Nomadic Nest

Our clients lived on the top floor of a Landmark brownstone in Brooklyn, NY and bought the neighboring studio apartment with no idea of how to join the two units. Cooking and entertaining are a major part of their lives. Their tiny single-wall kitchen had no hood and they were forced to wave paper fans to get smoke out of the apartment every time they cooked. There had to be a better way.

“The completed apartment is absolutely stunning and a dream manifested. You were able to see these two apartments and combine them in a way we never thought and in a way that feels like they were always one.”
— Clients

Kitchen is Center
In our design to combine the apartments, we centered the kitchen - making it a dividing line between private and public space; vastly expanding the storage and work surface area. We discovered an existing unused roof penetration to run a duct to vent out a powerful kitchen hood.

The original bathroom skylight now illuminates the central kitchen space. Without changing the standard skylight size, we gave it architectural scale by carving out the ceiling to maximize daylight.

Light now dances off the vaulted, sculptural angles of the ceiling to bathe the entire space in natural light.

How do you solve housing overnight guests in a small apartment?
A bedroom that dissolves open. Two oversized pocket doors turn the living room into a bedroom. A cozy room without dedicating precious square footage to occasional guests. We leveled the floors of this landmark Brooklyn condo to ensure the doors would slide effortlessly.

How do you make a guest bathroom without wasting space?
This wet room, with a curb at the door and no shower separation, solves the problem without taking precious area out of the apartment. Jewel tone concrete tiles, Breccia Capraia marble, and Tadelakt walls make it luxurious.

Break out of the box
Diagonal flooring breaks up the rigidity of old style layouts, shaking things loose and alive.

Bedroom suite
Turn the corner from the kitchen into the private bedroom wing of the apartment.

Marrakech Modern
Our client’s favorite travel destination is Marrakech. They dreamed of capturing its essence at home to their master bath without resorting to kitsch. They loved the subtle texture, color blocking, and high ceilings found in the architecture of this Moroccan imperial city.

We aimed to create a space that was grander in feeling than its square footage, subtle in its materiality, while exuding a fresh yet eternal character.

“The best feature of the apartment is just being able to come home at the end of the day, and enter an oasis of well designed peace and tranquility.”
— Client