When our client originally purchased her new apartment in downtown Brooklyn, her intention was to truly customize and make her dream home a reality. That’s when she called Gallery.
Every client we work with is a little different. Some have a very strong sense of their design intent and objectives. Others are unsure what they want exactly and need someone to provide three to four choices to help them dial in. Then, there are those who really want to explore the world of options. They know what they like, but need to see what else is available as well and require a design team capable of showing various paths, suggestions and creative options they otherwise would not necessarily have been able to come up with. Of course, we were happy to accommodate.
Beyond wanting options at hand our client was also very keen on the specifics. She wanted beauty and obvious attention to detail upon entry for years to come. This included particulars like how the grain moves inside the wood floor and personal touches such as implementing particular 80-year-old lighting fixtures from her family's original Brooklyn brownstone. This fine touch also meant the design of every related implementation required some sort of gradient relation to those unique requests, whether in the material or period specific type.
To properly understand the nuance needed and make the appropriate selections, Gallery’s team had to build a strong rapport with the client and get to know her, her background, and her history. A true personal touch was required.
The prior owner originally opened up the kitchen, but for this renovation, our client wanted to modify the space with a closed off nook. She does a lot of cooking and hosts frequent dinner parties and while she wanted more of a communicative environment, she didn’t want the space completely open. To meet the client’s request, we created a modified galley kitchen that is partially open and then relayed that entire footprint of the kitchen to accommodate the update. The pendant lights from Restoration Hardware set the ideal mood to help blend the spaces, while the Dornbracht fixtures offer sleek elegance alongside the state of the art Sub-Zero refrigerator.
To enhance the transitional design, we made this a two-tone kitchen with wood veneer bottoms and white painted tops. The countertop material is a porcelain that blends seamlessly with the integrated Corian sink. For additional kitchen storage, we added a custom-crafted butler's pantry against the back wall of the space.
Notice the porcelain countertop on the side of the oven. More often than not this would be tiled to upper cabinets. However, we spent additional time to create a small finished pocket that’s seamless within the panel to offer a more seamless and complete feel. Finally, we coupled the charming custom galley kitchen with herringbone floors from PID Flooring to ensure a timeless look that can withstand plenty of traffic.
When renovating the bedrooms of 235 Adams, each required a different approach. For the primary bedroom, our client hoped to have more space in the attached ensuite bath. We recommended removing the closet in the adjoined room to provide more square footage, allowing us to reconfigure the space and create a much larger walk-in shower with double glass shower doors. The contemporary but classic space is complemented by basketweave Nemo Ice Grey Honed mesh-mounted mosaic marble floor tiles. We also replaced bulky old radiator covers with much slimmer built-ins that provide less obstruction and easier accessibility.
For the secondary bedroom, we designed the room to serve as a primary office and auxiliary guest bedroom. We reconfigured the previous closet space in order to make room for a built-in workstation, with a custom desk, storage and filing cabinets. We ran electrical specifically to accommodate the area, offering plenty of conveniently hidden outlets and task lighting. If a guest stays the night, there are doors on the built-in that can block off the whole workspace to contain any sensitive information (our client is a doctor).
Because guest bathroom square footage was tight, we couldn’t have a door swinging inside, or out into the narrow main hallway. Given the way the walls are configured in the space, a pocket door was out of the question as well. The only option left was essentially a sliding door, but the client’s concern with a sliding door was the exposed hardware traditional sliding doors are equipped with. After weighing various custom options, we settled on a ghost door implementation leveraging Milcasa’s magic door mounting system. The custom door has the same glide as a traditional sliding option, but the hardware on the implementation is 100% hidden. Beyond the ghost door, all of the plumbing in the bathroom was updated with fixtures from Restoration Hardware for a refined look that’s built to last.
Considering a condo or co-op renovation in NYC? View our condo and co-op renovation before and after portfolio, learn more about Gallery, or simply contact us today. We are an award-winning design-build firm in New York City with a full-service approach to residential renovations in Manhattan and Brooklyn including everything from interior design and architectural services to building management and board approvals, to construction and construction management. We’re experts in renovating pre-war homes, kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, sourcing custom pieces, building entirely new rooms, immaculate millwork, and all that falls in between. Let us bring your dream home to life.