Design Diary – West Side Apartment - The Adventure begins. . .

Welcome to my new blog. I hope to bring new insights into the world of design. The mission is to give an insiders view of the design process and to bring awareness to new things in the world of design and art from my own perspective.

Design Diary – West Side Apartment – Entry One

I will chronicle the process of design and construction for a new project on the Upper West Side – an apartment renovation near Lincoln Center. It’s a unique apartment because it’s on the garden level of a high rise and the garden is as big as the apartment itself.

I met this client socially, and was asked to help renovate an apartment in the same neighborhood. We were set to go when the deal fell apart due to misinformation between from the Coop Board about impossible rules for renovation in that building.

Discouraged, they continued to look at places on-line. Several months ago, my client, called me from her winter residence to ask me to scout this apartment. I reluctantly agreed as the plan was not very interesting, but when I got there, I was intrigued. The garden is very large and makes the apartment itself look much bigger. Also, the ceilings are 12 ½ feet high giving the feeling of a wonderful loft. The location is exactly where these clients want to be. The client flew in and put in an offer that was accepted within a few days.

I sketched out a plan that rearranged the main functions and necessitated the purchase of a public hall to make it work. I will post the existing plans and my proposed design in Entry 2.

Here are the before pictures.
View of the Garden