Before & After: The Finishing Touch for This Firehouse Loft Was a 300-Person Pride Party
Designer Mariano Testa leaned into the Brooklyn building’s history and imperfections—including a concrete floor scuffed by his friends’ footprints—as he breathed new life into the space.
Text by
Mariano Testa lives in a former firehouse, and there’s a heavy metal door that opens to his loft. On the inside of the door, he pins various scraps and mementos from the year—a friend’s wedding invitation, a picture of his dog, Luna, fortune cookie messages. "The door becomes this beautiful record of the year and what’s happening in my life, good and bad," says Mariano. "Maybe like a real-life Instagram wall or something, you know?"
Try Dwell+ to Continue
Subscribe to Dwell+ to get unlimited access to the very best of Dwell, including a steady stream of subscriber exclusives, ad-free browsing, and more.
Subscribe to Dwell+
You can cancel at any time. Already a Dwell+ subscriber? Sign In
Melissa Dalton
Dwell Contributor
Melissa Dalton is a freelance writer in Portland, Oregon, who has been writing for Dwell since 2017. Read more of her work about design and architecture at melissadalton.net.
Published