A Creative Staircase for a Compact NYC Loft

Here's a before shot of the apartment. "The client wanted a kitchen that felt clean and modern, but also comfortable to sit and do work in," Zames says.

Zames reconfigured the apartment to improve circulation and open some of the confined rooms. What was formerly a hallway is now integrated with the kitchen. A bank of floor-to-ceiling cabinets offers storage and an island covered in carrara marble offers space for working or dining. "We embraced dark colors in the kitchen to keep a contrast with the bright white of the surrounding living areas," Zames says of the constrasting finishes. The barstools are from CB2.

Walnut veneers cover the kitchen cabinets and select appliances, like the 18" Bosch 800 Series dishwasher and 24" Liebherr refrigerator. Zames specified Paperstone for the countertop and marble for the backsplash. The cooktop and oven are both Bertazzoni, the sink is Blanco Precis in Antrhacite, and the faucet is a Kohler Sensate Touchless model.

Confronted with limited space to build the staircase needed to access the living area and bedroom on the second level, General Assembly designed a custom solution. "These stairs are not an ideal design for everyone and shouldn't be used as primary stairs—we like to think of them more as millwork with a little bonus to it, than an actual staircase," Zames says. "The cube construction of the stairs actually came from a budget standpoint. We were very tight on budget and wanted to maximize the material as much as possible."

"By creating a series of cubes that could be put together with a limited kit of parts, we minimized wasted material and labor costs for assembly," Zames says.

The storage cubbies a hold the residents' books. Zames used walnut veneered plywood to build the staircase. The exaggerated finger joints used in the millwork adds practical visual interest to the steps. "Because the stair is a kind of 'ship ladder' stair it can be a bit tricky to walk on," Zames says. "We wanted to have a detail at the top of each step to act as a visual cue to help people climb safely."

Here's a detail of the steps.

For more on General Assembly's work, read our story on a Brooklyn loft renovation.