, for the safety and for the future of the building.”
    Kinning Park Complex was originally a school buildingKinning Park Complex first became a community centre after the school closed down in 1976, but looked set for demolition when the council announced plans to close it in 1996.
    Local residents and campaigners, including a then-25-year old Nicola Sturgeon, staged a sit-in to protest the closure. After 55 days, the council agreed to let the community take over the building’s running.
    The building stayed in use for another two decades, but over time its problems became hard to ignore.
    A reconfigured ground floor features a large community kitchenThe trustees, led by local resident Helen Kyle, approached New Practice after seeing Many Studios, a creative hub that the architects created in a converted Glasgow market hall.
    The challenge was not only to refurbish the building but also to help support the community’s ambition to buy the property, by improving opportunities for income generation.

    RCKa designs Nourish Hub to tackle food poverty in London

    Thanks to government and lottery funding, the architects were able to plan a full overhaul of the interior in collaboration with engineering firm Max Fordham.
    The roof was replaced as sensitively as possible, while the interior layout was gently adjusted to make room for a lift.
    A double-helix staircase, originally sub-divided, has been opened upThe atrium, which was once subdivided to separate boys and girls, is now opened up. The result is a space that feels generous and bright, thanks to the skylight overhead.
    Three floors of classroom and office spaces have been adapted for a range of uses. A community kitchen can be found on the ground floor, while the second level has become a co-working space.
    The building was taken over by the community following a sit-in in 1996″A key decision that we had to make was to ensure that the work that we were doing in the building didn’t sanitise this rich, abrasive history of activism and community-led dialogues and debates,” said Cairns.
    “We really tried to keep that at the forefront of our thinking.”
    Original wood floors have been rejuvenatedFlexible partitions allows the ground- and first-floor halls to be easily subdivided if required.
    Other spaces include a quiet room that could be used for anything from prayer to breast-feeding, and a series of small studios and workshops.
    The restored handrails are painted in the same burgundy they were in the pastRealising the project in the context of the pandemic proved a challenge. With the architects unable to be on site all the time, they found it difficult to fully realise their ambition to reuse as much as possible.
    Thomas and Cairns recall coming to site to find elements such as doors and balustrade railings had been thrown away by builders, despite their instructions.
    Nonetheless there are still plenty of recycled details to be found, including a framed patch of original wallpaper and a series of storage cabinets built into the walls.
    Original details, like a patch of ageing wallpaper, are celebratedThey hope the building can help to become a positive example of adaptive reuse, particularly in light of the COP26 environmental conference that recently took place in Glasgow.
    This sentiment is echoed by Sturgeon: “The challenge of refurbishing and imagining a building like this, for decades to come, is fantastically dynamic for the architecture and design industries,” she said.
    “We just took it for granted that buildings would reach the end of their natural life and then they would sort of fall into dereliction, and thankfully communities decided that that wasn’t going to happen. So we’ve learned how to reimagine things for the future and preserve for the future.”
    Photography is by Will Scott. Video is by Pretend Lovers.

    Read more: More

  • in

    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.

    Read more: More