Antonio Monserrat likes to start small. The architect—who grew up on an island in Spain, worked for Zaha Hadid Architects in London, and recently launched his own practice in Brooklyn called Monserrat Studio—builds small-scale prototypes as a way to test his design concepts. The pieces often resemble chairs, though Antonio regards them as fluid, multifunctional objects that can be used as seating, bedside tables, plant stands, and the like. In building them, he plays with form and structure before experimenting with paint and other finishes. “I see them as temporary architectures that help me explore ideas,” Antonio says.

Antonio’s own Williamsburg home, where he’s lived for about a year, was the studio’s first project. He was drawn to the 800-square foot loft, located in an early 1900s industrial building that once operated as a bakery, for its 12-foot ceilings, large windows, and original, exposed timber beams and columns complete with oil stains, nails, and screws. Most importantly, the space allowed for creativity.

Instead of walls and doors, Antonio uses color to delineate rooms. “There are no physical barriers, but you realize you are transitioning between spaces,” he says. The pastel palette inspired by his Mediterranean upbringing is intended to elicit peace, beauty, and grace. It’s also a little playful. Arched openings between rooms and curved furnishings further soften the scheme. “Many architects stick to black and white, but I wanted to do colorful,” Antonio says. “When I come home, it is very relaxing; these colors work for me.”

To enhance the impact of lightness and serenity, Antonio refashioned the entry. He lowered the ceiling (this handily allowed for a sleeping loft above, where friends from Europe often crash), applied a hot pink film to it, and painted the walls and floor emerald green. “There’s a dramatic change,” Antonio says. “You come into a tight, dark space, then move to a very light space with 12-foot ceilings. You experience the airiness right away.”

The living space is an ethereal shade of pale peach. It’s a whisper of a color chosen for the way it complements the rustic wood ceiling beams. A pair of orange, midcentury pendants designed by Piet Hein for Lyfa provide a quick zing above the arch-shaped, wood-and-chrome dining table. Antonio designed and built the piece himself after working through the design with hand-cut prototypes—one of which became his cat Oslo’s dining shelf. “I like being hands-on; you can only explore certain things by working with the material,” he says. “In architecture school, they emphasized that.”

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In the seating area, green velvet floor-to-ceiling drapes that refer back to the color in the entry frame deep purple Ligne Roset backless sofas that Antonio chose for their simplicity and flexibility. “Friends often end up using the cushions on the floor,” he says. “I like when people are at different heights.” Tubular, steel-and-glass Eileen Gray side tables echo the welded chrome base of the dining table, and a glass rod Lightolier chandelier he bought at an antique store in Manhattan is a glamorous juxtaposition to the ceiling beams. Each piece is absolutely intentional. “I collect furniture, but I had to be selective in this limited space,” he says.

Antonio took down the wall to the sleeping area, topped the opening with an arch, and painted the floor and walls a pale blue that hints at hazy clouds. The bed that Antonio designed is the same color while the detached headboard—a strip of wood mounted on a corrugated panel backdrop—is done in a duskier shade. Sunshine yellow Kartell storage pieces provide a similar punch as the zesty orange pendants in the dining area, and an iconic First chair by Michele de Lucchi for Memphis offers a spot of amped-up blue. Like his prototypes, the chair is not just a chair. “It can be a sculpture,” Antonio says.

It’s Memphis–meets–Luis Barragán in the bath, where Antonio paired walls of stacked mustard tiles with planes of pale pink. Eschewing a conventional glass shower enclosure, Antonio designed a divider with an arched cut-out fit with glass with an orange film. One of Antonio’s biggest challenges revolved around a rather mundane matter: What to do for a towel rack? After returning one that just didn’t look right and hunting for another, Antonio made one out of Perspex panels and rods. He’s now working on a way to manufacture it.

The rack, like many other aspects of the loft, marries minimalism with craft, straight lines with curves, and formalism with poetic expression. “The way I look at architecture and design is how you experience the space,” Antonio says. “The objects, the color, the change in height; it’s a journey.”

This Brooklyn Loft Keeps 2,500 Books Tidy With Angled Shelves

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Monserrat Studio / @monserrat.studio

Builder: Emi Construction

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Color, Curves, and Verve Combine at an Architect’s Playful Brooklyn Loft