Midtown, Pre-War Gut Renovation
Gut Renovation, Furniture & Decor
Midtown-East, NYC
Residential, CO-OP, Pre-war Renovation
940 sq. ft.
Scope:
Location:
Typology:
Size:
The clients approached us to lead a comprehensive pre-war NYC apartment renovation for their 940-square-foot home situated in a Coop, Landmarked building on lower Park Avenue. We were asked to preserve and highlight the building's original details, pre-war charm while leaning into their love for unique and unusual objects. We worked to blend the couple's unique collection with newly sourced items, custom pieces, and millwork, showcasing high-quality craftsmanship while mixing high and low references, various textures, and materials. Beyond working to highlight the historic charm of the property, we worked to incorporate the homeowners’ prized possession: salvaged pieces from the Brooklyn Bridge, which the client collected during his first job working on the engineering to rehabilitate the bridge. While not explicitly stated in the brief, the homeowners were looking for a design-build team who would understand the value and beauty of the historic charm in their piece of NYC real-estate—whether a coop, condo, or brownstone—while being able to modernize it for their day-to-day needs.
Pre-war renovations almost always require an update — whether major or minor — to the layout to optimize space for modern living. Firstly, we took down the wall between the kitchen and living space, to expand the space for entertaining. Initially, the clients wanted to create space for a dining room table for their three daughters and grandchildren to gather for meals, but there wasn’t enough space for one. To solve the issue, we removed the wall between the kitchen and living room, and created a large island out of quartzite and walnut with enough room to seat six. We designed the island to be versatile, with ample built-in cabinetry, and stools that can be pushed fully underneath to be out of the way while cooking. The quartzite, an eye-catching element- extends on the countertops, up the backsplash and ties together the custom cabinetry in the kitchen and pantry.
The brief for the remodel included a request for additional storage throughout, and we provided inventive solutions throughout the apartment. We added two fully built-in closets to the living room by sealing off the doors to them in the bedroom, and opening them up in the living room-side. Both the closet doors and the wall were covered with manila hemp, discreetly concealing the closets while adding texture to the room. For clothes storage in the bedroom, we opted for a floor to ceiling wall of millwork, also custom-fabricated from walnut with organized space with hanging, drawers and shelves.
To create space for guests, we incorporated a pull-down Murphy bed concealed behind millwork, and paneled in painted mdf with mirrored inserts to bounce natural light. Replacing the bedroom closet, Mammoth built custom walnut built-in storage, which acts as the entrance to the bathroom.
The bathrooms both posed challenges. Due to space constraints, the vanities had to be placed under windows. For the primary bathroom, Mammoth created a custom stone countertop for a perforated steel vanity from Robern and put a mirror on the wall to the left. A custom, built-in medicine cabinet was built into the wall to for easy access to the right of the vanity. For the powder room off the kitchen (common in prewar homes as these were previously relegated to a maid’s quarters, we created a custom green marble-block vanity and paired only with a pivoting mirror on Menagerie of Extinct Animals wallpaper by Moooi.
While not littered with architectural details — like some homes on the Upper West Side or East Sides with overflowing crown molding — we identified key pieces of architectural details that we sought to restore, highlight and preserve: we cleaned up the molding, refinishing the existing hardwood floors, and installed new custom cast iron radiators. In the bedroom we added a few upgrades to highlight historic elements: we designed and built a custom bench of painted oak and leather, specifically to expose the radiator. For the fireplace, we installed new stone around the mantel, which we repainted in high-gloss.
In addition to designing the architectural interventions, helping clients with board approvals and managing building management, managing the DOB submission with the AOR, coordinating regulatory requirements like asbestos inspections, we helped the clients with interior design throughout their home renovation.
We integrated sensory elements, such as sculptural forms, colors, and textures, with our furnishing choices. Salvaged bolts and wrenches from the Brooklyn Bridge are presented as extensions of the owner’s art collection. This approach extends to pieces like Destroys/Builders’ Windows of Bo Bardi Side Table and Pinders Ceiling Light Fixture, demonstrating that functional items can also possess visual intrigue. The living room explores contrasting colors, pairing a bold red velvet Marcia Three Seater Sofa with a powder blue rug. It continues to play with the sense of touch, with the shearling Cowhorn Lounge Chair and a sheepskin footstool. Material contrast can also be found in the bedroom with the pairing of warm wood with cool chrome in the form of the Vine Ceiling light by A-N-D. We sought to use the interior design to highlight the apartments features, like high ceiling. historic detailing by selected elements that draw one’s attention there, and highlight the natural beauty of this historic home.
We also worked with the co-op board to come up with a strategy to move the central air units and optimize space for additional storage, shepherding the clients through every phase of the renovation project and what can sometimes be an opaque regulatory and approvals process.
Mammoth’s residential design-build team worked closely with the clients to create a space that felt connected to New York City and yet uniquely their own: designing or sourcing many of the items from large to soft goods. We took great care to highlight existing architectural details where we could, balancing design-intent with price-sensitivity, and an eye towards finding opportunities to modernize where we could. Working in pre-war buildings is always an opportunity to engage with the storied history of New York City, a privilege we don’t take lightly. We hope we were able to do justice to this historic corner of Manhattan.
We’re proud to have had this renovation project featured on NBC’s Open House NY
