{"id":218675,"date":"2023-12-08T08:05:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T13:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=218675"},"modified":"2024-01-24T14:14:20","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T19:14:20","slug":"inside-a-flatiron-loft-by-messana-ororke","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/inside-a-flatiron-loft-by-messana-ororke\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside a Flatiron Loft That Doubles as a Spalike Retreat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"sliding
Sliding frosted-glass panels framed in unlacquered brass separate the bedroom from the living area, which has a Nicolas Party painting and a cocktail table and lounge chairs by Poul Kj\u00e6rholm. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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December 8, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Rebecca Dalzell<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>David Mitchell<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Inside a Flatiron Loft That Doubles as a Spalike Retreat<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

2023 Best of Year Winner for Small Apartment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rarely does an architect get to renovate the same property three times\u2014let alone within a decade. But the owner of a loft in Manhattan\u2019s Flatiron District, an art dealer, kept coming back to Messana O\u2019Rorke<\/a>. After the firm designed his original 800-square-foot apartment, the client purchased the studio next door; partners Brian Messana and Toby O\u2019Rorke combined them to create a 1,200-square-foot unit. Later, they returned to install a new kitchen and flooring. Throughout the process, the loft retained a warm, minimal aesthetic and oak-and-brass palette. \u201cWe expanded and altered it while keeping the same spirit,\u201d Messana notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Located in a former factory building, the expanded apartment has an 11-foot ceiling and seven south-facing windows. The challenge, Messana says, \u201cwas how to keep the essence of a loft, that big open space, without creating a studio.\u201d The solution lay in sliding frosted-glass doors trimmed in unlacquered brass that separate the bedroom suite and a snug den from the living and dining area, but allow light to flood through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a
In the kitchen, the waterfall countertop is basaltina stone and the custom cabinetry French oak, which matches the new flooring throughout.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first iteration of the apartment had a galley kitchen that the client rarely used, but over the years, he began to cook more and wanted to entertain. Messana O\u2019Rorke opened the kitchen to the great room, removing the partition wall and installing a basaltina stone countertop with a fridge and freezer hidden underneath. Cabinets clad in French oak match new 9-inch-wide floorboards that replaced fumed-oak flooring to further lighten the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all their appeal, lofts can lack an element of surprise: You walk in the door and see a huge space in its entirety. \u201cThe problem is you only have one experience\u2014it\u2019s one-note,\u201d Messana says. He and O\u2019Rorke laid out the apartment so it reveals itself gradually, creating a sequence of events. At the entrance, visitors encounter an intimate foyer with a shoe closet, then turn into a storage-lined hallway and glimpse the front windows. But it\u2019s only farther down, when they arrive at the kitchen, that they can start to appreciate the full size of the loft\u2014and it takes further exploration still to discover the more tucked-away den and bedroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s one last surprise. \u201cNobody expects the main bathroom\u2014it\u2019s insane,\u201d Messana says. A masculine, spalike retreat<\/a>, it\u2019s covered almost entirely in exuberant travertine<\/a>, including a sexy shower stall with an illuminated tinted mirror. An encore indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walk Through the Manhattan Loft Apartment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"sliding
Sliding frosted-glass panels framed in unlacquered brass separate the bedroom from the living area, which has a Nicolas Party painting and a cocktail table and lounge chairs by Poul Kj\u00e6rholm. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"an
An oak bookshelf anchors the dining area, where the table is by George Nakashima.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"More
More bronze-framed glass panels enclose the den off the dining area. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A Julian Pace painting hangs in the bedroom. \n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"a
Peter Bristol\u2019s lamp stands on the custom headboard. \n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Floor-to-ceiling
Floor-to-ceiling shelves in the entry\u2019s mirror-backed shoe closet are Euro\u00adpean white oak. \n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"an
In a Flatiron District loft, the bedroom\u2019s office nook\u2014with art by Wayne Thiebaud, Fernando Botero, and Amber Andrews\u2014is clad in custom fumed and wire-brushed European white oak. \n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"the
The main bathroom, including its custom sink and vanity, is wrapped entirely in travertine. \n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"The
The water closet off the shower is enclosed by a pocket door. \n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
product sources from front<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

fair<\/strong>: stools (kitchen).
dwr<\/strong>: sofa (living area).
armadillo<\/strong>: rug.
the citizenry<\/strong>: ottoman.
water\u00adworks<\/strong>: fittings (bathroom).
uc group<\/strong>: custom bed (bedroom), custom glass panels, custom sliders (bedroom, living area), medicine cabinet (bathroom), shelves (closet).
juniper<\/strong>: lamp (bedroom).
west nyc home<\/strong>: sofa (den).
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

throughout<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

the hudson company<\/strong>: wood flooring.
lv stone source<\/strong>: stone supplier.
zerolux lighting design<\/strong>: lighting consultant.
m.a. rubiano<\/strong>: mep.
wood floors & surfaces<\/strong>: woodwork.
abs renovations<\/strong>: general contractor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n