Jocelyn’s Modern Manhattan Loft

Name: Jocelyn
Location: Tribeca, Manhattan, New York
Size: 2,000 square feet indoors
Years lived in: 5.5 years; owned

Jocelyn and her husband purchased a loft from a long time resident artist with great creative flair, but who made design choices that were very different than their own. Let the scraping begin.

Rather than replace or rebuild, a lot of the work involved in the renovation of this loft apartment involved peeling back a few layers to get to more of the bare bones and to reveal the simplicity of the space.

Jocelyn loves the open feeling of the loft and the long line of windows facing the street. She likes the raw wood columns that only happen when you get to the upper floors of a typical Manhattan cast iron building. And she likes having a roof deck. She tried to strip away as much as possible to highlight and to facilitate these perks.

As the founder of an online lifestyle shopping site, Jocelyn has a great eye for collecting the perfect objects to complement their home. She and her husband lived for many years in Hong Kong before seeking the (relative) calm of NYC. While in Asia they amassed a lot of great art, antiques, and vintage artifacts. These items form the foundation of their beautiful New York home and are what make it feel lived in and cared for as opposed to just decorated.

My Style: Personal and a mix of antiques and modern. Most unique items (art, furniture etc) in the apartment are from our travels, family or New York adventures. I think it’s all pretty reflective of a loft… eclectic, but clean and open.

Inspiration: Eclectic combo of personal travels, the modern period and industrial pieces for a loft.

Favorite Element: 7 windows wide. It is so rare in Tribeca to find a wide space. Most units are like railroads. I fell in love with the windows and skylights. Usually you can only find that type of light in newer developments.

Biggest Challenge: Adding access to the roof and decking it out.

What Friends Say: The building is very unassuming, so when they enter the space they are usually surprised at the ceiling height, light and original tin tiles.

Biggest Embarrassment: Flooding our neighbors below numerous times from various construction accidents.

Proudest DIY: Designing the master bedroom closet. It is so discreet and useful.

Biggest Indulgence: The art. Each piece has some type of personal meaning that will be valuable for life.

Best Advice: Don’t buy everything at once. We have spent time collecting pieces we fell in love with and the apartment just keeps getting better and better as a result.

Dream Sources: With young children, it’s hard to find time to go on the great adventures we used to! I’d love to travel more and find additional unique and personal touches.

LIVING AREA

• Couch: Room and Board
• Coffee table: 1970’s Lucite and glass table from a SOHO thrift store
• Black Chairs: Vintage Le Corbusier Cassina chairs LC series were discovered the day they were placed in the Housing Works TriBeCa window. I waited until the store opened and grabbed them for a steal. The leather is so crinkly and perfectly broken in from decades of use.
• White Children’s chair: The mini Le Corbusier chair to match the black ones was found at Osana auction on Nantucket.
• Rug: ABC Home
• Floor Lamp: 1930’s Italian at a flea market
• Side tables: Stone garden drums we bought in Hong Kong (fun fact: they weigh so much it takes 4 men to move them (we did not realize this until after they were delivered).
• Small Pictures framed in between the windows: Vintage luggage tags from a little store in Hong Kong. Every time we would travel somewhere when we lived in Asia we would scour through boxes and find a vintage luggage tag from that location. We framed them.
• Large Framed Poster: An original Delahaye car poster by the famous poster artist Roger Perot in 1932. Was given to us as a wedding present from my parents. My father collects vintage posters. They are the best for decorating large spaces with bold color.
• Side Table: Bamboo antique from China.
• Antique Rice wine cooler: next to altar table and from our trip to Bhutan
• Decorative Horn: Antique expandable horn next to altar table and from our trip to Bhutan
• White industrial Children’s Work table: One Kings Lane
• Black Plant above TV: Sculpture by contemporary artist Sarah E. Wood. Purchased at Kate Werble Gallery in NYC.
• Bamboo side chairs: match the side table. Antiques from china.
• Photographs above the chairs: antique photos of where we lived on the Peak in Hong Kong.

KITCHEN

• Cabinets and island: custom designed wood and glass cabinets
• Countertop: Kashmir granite
• Stove: Viking
• Dishwasher: Miele
• Fridge: Sub-zero
• Island stools: Restoration Hardware

DINING AREA

• Table and bench: Custom designed on industrial factory stands by Olde Good Things in NYC
• Colored Chairs: Design Within Reach
• Bar Cart: Italian, vintage from Coastal in Nantucket
• Painting above bar: By Chinese artist Zhang Jian bought in Beijing 798 art district
• Photo above the painting in eating area: Liu Bolin is the artist. It’s from his Hiding in New York series where he painted himself into a temporary Kenny Sharf graffiti mural on the Bowery. We liked this because it was our Asian and NYC experiences coming together.
• The contemporary Painting below the photo: Artist is John Devaney. He is a Nantucket artist who paints in NYC in the winters.

MASTER BEDROOM

• Bed: Charles P. Rogers
• Bedding: Roberta Roller Rabbit
• Maps: antique maps and tobacco silks of places we love.
• Photograph: by my friend who is an artist Elisabeth Bernstein.
• Small oil paintings: local Providence artists where I went to school
• Desk and chair: Room and Board
• Leather chair: vintage from a street sale

SUNROOM

• Couch: Society Social
• Pillows: Tuckernuck
• Deck Lounge Furniture: Restoration Hardware
• Deck Eating Furniture: Custom byOlde Good Things in NYC

Thanks, Jocelyn!

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