The delightful qualities of the staircase’s design solved an important challenge: how to position the stairs to the rooftop patio without disrupting the great room’s airiness. The stairs now define and subtly separate the dining and living spaces.
When a client from the West Coast came to Dorothee Junkin Design Studio, she was in need of a suitable second home in New York City for her busy, bicoastal lifestyle. The 3,800-square-foot loft she had purchased was ready for a complete renovation, and as lead designer Junkin saw, it had everything needed to become an airy, relaxing sanctuary: high ceilings, opportunity for a sweeping, contemporary floor plan, and the texture of history. Soon after Junkin completed her vision for the home, the design won the 2017 American Architecture Award for Apartment Interior Design.
The client’s original brief—“Open space. Contemporary. Serene”—sent the project, scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2018, away from strong patterns and bold colors and toward satisfying materiality and natural textures.
In the master bathroom, Nero Marquina and Calacatta marble, both from Italy, wrap the space in timeless glamour while calming the mind and senses. The custom, freestanding sculptural soaking tub is carved from a solid block of marble. Here, the play of dark and light finishes is achieved with black brushed wenge cabinetry. High contrast is a feature throughout the home and handled uniquely from room to room.
The master bedroom is a bastion of relaxation, with a wallcovering from Calico simulating a vast stone headboard, a sofa by Vladimir Kagan, and a custom bed. An abundance of natural light complements the room’s sublime simplicity.
Open was always the plan, according to designer Dorothee Junkin and her client. This expansive pied-à-terre in New York raises the bar on spaciousness to lofty new heights.
Entertaining came high on this client’s list of priorities, and Junkin’s fulfillment of the request paid off handsomely. The spacious living, dining, and kitchen area is a triumph, featuring cerused European white oak flooring, custom black brushed oak cabinetry, and warm brass accents. The kitchen’s backsplash is bookmatched Italian Pietra Grigio marble.
The great room contains a tactile connection to the loft’s past: the wood beams and columns. As the timbers had withstood some damage from the ravages of time, they were lovingly restored where needed using reclaimed wood. The result is another layer of calming, yet interesting, texture that adds to the home’s character.
One of the project’s most prominent features is a slender blackened steel staircase leading to the private rooftop. Initially, the staircase was perceived as a spatial challenge since it couldn’t be put anywhere except prominently in the center of the great room. But Junkin turned it into a feature design element, and now the staircase acts as a partial screen between the dining and living areas, merging necessity and composition by subtly defining the large space.
For a client who values serenity and openness above almost all else, this peaceful inner sanctum of a master bedroom was born.
Layers of light-colored finishes stand in deliberate juxtaposition to dark feature elements. Both are offset by the occasional hint of warm brass tones.
