Upper East

Classical versus contemporary? The answer always lies within the clients’ true aspirations. The architect obliges and honors the dream and faithfully follows through. There is no academic approach to a contemporary style. A home for a family is not about “isms”, “…less is more…” or “…more is less…” It is merely about this particular family and what they brought to the table in terms of their personal experiences.

This post war apartment is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Koder combined a one-bedroom unit and a two-bedroom unit for the young family into a three en-suite bedroom home. The space was not lived in for several years, and so a full gut renovation ensued.

Due to location and prevalent views, Koder chose the old one bedroom unit to be entirely the master bedroom suite. The old entry foyer and kitchen were transformed into a spacious custom walk-in-closet and a make-up vanity area. The public space in the apartment flowed into a small terrace which is perched thirty-one floors above Manhattan.

The wide plank Bubinga wood floor was treated with natural Tung oil. The owners’ love for Milanese modern furniture was a dream comes true! The Venetian plaster finish along with the curved walls and coves provided a soft background to the modern furniture. The projection screen dropped above a custom bar island which acted as a divider between the living room and the kitchen.

To enhance the existing windows, oil rubbed metal panels matching the black mullions were installed on the side walls. Rift cut Ash wood radiator enclosures floated above the Japanese plants. A custom bench provided a direct view over Central Park. The Italian kitchen, with its undulating Travertino Coloseo breakfast bar facing an eastern window, was separated from the dining and living rooms with a low Venetian plaster wall.

In the master bathroom, his and hers vanities floated above the floor with indirect lighting and were separated by an unmovable building shaft which was laminated with Blue Macauba stone.

The Boffi Bathroom fixtures and fittings were imported from Italy. The walls and ceilings of the daughter’s bathroom were covered with iridescent glass tiles. The shower basin was built with one piece of Calacatta oro. Shamrock green tiles provided a complimentary textured pattern.

The son’s bathroom doubled as a powder room. The Boffi vanity top was a subtle Portuguese limestone. Onyx tiles provided a contrasting texture on the walls. The make-up vanity came with leather inserts and linen fabric panels. The light from the Modulightor strips was balanced with the ceiling cove light above.