An open floor plan often begs for walls. But carving up an old, 1,200-square-foot loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was not an option for New York architecture practice New Affiliates.

The firm’s clients, who’d been living in the largely open-plan apartment for two years, hoped to maintain its airy feel while also introducing defined rooms. Though the space has large windows, they are all on one side, and walls would have turned the interior into a cave.

Besides, “if you’re going to live in a loft, embrace an open lifestyle,” says Craig Redman, an artist and illustrator who shares the space with his partner, fashion executive Thomas Chen, and their art and design collection.

New Affiliates supported the choice. “The space, as we found it, was actually quite beautiful. They had these gorgeous giant windows, and it was full of light,” says Jaffer Kolb, the firm’s coprincipal. The loft retains remnants of the industrial past of its four-story, cast-iron building, including a brick wall spanning most of the space. “Our first thought,” says Kolb, “was, We just can’t mess this up. It has such great bones.”

The layout presented challenges nonetheless. “The organization of the space didn’t work,” says Kolb, adding that the kitchen was dark and badly needed an overhaul. New Affiliates solved multiple problems at once with a custom island installed toward the back of the loft.

The structure has an open kitchen on one side, facing out to the sunny dining and living areas, while its backside is lined with closets and a hidden laundry area, creating a semiprivate hallway adjacent to the bathroom. “The apartment has a fluid way of transitioning between spaces,” says New Affiliates coprincipal Ivi Diamantopoulou.

Bringing natural light to the back of the space was key to the new design, says Diamantopoulou. She and Kolb did this, in part, by rounding the edges of the island’s millwork. “That curve allows the light to refract and come into the entryway in a much different way than if it were a hard corner,” explains Kolb.

In another bold move, the designers relocated the bedroom area from its dark corner in the back to an alcove by the windows. A curtain, when needed, curves along a custom track around the space to provide privacy, and the material is dense enough to block noise from the street. Craig and Thomas chose the curtain’s vibrant shade of blue—one of many design decisions they influenced.

“We were riffing off their ideas about not wanting this to be a white-on-white space,” says Kolb, “but to feel full of color and life.” Walls, it turns out, would have just gotten in the way.

Project Credits:

Renovation Design: New Affiliates / @new_affiliates

Contractor: Urban Design Workshop

Construction: Kraftwork

Cabinetry Design: Studio Kina