The Manhattan Transformation
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Of the seven steps in Michael Pozner’s not-quite-500-square-foot aerie in Greenwich Village, five contain drawers. His small set of table and chairs is from CB2.Photo by: Raimund Koch -
White oak paneling imbues uniformity and warmth into the hallway, kitchen, and living spaces.Photo by: Raimund Koch -
Pozner fills down time with creative projects, such as the “List Art” canvas featuring his favorite bands.Photo by: Raimund Koch -
Architect Darrick Borowski, designed the nearly wall-size custom cabinetry.Photo by: Raimund Koch -
Exploratory demolition revealed enough space in the kitchen for an Asko washer-dryer and a full-size refrigerator.Photo by: Raimund Koch -
To maximize space, both sides of the bed are outfitted with wall sockets and reading lights.Photo by: Raimund Koch -
Each of the sliding trays in Pozner’s tidy office desk serves a different function.Photo by: Raimund Koch -
“The most important thing to do in a small space is exploratory demolition,” Pozner says. “We found all that height in the bathroom ceiling. There are giant cabinets above the bed—we found all that space. This facilitated architect Darrick Borowski’s small-space rallying cry: “Built-ins, built-ins, built-ins!”Photo by: Raimund Koch -
Borowski took what he archly calls the “Karl Rove approach” to the redesign: “Find the weaknesses and turn them into strengths.” A case in point: Pozner’s ubiquitous piles of paperwork. “These led us to design multiple sliding desktops,” fabricated by Paul Chung of New York Construction Associates and Supreme General Construction, with multiple sliding trays he could spread his papers out on.Photo by: Raimund Koch -
“I got rid of the bathtub because I like the idea of a big shower,” Pozner explains. But to achieve a comparable effect, he installed a teak bench from Waterworks on the rear shower wall. “One of the things I like about a bath is that you can soak. Here I can sit and have the water pound on me—it’s a hybrid shower and bath.”Photo by: Raimund Koch -
“Try to group uses and find solutions that solve multiple problems,” Borowski counsels. As an example, Pozner cites the idea of having the loft stairs double as clothing drawers. Though he eschewed a handrail, preferring a cleaner look, Pozner says that the slipperiness of the stairs “remains a work in progress. We had grooves, but they hurt my feet.” The pair are now looking into heavy-duty felt treads.Photo by: Raimund Koch -
Pozner credits Borowski with the idea to use a roller shade, purchased at the Shade Store, to close off the sleeping loft. The simple intervention, neither sound- nor lightproof, is sufficient to demarcate one “room” from another.Photo by: Raimund Koch
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