When Brooklyn-based firm StudioKCA first visited this former office space in an 1869 building in New York City’s Financial District, they were struck by the view, but didn’t like how the office fittings made it difficult to appreciate the sights.

“If you can get past the walls and the drop ceiling and the terrible kitchen, there was a view there of beautiful, old-school New York buildings from the 1800s right outside the window,” says Jason Klimoski, who leads the architecture and design firm with Lesley Chang.

The owners of the unit—a doctor and educator with a one-year-old— wanted to convert the 1,500-square-foot office space into an apartment with two bedrooms and two baths. The firm suggested starting with highlighting the impressive city views. “Our first thought was, ‘Oh, we have to let this view come in and be part of all of the different rooms,’” remembers Klimoski.

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

The unit had been remodeled many times over, with its original features buried under layers of chicken wire, sheet rock, and plaster. “When we started to pull that apart, we saw the beauty underneath it all,” says Klimoski. “The clients are great. They trusted us and let us dig into the walls and find the hidden structure that was there and work hard to expose it.”

In the team’s initial probes, they found “gems” like brick and steel. The question became, says Klimoski, “How much can you peel away to get at the essence of what was once there?”

Before: Master Bedroom and Office Nook

After: Master Bedroom and Office Nook

The firm surrounded the master bedroom with glass-and-steel-framed walls in order to set the bedroom apart from the main living areas and allow more natural light to flow between the different rooms.

“It might feel counterintuitive to build a glass partition wall for a master bedroom, but it allowed us to give them all of the windows in their main space,” says Klimoski. The occupants’ privacy is ensured by strategically hidden blinds, which can be lowered down the glass walls by a touch of a button located beside the bed.

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

The goal for the kitchen design was to integrate it with the rest of the living spaces, as doing so carved out room for another bedroom and bath, yet keep the scheme as simple as possible. The firm did so by maximizing the storage possibilities in the kitchen.

They took the light-colored cabinets up to the ceiling and created “two pockets of storage” behind the tile backsplash to conceal small appliances. At one end of the island, the firm incorporated a custom piece in the style of a card catalog. Its 30 drawers hold a lot of household odds and ends. “It was just about trying to keep it super simple, to keep all the clutter away so that it didn't distract from the overall space and the view,” says Klimoski.

Shop the Look

Before: Dining Room

After: Dining Room

Before: Child’s Room

After: Child’s Room

Before: Bathroom

After: Bathroom

More Before & After:

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A Cramped Pre-War Apartment in Manhattan Gets a Glowing Makeover

Project Credits:

Architecture: StudioKCA / @studiokca

Builder: DSC Construction

Lighting Design: StudioKCA

Interior Design: StudioKCA

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Before & After: A Converted Office in NYC Ditches Bland Interiors for Brick and Steel