Name: John
Location: East Village/NYU land
Apartment Size: 800 square feet, one-bdrm condo
Favorite: the glass transoms between the bedroom and living room and the bathroom and living room
Motto: "clean, simple, warm"
John is an architect from Bermuda and he has wonderful taste, as all architects should. This being said, he has created a warm and, at the same time, very modern space out of what was a turn of the century converted Merchants Building apartment with dropped ceilings, constricted spaces, an outdated kitchen, and banal floors...
Taking on the challenge, John knew that the greatest positive impact he could make would be to re-expose the ceiling beams, restore the full ceiling height, and stain the hard wood floors a dark walnut, throughout the apartment.
The second tier of impact comes from breaking out generous transoms between the kitchen and the bathroom and between the living room and the bedroom. Natural light invades darker areas and bounces in as many directions as possible. In the kitchen, there are varying planes above head, reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright. John says that the goal was, with each of the structural changes, to make the space seem larger. Indeed, the space has a great feeling of openness and expansiveness.
It is refreshing to experience the components of modernism adapted to foster a softer, gentler, more comfortable environment. John calls himself "a bit of a modernist, but it has to be warm." Thus the liberal use of wood, browns, and oranges to contrast with the clean lines, the white walls and all the stainless steel in the kitchen. As most of the apartment is an open plan, John made sure to integrate each and every component into a unifying and complementary style.
According to John, "The construction took 3 months, the design work about 6 weeks but the
furnishing [of the apartment] has been an ongoing process of experimenting with collecting
pieces that are an eclectic mix of modern, somewhat ethnic/primitive and natural specimen."
As the slideshow will attest, the result is simply stunning. And as John will attest, it cost much less than you think.
Resources:
- Aronsons Floor Covering For the cork floor tiles in the kitchen. In Manhattan.
- Smith and Noble for window treatments. This is a very good do it yourself online and catalog shop with many choices.
- Ikea: for cabinets and bedroom curtains.
For all House Tours, click here!
Originally Posted August 10th, 2005
Such a great place, John. Thanks for showing it. Great example of how much can be done with Ikea kitchens. I'm working on my kitchen renno now. Can I ask how you did the undercabinet lights? Are you using trim from Ikea or something else to hide them?
I really like your bar and the storage you squeezed in on the end. Do you ever feel like it might be too much table space to have the bar and the table next to each other? I'm deciding how wide to make the bar, which will be right nex to my farm table, just like at your place.
The colors of your place are great and I'm jealous of the cork floor!
It's fabulous. Kudos!
How much did it cost?
Is John single and straight because I want to go out with him. Any man who can put together such a nice apt. keep it as clean as it looks AND loves cats is my kind of man!
If you did the stainless steel backsplash yourself, can you explain process and give me rough idea of cost?
i LOVE this apartment, but is it really a "low cost" reno? i guess it's all relative, but i couldn's afford vintage steelcase chairs, that beautiful custom coffee table, a pristine eames chair and a nelson bench!
but i love love love it!
I have a stainless steel backsplash in my kitchen.
Although I didn't do it myself, the contractor actually made a template out of plywood (or fiberboard or paperboard) and then took the template to the stainless steel place to be cut.
He said the template helps ensure that the holes for outlets and switches that are along the backsplash wall are aligned and accounted for. Hope this helps.
Great job. The ONLY thing that bothers me is something that I see over and over again: the lack of a dedicated space for the cat/dog food/water dishes. Honestly! Those dishes are just waiting to be kicked across the room. I'd like to see a thread on inventive solutions for pet food dish placement, with photos, of course.
I think it's getting to be time to differentiate myself as AT has erupted with another Anne.
Please allow me to point out that this comment:
"Is John single and straight because I want to go out with him. Any man who can put together such a nice apt. keep it as clean as it looks AND loves cats is my kind of man!"
did not come from me. (I'm just sayin'.)
Welcome, Anne II!!!
ode to brown
The structure and decor are so unique. I love all of the details that you created. I kept pausing the slideshow so I wouldn't miss anything! It looks beautiful.
Congratulations on a beautiful space John! Thanks for sharing it with us. My favorite - the architect drafting table refinished - really brings warmth into the room. Would love to know where that chocolate brown couch (on the far end, under the windows) is from.
Justin, I keep my cat's dishes on the bottom shelf of a small (two-shelf) bookcase next to my stove. The top of the bookcase gives me a bit of counter space, and upper shelf holds my cookbooks. Tallulah came up with this solution herself, as the dishes used to be on the floor next to it and she would sit on the somewhat empty shelf and lean over to eat. I cleaned the shelf off, and now it's all hers! She loves it.
The apt is superb. I was wondering where you bought the headboard. thanks
Aud, this may not be exactly it - but it's close. It's from West Elm.
http://tinyurl.com/59674
Aqua, that's so cool. We used to have a 185 pound Great Dane named Calhoun who ate his chow (a pound of Purina and a pound of boiled hamburger!) off a beautiful antique stool in the kitchen. Once he was done, the bowl got washed, and then he'd mosey over to the bathroom, which was a step up, and, half in and half out, he'd wait in front of the sink, which you'd fill up. I can still hear it - "Galump galump galump.....galump galump galump....." until the sink was dry (easily a gallon). Of course, he'd then let out a *huge* belch, lie down and go to sleep. He was the easiest dog to feed you ever met. LOL.
OK, it was me - anne d.- that said:
"Is John single and straight because I want to go out with him. Any man who can put together such a nice apt. keep it as clean as it looks AND loves cats is my kind of man!"
I stand by my first post :)
Oh, BTW, I'm addicted to this blog. As a designer, I'm getting so much useable info. Keep it up!
anne d.
Beautiful job, John! You must be very proud.
so. jealous.
For window treatments I have found blindstogo.com a better value than S&Noble. The apt is great.
the coffee table is amazing. any ideas about where to find anything like it?
John, how does one get in touch with you? I'm about to close on a building in Greenpoint--two story, deep, about 3600 sq. feet-- that needs to be re-structured. We seem to share the same aesthetic and I'm looking for an architect to work with...so let us know who and where you are..
www.bergdesignarchitects.com
Hello,
Thank you all very much for your comments. In no particular order the following are answers to your questions.
The head board is from West Elm. The "chocolate brown couch" at the windows is vintage Ikea ( 12 years old). The undercabinet lights are commonly called puck lights and are available from Lighting by Gregory on Bowery for about $30 for a package of three. They are low voltage halogens and therefor come with a transformer. The trick is to have a place to hide the transformer. The most common way is by screwing the transformer to the underside of the cabinet as the transformer is only an inch deep. The trim at the bottom of the cabinets hiding the puck lights is stock Ikea trim. The back splash was created by templating the desired wall areas with a rigid thin material. I used heavy chip board. As mentioned by a reader, one should make cut outs for the light switches/receptacles and think carefully about the locations of seams an long runs of wall area. Asking the fabricator to roll the edge of the stainless sheet over will provide you with a nice finished edge. General Sheet Metal Works on Christie street is a great place to go for this kind of work.
I dont find the bar to be too close to the table because that area is only used heavily during a party.
And finally-the cat bowl. Ive solved the litter box issue by putting the box inside a cabinet in the bathroom. However, the cat bowl is floating. Im open to suggestions. As long as its full Chino dosn't care where it is, need less to say we are still in negotiations.
Thanks again,
John
The coffee table, John - where did you get that fabulous coffee table?
Never mind. I just got around to reading the captions of the photos. Great job on that coffee table. You should market it.
John,
Looking at the main photo with you and Chino in the kitchen, I see a spot for a shelf on the end wall right under where the cat is sitting. Just going by the pics I see, I'd have extended the counter out another six inches or so and installed the cat shelf underneath, about halfway up from the floor, out of harms way.
First, I must say this is a very nice place. Id like to do the same transom idea to my bathroom. Great call.
Comment on the pet food issue: I have a 900sf loft where its hard to hide anything at all, so I ended up getting a nice stainless water bowl for Bear (lab mix) and a heart shaped food dish which I put on this awesome Welcome mat I found at a hardware store. It looks very intentional and the mat serves to define the space as well as to catch any crumbs and splashes and protect my wood floor.
Re dog and cat dishes. First, forget plastic. It's not good for animals, especially cats. Also, I think uniform dishes are best, matching water and food bowl, etc. We have two cats, one food dish for each and one water dish that they share. I snagged beautiful Jade-ite green ones from MS's catalog before it went under, but equally good and of highest quality are plain stainless steel looking pet dishes with the black rubber along the bottom edge to prevent slipping. Once you've got these, they are no longer an eye-sore in need of hiding.
love the apartment, this whole website always energizes me. here are some pet food dish solutions I found the other day that are beautiful enough to put in view. i
http://www.postmodernpets.com/catp_bentplyfeeder.htm
and
http://www.trendypet.com/
hope these help.
Yea! The bathroom layout is so civilised...I hate having the commode next to the tub (not the makings of a "Calgon Moment").
The coffee table is really great. Because from a distance it has clean lines, but to have tchochkes protected and put away in sort of a curatable way, kind of like a little musee' display, would still give guests something to look at and ask you about during those brief moments that you must abandon them to fetch the coffee or cocktails.
"Did you buy these thimbles on eBay?" they will ask loudly enough for you to hear above the sound of the cappucino machine or daiquiri blender.
"Oh, those? They're from my grandmother's sewing kit!" you reply, matching their volume toward the beginning of your answer and descrescendoing to a more conversational tone toward the end of the sentence, as you place the tray ON that table.
I know storage is always an issue in small spaces, but it seems like the nook under the front of the bar on the right would have been a perfect dedicated space for the cat bowls, kibble storage, etc. We used an old cafeteria tray for a while until IKEA came out with a cool black plastic oval tray to keep kibble and water from running all over the place when kitty makes a mess.
Another great apartment.
PS I don't get to come by often enough, was a topic posted that reviewed the TV Show Small Spaces, Big Style showing the super delicious tiny apartment contest leader from a while back? Thanks!!
Hi,
What a beautiful living space you have created! I live in a large studio and need help fixing it. Would you consider helping me for a fee? I am really serious.
Thanks
Jen
John - do you do similar work for pay? Looking for an architect who will not turn his nose up at Ikea cabinetry...
what is the depth of the closet shelves and how did you support them? (Is this one piece of plywood with the center cut out?) I have a similar closet and like your layout a lot.
Thank you for posting your beautiful apt up. I am in the process of renovating my kitchen and living room and your work in your apt has truly inspired me. Yups... I am going with Ikea cabinets too!
What color green did you use in the bathroom? I love it!
Loved it then, love it now.
I wonder if there is a possible aesthetic lurking in such qualities as "dropped ceilings, constricted spaces, an outdated kitchen, and banal floors"? Could these features ever be praise worthy? If you put an Eames chair in such a space, would AT commenters swoon?
Granted that everthing that John does is amazing, such as sort his books according to color (amazing!!).
I love the stainless steel backsplash!
Beautiful job John; the whole place is great, but the kitchen knocks me out!
House Tours are one of my favorite features on AT. However, what's up with all the repeats? Maybe someone can enlighten me:
With so many apartments out there, why are we seeing house tours from the archives?
Jill has explained before, and I repeated this in the last repeated house tour last week:
On Monday you get a repeat.
On Wednesday you get a brand spankin', never seen before, fresh new tour.
thank you Jamie pup
I like seeing the tours again, and I love this apartment as much now as I did before!
Thank you jamie pup.
I guess i missed the reasoning if one was given but now know what to expect.
Very nice. Congrats on the reno. Great job on the closet shelves, and spledid coffee table design. I also use my old desk for a dining table (not a drafting table, however), and I have the same Flos pendant lights in my kitchen. I think we're on the same wavelength.
SIMPLY AMAZING.
i love the mix of high and low here -- yes, the light fixtures are from DWR and the barstools look to be emeco, but the entry table is a street find, the kitchen cabinets are ikea, and the counters are still formica.
but i have one question, which i really hope does not come off as judgemental or bitchy. i do not get everyone's obsession with putting tons of teensy little beams of light everywhere rather than, say, one or two or even 3 high-to-medium light sources that cover a large area. especially in areas like a kitchen, where a more generally lit space would be ideal. why is tiny tiny lighting considered to be optimum? i get it in some spaces (bedrooms, reading nooks, certain art situations), but i dont' see the benefit of a moodily dim kitchen. can someone clue me in here?
I get to live in this apartment with John, thankfully, and can tell you that the kitchen lighting is great. All of the lights are adjustable so we can get big, full, bright cooking light when we need it along with moodier lighting when the cooking is done. Being that the kitchen, dining and living areas are all open and essentially one space, I enjoy having this much control over lighting. It's nice to not be tied down to one or two light sources.
To answer your other questions, indeed, John is an architect for hire. Click on my name for his website.
As for the pet bowls, Chino is an elder statesman who likes things *just so*. There is no chance that he would jump on a shelf for his food. I suppose I could have trained him 15 years ago when he was a kitten but we were young and transient and not thinking really thinking about design issues yet.
Wow, the space looks so big. Good design is like magic.
view kimg924's profile
Based on Jenny's comment, it looks like John is straight and spoken for, so both you and I are disappointed, Anne D.
:)
view ChzPlz's profile
absolutely gorgeous!
view STYLeyes's profile
A great space.
Done very well.
view penandpad's profile
Nice apartment but eew, I cannot bellieve that cat is on the countertop. Yuck. My cat is NOT allowed on food prep areas!
view orangejuce's profile
Oh, orangejuce, your cat is wherever the heck it wants to be the moment you're out of the door. John and his cat have clearly just decided to be honest and realistic about their relationship. :)
view Laurita's profile
No, LAURITA, she isn't! She sheds like crazy and leaves her fur everywhere she goes. There's never fur on the countertopes or stove, etc. I have her trained. You can train cats like you can train dogs. I'm very realistic, thanks.
view orangejuce's profile
I'm sorry--did I miss the info about how much this "low-cost reno" actually cost, all told? I don't see this info posted anywhere. Thanks!
view kinklosity's profile