49 East Street, NY
49 East Street, NY is a small apartment project located in a historical building in the heart of Manhattan. After seeing the existing apartment on the market I decided to take on this project and bring something from my own experience into that space. The initial layout was determined by the structure of the building and I fell in love with it. The kitchen nook felt so cozy and the ceiling beams brought some brutality into the space. However, I cleaned up the entrance making it more airy and spacious but left all the structural elements open to highlight the architectural advantages of the space. Just as in my previous project the design is based on a combination of different volumes, tuning their proportions, creating a dialogue between them. Though this project brought some new challenges due to the sophisticated layout and lots of volumes that were not always coherent with one another.
Driving by the goal of creating a peaceful and quiet home in the middle of such a vibrant and hectic city as New York, I peeled everything that felt excessive and out of place and tried to bring balance into the abundance of forms and volumes. This resulted in an open living room combined with a dining area. The kitchen nook stayed where it originally was, although I changed the kitchen itself, updating proportions, materials and extending it a bit to the dining area. Instead of a walk-in closet that existed next to the entrance area, the marble storage cabins were added. It helped to enter some natural light into this area, making it look much more spacious. Furniture pieces by eminent Jean Royère, Le Corbusier, and Pierre Chapo are highlighting the history of the apartment and bringing the European classic design to America. Works of incredible Otis Jones, Egon Schiele, Nickolas Muray, and Charles Kalpakian are completing the visual image. The result is a silent retreat in the middle of NY city, it’s the space that shields you from the hustle and bustle outside, helping concentrate on the intimate inner atmosphere.
