Chic City Living: A New York City Apartment with Delightful Design Choices

Villalobos’ client asked him to transform this apartment located in a classic brownstone in New York City’s Flatiron District—a project that piqued his interest in honoring the building’s history even as he reinvented the flow of the apartment’s space. However, he was less interested in traditional ways to help compact spaces feel more expansive. “People immediately think ‘lighter colors’ or ‘smaller pieces of furniture’ or ‘you need to watch out for the size of the art,’” he says. “But, there are so many different ways to solve a problem.”

One space-maximizing solution was to place the dining area on the opposite end of the space from the kitchen—beyond the living room area. Though this sacrifices direct proximity to the kitchen (by a few steps), it creates space for a larger table and more elbow room for eating, working and entertaining. “I built a long banquette that goes from wall to wall,” Villalobos notes, “centering the windows, creating a focal point, as well.” In doing so, Villalobos not only halved the number of chairs necessary to serve the table but also saved the space they would have needed for shifting back and forth. This reclaimed square footage allows room for a larger sofa and a freestanding bar.

Villalobos was also unafraid to mix an unexpectedly soft color into the space’s palette. “It was one of those things that you didn’t know was going to happen,” he says. “When I curated the art, I found pieces that had blush tones which worked well with all of the olive tones that we were doing for the sofa, the rug, and an Eames Chair he had in deep chocolate brown.” Villalobos was initially concerned his client might think the shade too pink but when he saw it, he loved the way everything worked together. “There’s that bit of juxtaposition of the masculine and feminine,” says Villalobos.

Throughout the process, Villalobos remained cognizant that the space would need to play multiple roles. “In an apartment, your dining table ends up also being another desk or somewhere you are playing cards. Do you have friends coming over? You’re also having drinks there,” he says. “So this whole room becomes, in a way, like a family room, because that’s how we live here.” And because these kitchen, dining, and living spaces overlap, it was important to Villalobos that any surface material he incorporated into the project be up to the standard of the rest of the décor. “Cambria was part of the conversation because of both quality and the variety that you can find within the brand,” he says. When they also considered how easy Cambria is to care for, it became a perfect choice. “Although it looks beautiful and is high end, it is not precious. It doesn’t generate extra maintenance. It’s just easy to live in.”

Read this article as it appears in the magazine.

*Gensler product design consultant.