When interior designer Nina Blair and her partner moved from London to New York in 2007, they were drawn to a mid-19th century building in Tribeca. Its warehouse-like character reminded them of “brutalist apartments in East End London,” she says. Although the loft had some striking historic details—Corinthian columns would be found hidden in the walls—the space lacked light as a result of the nearby brickwork alleys, characteristic of Tribeca.

After sitting with the space for a few years, Nina and her husband cultivated a design that would age well and adapt to their family’s growth over time. As Nina states, “Design and architecture [should] respond to innate needs.”

To bring in more light, they removed a series of walls and added a glass box to reveal the two southwest-facing windows in the back. These upgrades delivered an open floor plan that allows light to “reverberate throughout the space,” says Nina. After this major change, the home was a blank canvas for her to introduce pieces representing her and her husband's Ghanaian, Scandinavian, and British backgrounds.

Before: Living Area

After: Living Area

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Both African and Scandinavian designs are very much “responses to nature,” Nina muses, so the couple’s pieces are complementary. Coexisting in the living room, for example, are cushions Nina fashioned from her mother’s traditional African wax-print dresses and the Eames chair her husband purchased with his first paycheck.

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Before: Living Area

After: Glass Office and Guest Room

A focal point of the loft is the glass box, a design decision that was met with some skepticism simply because of the potential starkness of the material. Nina brought in a Marshmallow Sofa by George Nelson and used a light, airy color scheme to add softness.

As the couple predicted, the space has shifted in response to their growing family. They converted the glass box office into their kids’ room, adding a wraparound curtain for privacy. In the morning, Nina explains, the kids draw the curtains open, inviting in sunlight and reconnecting to the entire home.