The spirit of this Upper West Side apartment emerges from the illusory time warp—a gentle push and pull between the comfort of the past and the vigor of the present—embedded in the architectural details. A new floor of reclaimed oak boards, laid in a herringbone pattern and finished in natural oil, has the romantic allure of an old European pied-à-terre. In the living room, den, and bedroom, we rec- reated an original plaster relief detail suggestive of a crown molding, a small segment of which was uncovered during demolition beneath a dropped ceiling in the bedroom. Juxtaposed with these more traditional elements, our modernist interventions—includ- ing the storage blocks that flank the entry hall—vibrate with particular vigor. The link between the past and present becomes explicit in the vestibule between the living/dining area and the apartment’s more private spaces, where a traditional base- board, again original to the apartment, segues abruptly into a quarter-inch reveal that lifts the walls off the floor.
Given that the homeowners are the founding partners of Malin + Goetz, we paid special attention to the design of the two bathrooms, which reflect the beauty brand’s ethos as a modern apothecary. With bath fixtures and hardware of unlacquered brass set against fields of Carrara marble, the spa-like rooms elevate the rituals of daily ablutions with a touch of old-school glamour. Much like the Malin + Goetz boutiques that we’ve designed, in which a single vintage display element subtly offsets the taut architectural envelope, the furnishings and interior appointments here bridge the traditional and the modern. This is a home that finds beauty and luxury in simplicity, a place at peace with both history and the here and now.
