Name: Matthew and Emma McGregor-Mento
Location: New York, NY
Size: 650 sq/ft
Years lived in: 6 months
When Matthew and Emma bought their 6th floor apartment in the East Village, they knew they wanted it to be filled with natural living things and to convey the sense that "nature was taking the apartment back, like a small plant growing from a crack in the sidewalk." Inspired by the Japanese notion of multi-use and transforming spaces, their home is a tribute to environmentally-friendly design in every aspect, from the custom formaldehyde free, FSC-certified wood cabinets to the amazing plant wall...
AT Survey:
My/Our style: Our style is minimal modern with some Japanese influences and wabi-sabi aesthetic. We also have a strong commitment to green living.
Inspiration: Clean, green, anti-stuff, space efficient living. The vertical gardens of Patrick Blanc and the planted fish tanks of Takashi Amano. Multi use efficiency (bedroom/entertainment area/massage space) with hidden closets. Nature breaking through built form — weeds growing out of cracks in the sidewalk.
Favorite Element: The intimacy of dining in the tea room. For about 14 years we ate of TV trays in our old 350sqft apartment. To actually sit at a table (that pops out of a raised floor) feels like having a private Japanese restaurant booth at home. Moving allowed us to de-clutter and live in a more thoughtful, efficient, and organized way. The space lends itself to both work (massage space) and socializing. Living on the 6th floor of a walk up means more light, less noise, and exercise!
Biggest Challenge: Although we are both exceedingly happy with the results, we came to many deadlocks during the design phase. Emma was focused on preserving the integrity of the main space while I was focused on space saving details. In hindsight, we can see that when we were forced by our stubbornness to come up with brand new design solutions, we had some of our best ideas.
What Friends Say: "The space reflects your sensibilities." "Great spa environment." (Emma is a massage therapist.) "Movie night at your place!"
Biggest Embarrassment: Not realizing that the toilet should go where the sink was (changed) and the projector should be at the end of the room and not in the middle (coming soon). Naivete of first time home renovators. Estimating that we could spend 30K or less on our renovation (we didn't know what we would dream up and how much it would cost) and have it finished in about 6 months when it took 3x as long and cost about 6x as much.
Proudest DIY: Actualizing the greenwall — from reading a New York Times article two years ago to actually living with over 400 plants on an 80sqft wall. You can see a video of the planting of the greenwall featuring myself and Leslie Baglio here. The greenwall is based on Patrick Blanc's design. Here's a quote from him describing his system published in Dwell Nov 2006:
"10mm thick waterproof PVC slabs covered with polyamid felt, into which holes (pockets actually) are cut for plants; a small hose, punctured every 10cm by a 2mm hole, to run the length of the top of
the wall; a timing device to ensure regular, light watering- like a trickle slowly wending its way down a mossy rock. The ensemble is then attached to a metal structure that stands out from a supporting wall, trapping a cushion of air, which acts as insulation."
That's basically exactly what we built. The frame is a lattice work of 1" aluminum tubes. Sheets of expanded PVC (Sintra is the brand name I used) have been screwed on with rust resistant screws. Then moisture retention mat (synthetic felt sourced from Green Roof Solutions product number MRM14) is stapled on with rust proof (Arrow Brand "Monel") staples. There is a submersible pump on a timer that pumps water up to a tube running under the felt across the top of the wall. There is a basin at the bottom of the wall also built from expanded 3/4" PVC.
Our greenwall add moisture to the air, cleans the air by trapping and breaking down airborne particulates, and creates oxygen.
Biggest Indulgence: Custom cabinetry throughout the entire apartment and committing to our vision despite the time and money required to see it through.
Best advice: Research, research, research. Then layout your ideas in Google's free 3D program Sketch-Up. Revise them many, many, many times. Find a good architect willing to work with you as a partner, like Kevin Byrne at Vanderburg Architects. Find an honest
contractor with a commitment to detail like Andrew Zalewski (Tel: 917-863-8258). Then commit to your vision and be prepared to wait a very long time before it's done.
Dream source: AF Dot Interior Adam Rzeplinski (Tel: 718-218-9055). They made literally everything in the apartment; closets, cupboards, desks, book shelves, couch, murphy bed, raised tea room floor. Everything. If it's wood and in our apartment, they made it.
Resources: The Very Small Home and Small Spaces by Azby Brown.Space by Michael Freeman. Japan Modern by Michiko Rico Nosé, Michael Freeman Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren. Nature Aquarium World by Takashi Amano. The Vertical Garden: From Nature to the City by Patrick Blanc.
Appliances: New York City's own Summit appliances. They had the smallest best ENERGY STAR rated fridge (with freezer on the bottom) and they are committed to designing and manufacturing in the USA.
Furniture: See Dream Source. Only thing we added were two Eames management chairs with Cygnus fabric purchased from Stardust. We also added foam cushions for the couch and window seat from Dixie Foam. The fabric is 100% wool "Palette 209-301" by Designtex. The futons are from Miya Shoji.
Accessories: Hunter Douglas Architella top down bottom up blinds. Great energy-efficiency rating and claims to also cut down on outside noise. Books, plants, meaningful items collected on our travels, and 100yr+ banjo.
Lighting: Various CFLs and LEDs. Hera CFL under cab puck lights (can be temperamental).
Rugs and Carpets: None.
Tiles and Stone: The kitchen countertop is locally sourced bluestone. The bathroom tiles are Interstyle Glass Hues tile in the Eames pattern, Brilliant Aqua color, Matte and Glossy 50/50 mix random. The bathroom floor tiles are Island Stone King Pebble in Medan Gray color. The big slate stone in front of tea room is from Plantworks along with Mexican river stone in the greenwall catchment.
Beds: Our old queen mattress on a Sico Eurobed murphy bed mechanism. Bed cabinet is custom made by AF Dot Interior. The bedding is Anna Sova organic cotton from ABC Home. The pillow feathers are from geese "raised on beautiful farms in Hungary, fed an organic diet, and nurtured to live a full healthy life. Clusters of down are hand-gathered with care." Awww...
Artwork:"Central Park: The Pond" by Joergen Gerds; "I Can Do It" by Yoshi Sodeoka; "First Encounter" print by Marc Chagall.
Paints and Coatings: All paints and coatings no or lowest VOC available. The wall paint is Benjamin Moore Aura AF-20 and AF-25. The Steel Door Clear Coat is Rustoleum Sierra Beyond Acrylic Enamel, a no-VOC, no-odor clear coat that won't rust raw steel. (Great product and hard to find!). The stone and floor tile sealer is Ecoprocote Acri-Soy Masonry Stone Tile and Grout sealer. The wood and floor clear coat is Safecoat Acrylacq Satin, and the wood stain is Safecoat Durostain.
Flooring: Existing flooring (oak and green slate) except bathroom.
Other: All the doors are 3form Varia Ecoresin Organics (Hydrangea Thatch in the bedroom, Birch Grove in the tea room, Seaweed in the bathroom) made of recycled PET. The cabinet wood is FSC Appleply Formaldehyde Free by States Industries from their Elemental line and FSC Oriented Strand Board Formaldehyde-Free. The soaking tub is Wet Style BC 0906. Our toilet is the smallest toilet that you can buy (I searched for weeks). It's the Laufen Compact Pro (19.5" long X 14.5" wide) with Geberit in wall carrier (dual flush to save water).
The Greenwall System and Concept is by Patrick Blanc. Our Greenwall Consultant was Tina Dituri at Blondie's Treehouse, and our Greenwall Plant Installation was done by Leslie Baglio.
We are also available for design consultation on Greenwalls and small space living. Contact us here.
Thanks Matthew and Emma!
Interested in sharing your home with Re-Nest? Contact our editors through our Green Tour Submission Form.
(Images: Cambria Bold. Originally published 2009-05-14)
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Whew! That's a lot of work per square foot!
I love the uber-functionality of the place (built-ins, slide-outs, storage under the sofas.
I'm jealous of your 3Form doors and I'd love to incorporate a living wall into my bedroom which really needs a humidifier in the winter time. Hopefully the living wall technology/process will become more approachable in the near future.
I like how you mentioned that you both had differing ideas about how to approach the design of the space. I cringe sometimes at the way my place would have turned out if my wife had agreed with all of my ideas!
Lot's of cool stuff here. Thanks for the tour.
Sweet! Love the pebble floor and how the screens change the space.
This is my dream space. I am all about wabi-sabi, green living, and that planted green wall sounds INCREDIBLE.
The only thing I'd change is not to have a bed but a futon on a floor that I could roll up.
Other than that, it sounds and looks wonderful
As a recent house guest and someone who has also had the pleasure of knowing Matt and Emma when they lived at their previous, teeny tiny abode, let me say that no one knows more about space-saving (and space-sharing) than these two!
You have so much to be proud of--the place is gorgeous and the glows with the attention you paid to each small detail.
And might I admire your taste in coffee table books?
wow, a lot of thought and care went into this apartment. i love the living wall (bugs ever?) and the snazzy closet!
What a cool project. Very informative post with good documentation showing how they did it and the support people they used. It's helpful to watch the YouTube video also. Thanks!
You have an amazing home. I don't know if I'd ever leave the bathroom, to be honest. Thank you so much for sharing it.
What a gorgeous, functional space.
Love the kitchen and bathroom tile.
I don't know where to begin - I loved every picture of your home! The planted aquarium is particularly gorgeous! It looks so natural. What all is in there?
Thanks to everyone for all of your kind comments and enthusiasm.
@Brandyjane The tank has a piece of driftwood I collected in Florida. The gravel is a mix of Eco-Complete and Flora Base. The plants are java moss, java fern (The plant coming out of the driftwood), hair grass, and anubias barteri in the back. The natural cleaning crew is comprised of cherry shrimp, amano shrimp, ramshorn snails, mystery snails, otocinclus, and siamese algae eaters. The small schooling fish are white cloud mountain minnows. I also add daphnia, scuds, and rotifers to add a natural food source for the fish and another level in the ecosystem.
Incredibly functional home! I'm in awe of your hidden closets - they're great!
http://www.woollypocket.com/intro.php
as an alt to building a green wall
This is beyond cool! I love the way they designed everything to fit the space and have created the feel of an outdoor space, indoors. Not easy but hats off!
I absolutely adore that green wall........How fantastic
Kait @
www.beachdreaming.wordpress.com
What an amazing vision you have here, the green wall is fantastic and I love the storage you have done.
those green tiles are yummmmmmmy!
would love to know if there are any problems with the greenwall - ie. plants dying, damp smells etc....am considering this as a design solution for another project
www.gardenbeet.com
Beautiful and inspiring........
Where did you get your 'frame' made of lattice work of 1" aluminum tubes? Can you name the source and product number and maybe even a phone number of the company you purchased it from? Do you have an email the I can contact you if I have any other questions or need some consultation before I start my Green Wall? Thank you and I'll be anxiously waiting for your reply.
What plants did you use and can you show us the pattern of them (diagram)?
email: commercialcleaning@mchsi.com
Thank you.
your living wall is so beautiful, but our Wally modular living wall system would have helped save hours of time and labor and $. and would also be much less maintenance intensive. of course, we only started selling it a few months ago online.
www.woollypocket.com
Gorgeous, but incredibly expensive!! This is obviously not attainable for most people.
@hulahulagirl It doesn't have to be "incredibly expensive". The most expensive elements are the aluminum for the frame, the PVC sheeting and the plants. Other materials could be substituted for the aluminum (potentially wood indoors), PVC sheets (possibly http://www.coroplast.com/), and you could grow from seed or from cuttings if you were willing to let the wall grow in over time. We planted 3.5 inch plants so the wall would look complete on planting. My wall cost about $3,000 including a custom basin. I would think you could build a similar wall for $1,000 if you were very smart about it. If anyone would like to try I'd be happy to help.
@gardenbeetdotcom No damp smells. We lost a few ferns early on when we went on vacation and the wall had a dry spell. Other than that everything else had survived and thrived.
@hulahulagirl Oops. I just realized you probably meant the whole renovation and not just the greenwall. Yeah that was pretty expensive as my credit card debt will attest to.
FYI Someone asked recently if I had any before pics. Here they are.
http://picasaweb.google.com/hippophagy/ApartmentPreRenovation?authkey=Gv1sRgCO6wnPOStM3MWw#
the slide-out closets - awesome!! those would work GREAT in our mini walk in (that is basically just a place to stand in front of the clothing bars). been searching for ways to maximize it and think this is it! no website for those cabinet makers? nothing comes up in google.
Just created a DIY greenwall blog with more info on our wall and how to make your own.
http://diygreenwalls.blogspot.com/
Matt
Made me feel calm just looking at your pictures!!
Really Lovely!
Your home is amazing. I would love if you could answer just one question: is the piece of art "I can do it" in your tea room a gift from Yoshi Sodeoka or are there more prints available for purchase?
@deebryan "I can do it" is actually hand written not a print. The one in the tea room is actually the original. However it was scanned by Yoshi for the website word.com many years ago. You could contact him through his site (links from his name above in the description) and see if he still has the original scans.
Good Luck,
Matt
How did you hang the doors? Are they in a track? Top and bottom? Gorgeous renovation!
The green wall is magnificent. It's probably the most insane thing I ever seen inside a house.
this = amazing.
Im so jealous! I love your doors, and that green wall is amazing! Can I come stay with you guys???
@cgm Sorry for the long delay in response. I don't check this thread very often. The doors are in a track with guides on the top and a small wheel and track on the bottom. They are made by 3form and they have a few systems for door mounting.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the pop-up table... Amazing idea! I hope I can find a way to adapt it to my new apartment (without building a whole new floor). I'm thinking...