Lilian H. Weinreich Renovates Minimalist NoHo Duplex Using Only Four Materials

Located at the confluence of four trend-setting Manhattan neighborhoods—the Bowery, NoLIta, SoHo, and the Lower East Side—this duplex renovation was designed as a first home for a young couple with a second baby on the way. Minimal and impossibly chic, its palette comprises only four main materials: glass, blackened steel, treated oak, and milk-white paint.

The program called for a family residence with an open, flowing plan on two levels. Through the thoughtful interventions of architect Lilian H. Weinreich, the existing one-bedroom, two-bath duplex was converted into a three-bedroom, 2 1⁄2 bath home without compromise to space. To save on square footage, Weinreich used sliding rather than swing-out doors wherever possible. A series of 11-foot-high steel doors retract to open up to a powder room, the master bedroom, and the master bathroom. And downstairs, pocket doors between the nursery and playroom create a exible space—subdivided for sleep or open for play.

Red oak flooring throughout is treated with a fumed, oiled finish for a gently grayed look that suits the neutral but graphic interior scheme to a tee. Blackened-steel elements fabricated on site, including the oating stairs and sliding doors, reference the building’s original cast-iron columns.

As beautiful as the space is, the clients are planning to move to a larger apartment in five years, as their family continues to expand, with Weinreich on board once again. Stay tuned.

Project Team: David L. Hendershot; Michael D. Ezekowitz. General Contractor: Great Will 88 Contracting. A/V Consultant: Cloud 9 Smarthome. Structural Engineer: Blue Sky Design. Millwork: CPQ Custom Interiors.