bStudio Gut Renovates a Spacious Prewar Apartment in Manhattan

A floor-through prewar condo is a major get in New York City. For the fortunate newlywed owners, the only catch was the existing three-bed/one-bath layout: Cramped and dark, it had too many bedrooms and not enough storage. There was only one thing for it: a gut renovation.

The couple had come across the work of bStudio Architectural Design though mutual friends, and knew founding principal Breanna Carlson would be the ideal fit for the project. First up was eliminating the unwanted third bedroom to reclaim useful square footage. Next, the bathrooms were expanded to twice the usual size (a must since one of the pair is a hairdresser who does private consultations at home). Penny round tiles make an affordable but sophisticated impact—white in the master bath and a variegated wash of indigo, like worn denim, in the guest bath.

Living areas now come with functional storage, from a trundle daybed to ledges that house the couple’s art and other treasures. As the finishing touch, bStudio transposed a monochrome zoning map, with the client’s property singled out, onto a sliding door. In a nifty bit of design, the door tracks back to conceal the wall-mounted television in the living room while simultaneously revealing the entry to the master bedroom. A corresponding map covers the door to the guest bedroom, this time highlighting the location of the couple’s second home, in Seattle.

Project Team: Juana Haddad; Brynn MacDonald. Architect of Record: Brian T. Gillen. General Contractor: DHI Contracting. Millwork: Cabinet Maker NYC