“I’m a Warhol-phile,” says Marc Fichera, a sales associate with The Stein Team at Sotheby’s International Realty in Manhattan. Indeed, a colorful array of skate decks depicting Andy Warhol’s iconic Campbell’s Soup cans greets visitors in the entry of Marc’s home, a 1,000-square foot loft in the SoHo-Cast Iron District. He also has two prints, one photograph, and one Polaroid by the pop artist along with pieces by other LGBTQ+ artists. All figure prominently in the unit he shares with Dustin Zuber, a stylist at luxury e-commerce site The Editorialist.

Marc has been collecting art and furniture since he moved to the city after college. After purchasing the loft, Marc decided it was time to hire someone to help him pull it all together. That someone was Kyle O’Donnell, the 32-year-old founder of Gramercy Design who has been in the biz since he was 14. Marc and O’Donnell connected at a photo shoot of an Upper West Side townhouse owned by their mutual clients, Anne Hathaway and her husband Adam Shulman. Less than a year later, they were collaborating.

O’Donnell began by taking inventory of Marc’s collection. Before placing anything, he smartened up the blank, beige space by playing up contrast. The wood floors were fine, and the 12-foot ceilings and large windows were assets; he added crown moldings, swapped the doors and the hardware, painted the baseboards and window trim black, and painted the walls white. “Marc wanted a gallery-like feel,” O’Donnell says. “We provided a clean backdrop that would highlight his art.”

Linear black picture lights by Juniper showcase the artwork and brighten the whole length of the apartment. “The lights are a nod to a traditional way of highlighting art but feel very modern,” O'Donnell says. " layout="bleed" credit="Matthew Placek" photoUserId=""/>

O’Donnell created three zones—living, dining, and kitchen—that function independently but present cohesively. “The challenge is making three separate areas feel like one unified space,” he says. Touches of black, including minimalist picture lights that crisply outline the perimeter, unify the open floor plan while like-minded groupings of furniture, lighting, and art offer inviting areas for living, eating, and cooking. “Everything has to talk to each other,” O’Donnell says.

Oversize windows that frame historic, cast-iron facades draw the eye deep into the loft where a De Sede patchwork leather sofa anchors the living area. “The simple form and hand-crafted feel of the sofa speak to the art,” the architectural designer says. The vintage piece replaced a beat-up leather sofa from RH that the couple sold a tad too soon. “We built a pillow fort to sit on for three months until [the new couch] was delivered from Switzerland,” Dustin laughs. "COVID delays."

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A Gabriel Scott black steel–and–smoky glass chandelier anchors the dining area. Marc, who had often walked by the lighting designer’s showroom, had promised himself he would acquire one of the multifaceted fixtures when he bought his first apartment. O’Donnell lowered it to make the space feel more intimate and so that diners could experience the sculptural shape at a more personal level. He also replaced a too-heavy slab table with a solid but airy Danish extension table and surrounded it with vintage Marcel Breuer Cesca chairs that he deems “not too serious.”

After identifying the most significant artworks as stand-alones, O’Donnell and Marc arranged the spares on a gallery wall that bridges the dining area and kitchen. Here, portraits by fashion-meets-Hollywood photographers Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber mingle with Tom Bianchi’s Fire Island Pines nudes and an original production cel from The Little Mermaid. “I’m an all-around Disney fan,” says Marc, who also has a pebbled-leather Mickey Mouse sculpture in the living room from the Disney and Coach collection.

The trio were all in when it came to painting the bedroom a moody blue, though the couple’s friends protested. “When we painted samples next to the bed, everyone that came protested, but we love it,” Marc says. The juxtaposition of light and dark is cozy. “It’s very relaxing to go from the bright living room into the dark bedroom,” Dustin says. The closet situation, however, is not so Zen. “Everything is spilling out; we need to have some restraint,” Marc admits.

O’Donnell imagines he will be coming up with a remedy sometime soon. “I’m just waiting for their call,” he says.

Herb Ritts hangs atop existing Cole & Son "Nuvolette" wallpaper by Piero Fornasetti, and the Gabriel Scott sconce relates to the chandelier in the dining room. O'Donnell added crown molding and designed a new vanity in the same style as the media console and new kitchen cabinet doors." layout="" credit="Matthew Placek" photoUserId=""/>

This Elegant, Industrial SoHo Loft Is Streamlined but Cozy

Project Credits:

Design: Gramercy Design / @gramercydesign

Cabinetry: Bednark, Inc. / @bednarkstudio