White Street Residence

This photo shows the changing color temperature of the drum skylight. Here at dusk when the light turns a beautiful blue. The photo also highlights our use of multiple styles of architectural lighting: tape-in recessed LED downlight, surface mounted and pendent fixtures combine to create a warm modern environment.

A view from the stair landing looking toward the dining and kitchen areas. The home office / guest room and the hallway to the living room are in the background. We had a great experience with the very talented team at Lindsey Adelman Studios who designed the Branch chandelier on site with a mockup before finalizing the design. This photo also highlights the beautiful select grade American black walnut floor supplied by LV Wood which was sanded and finished on site. The floor is plain sawn, our go to for walnut flooring. It also has no sap wood a specific request by our client.

A view from the home office / guest room looking toward the dining area and stair to the penthouse. On the left are custom barrister cases based on the wonderful modular bookcase manufactured by Globe-Wernicke in the early 1900s. These are painted one of our favorite colors Plummett by Farrow & Ball.

A detail photo of the master bath in the penthouse addition. Here highlighting some of our favorites - tile from Heath Ceramics, plumbing fittings by Dornbracht, bathtub and sink by Duravit and an Arne Jacobsen hand towel ring by Vola. The medicine cabinet was custom made to our specifications and has a cold rolled blackened steel frame.

An overall photo of the master bath. As this room was part of the penthouse addition we were able to take advantage of the new roof by adding circular skylights which allow natural daylight into this interior space. Here the ceiling has a skylight above the far wall and also above the Duravit Happy D bathtub. You can lay back in the tub and look out to the sky. We added incandescent lighting with one of our all time favorite fixtures by Arne Jacobsen & Louis Poulsen. These fixtures also complement the circular skylights. The wall tile is the wonderful texture and color of Heath Ceramics - another great company

A detail photo of the inset handrail. The lower panels and handrail are fabricated from Glacier White Corian - above the handrail is skim coated drywall painted to match. The handrail runs continuously from the lower floor to the penthouse.

A view of the drum skylight at dusk. Early in the design process we discussed with our clients the work of James Turrell including a field trip to Meeting at MoMA PS1 on a very cold but wonderfully quiet day. One of the things we really like about Mr. Turrell's work is the flattening of perspective while creating a meditative balance between lightness and weight. Here the drum skylight while physically large recedes into the ceiling plan

Afternoon sunlight filters through the steel windows in this view looking toward the children's playroom. In all of our projects we design the lighting specific to our client's artwork. Here one of our favorites an LED Bevel tape-in fixture by USA Iluminations highlights a beautiful painting, c. 1900, of a cowboy.

Master bath.

The upper landing in the White Street Residence provides a pausing point when going to and from the roof garden. A walnut bookshelf, an extension of the walnut knee wall below stores a collection of the owner's art books. The large circular window which overlooks the roof garden can be seen in the background. A vintage Grasshopper floor lamp by Greta Grossman provides reading light while relaxing in the Eames 670 lounge chair.

The front hallway links the living room to the kitchen and dining area. The existing apartment was originally a manufacturing loft space. NYC lofts being long and narrow with windows typically only at the front and rear façades can be somewhat dark. With this in mind we designed the apartment to have light filled spaces via rooftop skylights. Here a photo series by Bernd and Hilla Becher are washed with natural light from a large drum skylight not yet visible from this perspective. The hallway ceiling echoes the drum skylight with Munkegaard fixtures, one of our favorites from Louis Poulsen.

A detail photo of the kitchen - when we were designing this our client had the special request that we add open display shelving for her amazing collection of vintage ironstone. This photo also shows the careful alignment of the lighting fixtures with the cabinetry. Here the tape-in recessed fixtures are on axis with the passageway between the island and back counter which is centered on the vertical upright of the shelving. These alignments, while subtle,are part of the overal layering which we feel adds calmness to the space

Roof garden - skylight in closed position.

Looking up into the 5' wide drum skylight in the White Street Residence - remote controlled synchronized linear actuators open and close the skylight which allowed us to meet the NYC Code for legal light and air. A beautiful Lindsey Adelman Branch chandelier is on the left and Flos Glo Ball fixtures paired with USAI Bevel trimless fixtures are on the right.

Roof garden with skylight in the open position.

A view looking toward the children's playroom with a built-in window seat. The stair to the penthouse addition can be seen on the left, the drum skylight in the ceiling above.

This photo shows the transition between the entry hallway and the kitchen & dining areas. The drum skylight in the ceiling above illuminates the space with natural daylight.

A Niels Møller bench with woven top creates a pausing point to put down a bag and take off your shoes in the elevator foyer. New wood windows with insulated glass were fabricated by Kolbe to match the original windows in this Landmarked building dating from 1860.