Houzz Tour: Sliding Doors Open Up a Small Space in New York City
http://www.decor-ideas.org 09/03/2014 19:15 Decor Ideas
Justin Venk was still in grad school for interior design when Amanda Bresler bought an apartment in his building in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. When Bresler, who works for the company that makes Sweet Revenge liqueur, saw Venk’s apartment, she fell in love with his style and asked him to take charge of remodeling her place.
So Venk spent a year attending class during the day and working on Bresler’s less-than-450-square-foot apartment at night. It took so long because Venk did all the work himself, including ripping off Sheetrock to expose a brick wall, building custom furniture and shelves, designing and building light fixtures, and removing a wall to open the living room to the alcove bedroom.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Amanda Bresler, SVP for Maurice Cooper & Company
Location: Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City
Size: 450 square feet; one bedroom (known as an alcove bedroom)
BEFORE: Previous owners had covered the brick wall with drywall and had painted the space a muted yellow.
AFTER: Venk ripped off the drywall to expose the brick. He then painted the walls, ceiling and trim in Behr’s Gallery White. “I use it a lot. It’s a nice, softer white with a little bit of gray in it. I find it pops pretty nice without being overly superwhite,” he says.
He then designed and built the wood shelves and the lighting fixture. He also worked with Bresler to select furniture pieces that fit with the youthful, entertaining vibe she was going for.
The large artwork over the fireplace was semicommissioned from artist Victor Spinelli, who has a large portfolio of photographs that he paints on top of. Venk and Bresler selected this photograph and a pink paint color for Spinelli to use so it would complement the fabrics and pillows in the room.
Blue Saarinen executive chairs: eBay; sofa: ABC Carpet & Home; rug: West Elm; shade fabric: Romo; side table: Mira Nakashima; coffee tables: One Kings Lane
A wall previously closed off the bedroom from the living room. “You went through a pocket door and basically dove into bed, like on ship,” Venk says.
He removed the wall and made three 9-foot sliding doors on a track.
Bresler can now keep the space open or close it off when she has company over.
“Ideally I did not want to make them, but I looked around and couldn’t find anyone to make them,” he says. “I didn’t want to compromise the design and put in a bulkhead 12 inches lower than the ceiling for average-size doors that wouldn’t give it the same feel.”
Light fixture: custom, Facet 14; Byron mirrored dresser: One Kings Lane; bedding: Pottery Barn
A custom built-in unit beneath the windows on the left has walnut doors that slide across it to cover the radiator or storage shelves as needed. Venk also designed and built the wall-mounted storage unit.
See more ways to cover the radiator
An Italian poster that Bresler bought at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London hangs over a $130 bar cart from Target.
More: 28 Great Homes Smaller Than 1,000 Square Feet
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