apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Mmmm... See. Want. Must have.

Nice, although I think they'd need the personality & input of actual residents before being worth of the smallest coolest contest.

But picking out the wine and pre-determining your book collection? Isn't that a little much?

Based on these pics alone it looks amazing - I love this place
can't get to flash site at work so can't coment on book collection etc.

Off topic...and I may bring it up again this morning but...

in one of the papers a story abotu small apartments and maximizing space (Etc etc)

and then pat (NY1) showed hillary's place! (sort of)

So we now know which way he would have voted.


On topic


the dining table sort of reminds me of the dining table on "the wally" (speed boat)

Me of me, I love Pat of NY1. He's so dry and droll. I think he needs to be a late-night talk show host.

On topic, this apartment looks amazing. As for everything being picked out for you, my last ex-boyfriend, who worked in finance, bought a totally furnished apartment, and was just thrilled that he had to do nothing. Some fantastically wealthy Hong Kong businessman was selling his New York apartment, which he had had decorated. While it was not my taste at all (a definite 90s bachelor pad to the max), the ex was so excited that he was getting a fully furnished apartment done by a decorator because he had no time. I could see him going for the wine and even the books, though no doubt he would add his own books to the mix. I guess if you have the money and you have no time and/or derive no joy from decorating, it works.

The swank apartment just isn't finished without the Barcelona chairs and Noguchi table. Maybe they throw in a free Dave Matthews Band CD, too? Oops no, it'd have to be Beck.

How much a square foot? For a studio? Time to read housebubble.com...

What kind of lights are they that kill bacteria, viruses and mold?

They're nice renderings, but the space is really impersonal. If I hadn't known that an architect created it to sell, I might find the apartments more interesting. Like Archie said, it's "good taste", and if you look carefully enough it's just as branded as any IKEA/Pottery Barn/Crate and Barrel/DWR spread. Actually, now that I've seen the website, did they get product placement for the accessories page? Since when does an apartment come with a folding bike and aromatherapy candles?

I will give them credit for their work. The space appears to function well and they are ingenious with all the features, but the look is tried. The photos remind me of a sterile laboratory with high end seating. I could only see myself living there after the destruction from many tenants and after the improvements have been fully depreciated.

I think these are GOR-GEOUS but highly aspirational, budget-wise. I am guessing they are keeping the photos intentionally un-styled so that potential buyers project themselves into the space in that model-apartment kind of way. But some really great blank canvases awaiting the imprint of personailty.

I disagree, I don't think it's "tired" at all - granted, the way it's displayed is rather "uninspired" (and the thought of using pre-chosen books as design accessories [or "cultural capital"] makes me want to retch) - but goddarn, look at how well the space is utilized, and look at how much potential there is to be...well, amazing.

I'll take two.

(One thing though - where do you dine when you are inviting guests over to cook them a fantastic dinner?)

Dated. Looks like something from the '90s. I'd loose sleep wondering if I had left my keys on the kitchen counter. But I do like the gadgets. And who are these people who have no time to choose their own furniture? Design-minded folks like to do it themselves, and those not concerned with design are bound to commit the ultimate sacrilege - defacing the haute minimalism with clutter.

pphillipp, the site says the island converts to a dining table.

Very cool. I actually believe that those apartments are worth the asking price.

Some great ideas! Interesting space utilization. Makes me wonder what other readers would do given a completely gutted apartment and a specific generous design budget. (contest contest!)

I think the office drop-down is neat for those who only use office space occasionally but on the other hand, maybe they could have built shelves under the stairs since you have a permanent staircase to a non-permanent lowering office. Where would you mount the plasma screen/tv? It seems like the staircase would be in the way.

And for me, too much white. I'd have to hide in the bathtub for some color.

I like this a great deal. The storage seems ample (a rarity in NYC apartments) and one could use the little berth as a bedroom and keep the Murphy bed area for guests. That way, that far area could function in almost any way--art room, meditation area, craft area, and so on.

NYC landlords ought to be forced to provide apartments as well designed as this. One could always inject personality through the use of color, pillows, little things. One could also be given the option of coffee table/no coffee table, different sofa/no sofa, and so on.

My feeling is that this is a fabulous idea which could be cost-effective if landlords buy in bulk.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Whoa! The price of these apartments is VERY HIGH. I liked them until I saw what they cost.

I may still steal a couple of their ideas though.

Sick to death of "lifestyle designers." What wine do I drink what books do I need, what chair must I have? Oh come on already! Am I the only person who wishes the Ikea (all in one buy) methodology would just die already? Are we really this lazy that we need to start paying for overpriced services/apartments like this? This is like being placed in a department store window to promote someone elses work. Not for me, I still prefer to see my own efforts around me.

Ditto on the wine and library! Ridiculous once I explored their Web site. The lightbulbs and ionizer are interesting, though. I've emailed the companies that sell them and have asked if the architects' claims about these products are true.

Still wish NYC landlords would outfit apartments with some of these amenities--particularly the storage.

My goodness - do ppl have to focus on the lifestyle issues instead of the design and functionality? Surely the storage, layout, innovative ideas etc are things we can learn from or be inspired by?

OK, we get it, you would never buy these places but why not get what you can from the ideas, pictures and execution? You may not agree that they are all good but there must be something useful in there, surely?

I guess that can only be directed at dee.
Terry certainly did what I suggested.

There are plenty of people who will pay for these, having no time (or the ability) in their busy lives to create something similar. With a housekeeper to keep it tidy and clean and stocked, heypresto! instant, prefab "cool". But I'll tell ya, if I walk in one more pad, and am forced to sit in yet another Barcelona chair, I'm gonna scream my head off.

Justin--
Consider yourself lucky to have that many stylish friends.
Dee-- I don't quite see the connection here to "the IKEA mentality"...

My my, the tangents on this thread have been quite, uh... tangential. The bottom line for me is that these units are beatifully rendered and maximize the functionality of smaller spaces in new and ingenious ways.

Now on to the tangents... (Rolling up my sleeves here.) As Fiona noted, the convenience of buying or selling furnished apartments is really a godsend for a specific type of buyer, especially when it's a corporate housing type of situation. (My first studio condo was in a full-service building in which about a third of the units were owned by out-of-towners who occupied the apartments only when in town for business. In fact, when I sold my apartment, the buyer turned it into a short-term rental property.) Yes, at a $1,350 per SF, these apartments are beyond most people's reach, but my gut tells me these units will have a strong appeal for a specific buyer.

Is lifestyle marketing such a bad thing? For the end user, it functions as a shortcut when lacking the resources, time, eye or desire that most of the AT crowd has. And when did "aspirational" become such a bad word? If you choose to live a DIY/punk-rock/anti-class lifestyle, well then maybe that's your lifestyle choice. And someone is probably marketing something to you, too.


Also, I don't get the connection between this work and that of the mass-market retailers mentioned above. That really sells short the ingenuity (and quality of materials) used here. If we're lucky, we'll get to see some of these ideas filter down to us at a lower price point.

These apartments are both aspirational and inspirational. Design-minded folks are more apt appreciate even the smallest innovations pictured here rather than dismiss a whole package because it's... too white, too clean, too whatever. So, why would anyone even consider a scenario when these particular apartments have undergone destruction and depreciation? That's so punk rock... but I guess not in a tired way?

NICE COMPUTER RENDERINGS. PRETTY PRETTY PHOTOSHOP. LETS SEE HOW IT LOOKS WHEN IT ACTUALLY GETS BUILT.

So which open house will I see you at corb? The one this Saturday? Perhaps the one this Sunday? Let's hope a few days is enough to build this thing eh?

Jamie you proved my point. If the Apts are finished, then why dont they supply some real pictures of the space?

My issue is a personal one and shouldn't require anyone to feel personally attacked or their ideas challenged. As for the IKEA mentality and not seeing how this connnects, here is what I see going on. The marketing tactic seems to be a simple one, provide complete solutions. Ikea doesn't merely advertise you a couch. It's a couch in a room with a particular setup geared at making the buyer feel at ease about seeing the piece in a more natural setting. This I get. But I also personally don't feel I need to be sold these complete package solutions.

These apartments are just that. It's not like they've introduced any new technology or functionality someone couldn't research or come up with themselves. Maybe I'm giving all design lovers too much credit by assuming their free-thinkers?

I just don't think I need to be marketed to this way and then asked to pay for the priveledge. The functionality of the space is great but I'm speaking more to this seemingly new path we're following by having these boutique style environments supplied to us. Anyone recall how the majority of the interiors supplied to Starck Downtown are all supplied by Moss? To other people who don't want the burden of determining their own living environment, this would be the perfect solution. Not for me, I prefer to develop my own living environment over time and not take on someone else's idea of usage. Plain and simple. Some of us don't need to be told to own a Barcelona chair. In fact I'm quite put off by them now. Get it now?

For the pricing of these to be so far out of reach, I have a hard time imagining a person is buying them because of the love of design and space more than buying them because they're the hip new place to be. Who knows. I wouldn't be caught living in one of these sorry.

Hahaha, those prices are absurd. Wait until the housing bubble bursts -- these two apartments might be worth taking a look at then.

Wow these are super cool. Really great ideas, and again, developers really should do this to all new NY apartments. Why can't we use every square foot and then some of our spaces? My personal apartment is a wreck with about 0 space-efficiency features and it bums me out regularly.

The books and wine ideas are a nice touch. I love that stuff! It's amazing that it is available. With about a 1,000 high-end apartments on the market with crap architecture and no real innovation why not celebrate when people are doing something both functional and cool. Also, I think that when you get extra stuff in an apartment,in addition to a good design, the price is going to go up because you are getting more. That price seems fair to me for what you are getting...although no NYC apartment price ever looks exactly "fair". I agree with Enrique.

For the record, I still like Barcelona chairs.

Hmm, interesting. I personally don't feel that Ikea offers all-in-one packages more than any other furniture store. Don't almost all shops display room settings? It's just par for the course, because some people do go in and buy a room, whether from Ikea or from B&B Italia.

If someone wants to live here and has the money, no skin off my back. I don't feel as though they are somehow sabotaging design and individuality. Personally, I think this seems like a really interesting space that has some creative solutions to having no space. Maybe that makes me a sheep, but to that, I say baaaaa. ;) Seriously, if you don't want to live there, don't live there. I'd never want to live in a McMansion, and I despise them, but I'm not working to outlaw them for people who love them.

Besides, what's the difference if someone lives there because they love the design or because it's the hip new place to be? Both are equally valid reasons to live somewhere, although one may be considered more "superficial" than another--though if you boil down to it, I'd not sure that love of design is any less superficial a reason to live somewhere. I'm not sure that choosing a place to live ever boils down to any "deep" issues other than personal preference.

yes, yes, yes dee -
yours is a personal view that I understood very well from your first post. You have told me nothing new that I did not already gather from said post. You expressed this view in a public forum so permit me to dissect/discuss/disagree with that view publicly. Not because I feel personally attacked (what a strange notion) or that my ideas are being challenged (not such a strange notion). Neither is true. What is true and the reason I challenged your posting is that I have (personally) heard the complaints about having all our design/living decisions made for us in a pre-packaged format that takes the individuality out of the equation before and I am (personally) tired of if them especially when there are good ideas in these places that I have not seen before. I am willing to bet many others have not either.

A few ppl in the smallest/coolest contest said that they personally did not like loft beds. The problems I can see with loft beds are the blockage of windows and/or light (as in Hillary's place) or the low height above the bed (as in Brandon's place). The suspended office device solves this problem by permitting a greater distance between "floor" and ceiling when it is down, so there will be no stooping or bumping of heads if there were a bed there, and also by providing completely usable space underneath when raised with again no compromise on height or side intrusions. In this case it is used as office space with the top of the murphy bed containing pull out or fold down desk and storage for the office. Where have you seen this idea before? I don't have to pay $1300 per sqft and buy into the whole lifestyle package to get this idea implemented elsewhere. This is an inspirational design that you can benefit from without getting into that whole lifestyle argument.

I have seen the kitchen extended across a hallway by use of wall cabinets before (not very often) but this is an excellent example of just such an idea.

As to Ikea selling the complete package, you only have to look at our entrants in the smallest/coolest competition to see how many of them picked carefully Ikea pieces to complement their own style. Robert's apt and Josh and Adele's kitchen (not in the competition) are great examples of this. What Ikea did was to introduce to the mass public well designed (though not all are well made) products when all they had before was overstuffed overly heavy handed stuff that the Maceys and the Ethan Allens of the world were providing. You can outfit your whole place in Ikea but I think there are enough ppl who don't to make your fears unfounded.

BTW, what do you think of what companies like Target do with affordable designs from Todd Oldman, Michael Graves, Starck, Mizrahi? Surely the more ppl re exposed to good product design the better. Apple is a good example of this also which I will get to later.

WRT the Broad St condos, the buyers are offered a package of furnishings chosen by Starck. They do not have to buy them. Out of 132 new developments starting or started in 2004 and 2005 in Manhattan I have heard of only one where a package of furnishings are available. 165 Charles will have the interiors designed by Richard Meier but no furniture for the actual apts. That is the only place I know of that comes close to the dangerous precedent set by the Starck place at Broad St. Again, I think your fears are unfounded.

Going back to the Avro Ko apts, apart from the Barcelona chairs and the selection of books and wines how are these places any different from commissioning your own architect and designer to design a place for you? Now with the book and wine selection I can see why ppl bristle at that but look on the positive side. What about the situation where someone might pick up reading again and explore more and different books as a result of sampling the initial stock in their new apt? Same for the wines, it may lead someone to try new wines as a result of trying someone else's ideas. It's kinda like a friend creating a playlist for you for your ipod or burning a CD. It may introduce you to new forms of music or bands you have never heard of and then may lead to explore their back catalogue or their influences. For example, how many of the young Killers fans who were not even born when Joy Division (or even New Order in their prime) was around can now enjoy Joy Division's or New Order's music because they are cited as an influence by the Killers? There's positives in all of this.

Having mentioned the ipod and Apple- I might as well ask you, with the ipod cornering over 80% of the HDD based MP3 player market and the ipod shuffle at 58% of the flash based market after only 6 months, do you see this homogenization of product design taken up by tens of millions of people as a similarly insidious new path where free thinkers are no more and the masses are led to one design only?

So yes I do get it dee - I simply think you are overreacting. I guess that's my personal issue.

Not overreacting sugar. My soapbox is just a bit higher than yours and equipped with loud speakers. *Tapping the mic* Can you hear me now Jamie?!!!! *big grin*

wow. beautiful place. it's so clean and yet cozy somehow. too pricey, however.

Dee--
The other thing is that marketers have found they sell more stuff when they show it in the context of related items. Williams-Sonoma found, even in catalogs, that they sell more maple syrup and pancake mix and Kitchen-Aid mixers and Calphalon griddles when all those things are shown together. That's not an insidious plan to brainwash the free-thinking taste out of the general public. It's the clever work of people whose job it is to sell more things. If you don't buy it, well, don't buy it.
But, since you brag your soapbox is higher, with better speakers, you seem all too familiar with the competitive marketing spirit already!! Hey, did those speakers come with that soapbox, or did you buy them separately, all by yourself?? How clever if so!!

i am hereoooooooooooooo from Abidjan