Interiores

By creating a desk out of roof beams, this home office perfectly integrates into an open-plan renovation of a Northern Italian farmhouse.

The dining room features 1970s leather-and-brass dining chairs and a table concocted from a brass-and-silver base and a custom lacquered top. The cheerful blue paint enlivening the doorway is from Emery & Cie.

Owen also constructed this teak workbench and desk himself. The epoxy floor plate is a low-maintenance alternative to hardwood or carpet, chosen to contrast a white washed industrial interior. The stool is from Tolix.

The kitchen is Owen’s favorite room thanks to its ample sunlight light: about 60 linear feet of floor-to-ceiling windows face the counter. He describes the kitchen as a great place to have hors d’ouevres and hang out with friends. The fixtures are from IKEA and the countertop is Caesarstone.

They restored small alcoves to rooms including the office (shown here) and living room and worked carefully with the existing windows. They also hunted down a craftsman, Marc Ablasou, to install oak floors in a herringbone pattern—a touch that subtly complicates Safdie’s aesthetic. In the office, the mirrored console is vintage and the Grand Prix chair is by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen.

One of the few designer pieces in the home, a set of four Michael Thonet coffee house chairs, from 1859, offer a simple seating solution. The dining table, designed by Odgård, was built from a 109-year-old oak tree, which was harvested and milled locally.

A no-fuss sensibility permeates the house. For example, the utilitarian kitchen has laminate cabinets, a stainless-steel countertop, and a Miele stove and dishwasher. The refrigerator is by Fisher & Paykel. No. 18 chairs from Thonet and a reclaimed-hardwood table are stationed atop a vintage Persian soumak rug from Turkey.

The Ogrodnik/Bardin family enjoy the pleasures of family life in the kitchen.

A massive slab of cypress perched atop sawhorses provides storage for pots and utensils.

This prefab house is built around a system of 4' by 4' concrete modules and a reusable formwork to save on costs and materials.

The kitchen and lofted guest bedroom take cues from urban living—including an apartment-size Summit refrigerator. The cabinets are IKEA and the tile is by Heath Ceramics.

An Eames Storage Unit helps to define distinct living and dining spaces. A Melo sofa from BoConcept faces a chest of drawers that Drew found at a Manhattan flea market.

The Vladimir Lenin prints were a gift from Drew’s father, also a graphic designer, and reflect their shared love of “graphically powerful types of printed ephemera,” Drew says. Standard chairs by Jean Prouvé for Vitra are tucked under the dining table.

Graphic designers Ned Drew and Brenda McManus have made their renovated Manhattan apartment a showcase for their collectibles, including a vintage Eames leg splint and a “Wilhelm Tell” poster by Armin Hofmann.

Muuto Stacked Shelving creates a flexible and playful display area.

The library features a Muuto Oslo Sofa and Lassen Saxe Chairs. Exposed brick and generous windows are reminders of the warehouse setting.

By acting as both the designer and general contractor, MARK+VIVI was able to complete the renovation for just $150 per square foot.