This New York City apartment seamlessly merges contemporary taste with vintage verve. Led by Kroesser + Strat Design and captured by Sean Litchfield, the renovation of this 1930’s apartment reimagines the flow of the space—opening up the kitchen and dining area, transforming the guest suite, and layering in rich textures and custom details. With the client’s keen eye for art and a collaborative design approach, the home reflects a refined yet deeply personal aesthetic.

From Kroesser + Strat Design… This project was slated to begin in early 2020 but was paused until late summer 2021 due to the pandemic. When we took on the renovation, the apartment had already undergone a modernization about 20 years prior, so while the building itself dates back to the 1930s, the space was already quite up-to-date. The major renovations of the space include the guest bathroom, kitchen which had a dividing wall separating it from the dining room that we opened up to create one space, and a complete re-work of the guest suite- the existing space was a small seating area, and two bedrooms. We opened up the entire space to create a larger media room with one guest bedroom, divided by a custom glass and iron wall.

So many elements of the project were custom designed by us, but there were some existing pieces of furnishings which remained, such as the dining table and dining pendant, flag chair which we replaced with a new bolster, straps and sheepskin, as well as the dining room wall hung credenza. Originally done in a stained finish, we had it sprayed with a raspberry lacquer paint to pull in the colors of the art above. All of the art was existing and sourced by the client! The design process was extremely collaborative with them, they both have incredible taste, were decisive, and very open to pushing the envelope — as seen most specifically with the guest bathroom.

Because of covid, almost every aspect of this project incurred delays- the Sub Zero fridge was almost a year late due to a single small part that was held up in manufacturing overseas. We were intent on using a smoked reeded glass for the upper kitchen cabinet door insets and it was incredibly difficult to source, we ended up getting it in Canada and it took triple the amount of time to receive it than originally quoted. The most obvious challenge was the delaying starting. The building was closed for months and no work could commence. Once it opened up, there were very strict guidelines in terms of how many workers could be on site, the distance they needed to remain apart etc. The GC was luckily very organized and adapted quickly to follow Covid protocol so that the project could move forward in a somewhat timely manner given the circumstances.

Discover the talent behind the story… Interior Design: Kroesser + Strat Design · Photography: Sean Litchfield · General Contractor: Green Conversions Contracting