New York City
1993

As the suburban nest emptied, our clients decided to seek their long-awaited city apartment. They chose a post-war, white brick building on Fifth Avenue overlooking the Central Park reservoir. The apartment was bereft of grace and detail but with spectacular light and ever-changing view.

Our strategy was to provide access to the light and view from everywhere in the apartment and to establish the missing detail. In the entry and kitchen, it meant opening up the space to allow freer movement and deeper penetration of the light. In the bedrooms we opened to the view, in one case removing a mirrored wall from in front of a large window. We lined the new entry with rigorously proportioned cherry panels with inlaid aluminum; some panels slide, some swing, to reveal closets and passages. Cherry cabinets, black stone counters, and stainless steel appliances fit out the kitchen. And, the theme of cherry cabinetry and black stone tops continues throughout. In the process, all mechanical and electrical systems were thoroughly updated.

The seasons here are different than they are in Scarsdale.