This Upper East Side Renovation Offers One Family a Fresh Start

Design isn’t always just a matter of replacing and refining; at its best, it can foster renewal. When a wife approached Antonio Matrēs to reconceive the 1,400-square-foot Upper East Side apartment that had been the home she shared with her late husband and their three girls, the brief was both simple and emotionally complicated. “She wanted a soft and welcoming environment for her girls,” Matrēs says. “A fresh start where they can feel peace again.”

Matrēs began the renovation by rethinking the layout. First, he opened everything up: an entrance-foyer, bright and defined by a floating closet with skimmed edges, now flows into an interconnected kitchen and living and dining areas, all previously walled off from each other. A 60-foot-long console hovers in space around the edges, offering ample storage and crisp demarcation of space.

That move offered a solution to a smaller, but more crucial problem. What to do with a smaller bedroom once used for house staff, all of sixty square feet, near an equally compact bathroom? He doubled the bedroom by taking a bit from kitchen, which now felt much larger anyway. As for that bathroom, “it was used as storage space,” since there was none in the bedroom. A full wood wall of closet storage there (and in each of the other bedrooms) addressed that issue with ease, allowing the bathroom to better serve its purpose.

And more: like in so many New York City apartments, the radiators were old and loud. “I hate radiator covers, and anyway we couldn’t find a modern design that fit with the rest of the apartment,” Matrēs says. And so he designed his own. “I don’t even want to tell you how hard it is to design a steam radiator,” he laughs. “But they have a similar shape as the bathroom sconces and the other pieces custom-made for this apartment.” Everywhere, the effort was worth it. The formerly tight staff quarters is now, he says, a “palace” for the oldest daughter, complete with private access to transform, when the moment arrives, into her own “shared apartment.”

Until then, the four will gratefully share the whole place, filled with tapestry and ceramic pieces by Ukranian designer Yakusa, and a striking forest candelabra by Jan Ernest. “They needed a fresh start,” he says, and he offered that, as well as a little bit of healing.

This Mumbai Apartment Raises the Bar for Residential Opulence

In December 2020, Mumbai natives Kasturi Wagh and Vineet Hingorani had returned home after graduating from New York’s Pratt Institute School of Architecture. Despite the constraints of the pandemic, the emerging designers (and longtime friends) quickly launched their practice, kaviar:collaborative, a portmanteau of their first names and the word “architecture.” Their first full-scope project? Remodeling a 1,250-square-foot apartment for a family of three in Mumbai’s posh Malabar Hill neighborhood.

“The homeowners work hard and party harder,” remarked Wagh. “They are extroverts, so it was clear that the house needed to reflect their outgoing personalities.” Given carte blanche over nearly every aspect of the intervention, kaviar:collaborative had just one imperative from their fun-loving clients—to integrate a magnificent bar/lounge into the space.

“The homeowners love hosting soirées and sought a bar that would compel them to never go out for a drink again,” shares Wagh.

A Verdant Palette Grounds This Mumbai Apartment

With that cue, the architects conceived a clever layout, combining two existing flats into one streamlined, flowing home with multifunctional spaces. A curved, sliding door clad in teak demarcates the den from the living and dining areas. When open, the den becomes an extension of the common areas, when closed, it can serve as a guest room.

Color—specifically, green—plays an equally vital role in the apartment. One enters the home via a moody vestibule with emerald marble flooring and forest-green fluted walls leading to the living and dining areas. “We call it ‘the green guiding spirit’ of the apartment,” notes Hingorani. Accordingly, the architects dubbed the home “Midori,” a Japanese word for fresh foliage.

The architects took a contemporary approach to complement the 80-year-old apartment building’s period details. Spherical forms and a baroque material palette of terrazzo, white statuario marble, emerald green marble (locally sourced from Bombay) and brushed brass were inspired by the building’s Art Deco facade, and storage space is hidden behind teak-cladded walls. Throughout, deep, graceful curves evoke Gatsby-esque glamour, through a modern lens.

A Closer Look at Custom Furnishings and Home Accents 

Serenity Prevails in This House Surrounded by Nature on Canada’s West Coast

Nestled among the trees, this home enticed a young, creative couple to move from New York City to North Vancouver, British Columbia, where they decided to put down roots and raise their two children. The family liked the original proportions of the property and decided to expand the footprint minimally. The mid-century structure, however, didn’t fit their vision so they called on Olson Kundig to reinvent it. 

The team of Erica Colpitts Interior Design took care of the interiors, which were inspired by the peaceful surrounding landscape and rural British aesthetic to echo the homeowners’ fascination with the style. 

“The pure challenge of this home completely appealed to me,” she confesses. “My task was to meld Olson Kundig’s overall design with an ever so slightly soft and romantic interior.” Mission accomplished.  

Top 10 Homes Stories of 2022

Our top residential stories of 2022 demonstrate the continued creativity of designers, proving that residential design has no limits. From homes that blend in with their natural landscapes to those colored in a palette crafted to match the owner’s personal style, see the stunning abodes that made our jaws drop this year.

Interior Design’s Top 10 Residential Spaces of 2022

1. A Tropical Modernist Miami Home

Strang Design specializes in contextualizing homes to their immediate surroundings via use of natural materials, eschewing plain white boxes. In this Miami home for a family relocating from Brazil, this approach translated to an earthy palette and the placement of plant life—and the structure itself—in a manner that blurs the line between building and landscape. Read more.

2. Inside the Homes and Studios of Product Designers

Artisans and product designers take a hands on approach to their homes/studios. Pictured above, the home of textile artist Milla Novo and her partner, Nigel Nowotarski. They first encountered the neo-Gothic monastery in Bennebroek, the Netherlands, when it was being redeveloped into residences. The structure’s 2,000-square-foot former chapel had been languishing on the market. Novo saw a blank slate to and abundant possibilities. Read more.

3. A Refined Greenwich Village Apartment

With a past life as a church, the marble façade and original stained glass windows of this historic New York City building, which used to be home to actor Jude Law, caught the eye of a young chief legal and operating officer at a startup. She then purchased one of its eight modern loft condos and made it her own. With a sophisticated and sexy vibe, touches of gray and pinks in neutral shades set the tone. Read more.

4. Innovative Residential Developments in NYC

Explore these five amenities-rich residential developments that showcase New York apartment-building design at its coolest. Pictured above, a state-of-the-art luxury condominium with 126 private residences by John Cetra and Nancy Ruddy. Arched forms distinguish interior public spaces, from the double-height, walnut-paneled lobby to the sumptuous resident lounge, adjacent children’s playroom with reading nooks, and fully equipped fitness center, while the landscaped roof deck offers peerless uptown vistas. Read more.

5. A Trio of Residential Interiors 

A trio of new residential interiors runs the emotional gamut from bright and sunny to serene and sophisticated. In this Paris home, natural light floods a 1,300-square-foot duplex in a 17th-century Marais building, where ceilings were raised, a ribbon skylight installed, and the play of volumes and voids carefully calibrated to take full advantage of the expansive windows—not least in the living area, which is dominated by a stack of colorful blocks forming a sunny sculptural staircase and fireplace. Read more.

6. The 2021 Best of Year Winner for Residential Landscape

The owners of this Bay Area residence, sited on a verdant 1-acre flag lot, had embarked on a series of architectural interventions over the years. Most recently, they sought to maximize use of their backyard, dotted with redwoods and mature oaks, by commissioning a pair of freestanding glass-box structures devoted to indoor/outdoor living. Designed by Feldman Architecture, each minimalist 450-square-foot pavilion has an identical footprint and materials palette—Alaskan yellow cedar slatting, hand-troweled plaster ceilings, concrete plinths. Read more.

7. An Upper West Side Apartment with Perfect Visual Balance

On the Upper West Side of Manhattan, this 2,400-square-foot apartment, with architecture recently modernized by StudioLAB Design, occupies a building built in 1925. For the interiors, the New York City couple who reside here with their two-year-old and dog trusted the team at Justin Charette Design. The creative vision for the home centers around durability, functionality, style and budget. Read more.

8. These 5 Homes Nod to Their Surroundings

With strikingly diverse shapes, these five residences from around the globe are in direct response to their specific locales. In this 2,900-square-foot Mexico house, nature and pre-Hispanic culture guided the design. It’s surrounded by trees and located near Aztec ruins. he residence is a seamless blend of indoor and outdoor spaces that take full advantage of the leafy canopy overhead while referencing ancient materials (chukum, a Mayan stucco) and structures (wood blocks that echo the steps of the region’s iconic pyramids). Read more.

9. A Neutral and Organic-Inspired West Village Home

The team of SISSY+MARLEY Interiors transformed this 1,700-square-foot, three-bedroom apartment into a calming refuge for a young family who wanted to escape from the hustle and bustle of New York City without leaving town. A restrained palette makes the apartment feel larger, bright and crisp, while reflecting a relaxing vibe. The busy homeowner asked designers to recreate the sensation of a dreamy boutique hotel. Read more.

10. A London Apartment Honors David Bowie and Other Musicians

When a famous British singer bought a pad in a Foster + Partners multi-tower apartment complex on the banks of London’s River Thames, he had two specific desires. First, he longed to transform its undoubtedly luxurious but standard-issue interiors into one of the city’s great party spots. And second, a beloved portrait of his idol David Bowie had to take pride of place. Read more.

Hot Shots: Jannat Vasi Creates a Bright and Modern Mumbai Apartment

Jannat Vasi denies having a signature style, but certain themes run through the many luxury residential interiors she has designed across India. Since founding her eponymous Mumbai-based firm in 2012, Vasi has created bright, modern spaces that favor inlaid stonework, detailed craftsmanship, and rich layers of materials and textures. Most furnishings are custom; Vasi earned a certificate in furniture design from Pratt Institute in New York and has since built relationships with Indian manufacturers. Beyond that, she and her five-person team at Jannat Vasi Interior Design let clients’ personalities and heritages guide their concepts. “I feel it’s important to study the client and be sensitive to the human experience,” Vasi says.

Inside the Mumbai, India Residence

An Apple Tree is the Focal Point for This Single-Story Glass House by ACDF Architecture

Architect Maxime-Alexis Frappier, lead designer of the Canadian firm ACDF Architecture, approaches each of his projects with precise rigor and careful attention. For his family’s own residence in Quebec’s Lanaudière region, he added a healthy dose of his childhood memories to the architectural concept. Frappier grew up in an orchard environment, and he wanted his children to experience some of that tradition. So he added an unusual focal point to the home: a young apple tree.

“It became a central pillar for connecting the architecture, the house, and the family,” the architect explains. “Whether through its flowers in the spring, its foliage in the summer, its fruits in the fall, or the snow that accumulates on its branches in winter, this tree participates in an extraordinary way in the creation of a living environment that is so stimulating.’’ The single-story glass house surrounds the apple tree, which was replanted in a courtyard at the center of the newly built home. Caring for the tree is a shared activity for the family, from pruning its branches to harvesting its fruit. 

But the tree is, of course, not the only striking feature of the residence by this talented architect. Set on a 6-acre forest plot, the architecture masterfully highlights the nature surrounding the home. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows let in abundant natural light and allow for sweeping views of surrounding trees. To emphasize those views, and the connection to the natural world, furniture was kept minimal with muted tones. Polished concrete flooring is also neutral. Ceilings incorporate wooden planks, with half-inch gaps between them to soften direct sunlight. 

Acting as both architect and client, Frappier crafted a home that is elegant but nonetheless comfortable. He built the home around the concept of discrete but integrated “wooden boxes.” (One houses garage and service areas, a second the children’s bedrooms and bathrooms, and the third the primary suite.) The result is a minimalist aesthetic, but there are intimate spots integrated into the design: a custom alcove was built for the family piano and the primary suite features a cozy lounge and a soaking tub. In this way, the house includes space for both connectivity and privacy. 

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Take a Look Inside With This Video by ACDF Architecture  

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Spanish Revival Homes Radiate Elegance, Like This One Newly Grounded by SAW

For a 1930s Spanish Revival home in the Marina neighborhood of San Francisco—once a landfill—Spiegel Aihara Workshop (SAW) worked from the ground up. First, the team excavated several feet of contaminated soil (likely from an early 20th century gas plant that once operated there). Though challenging, this gave them an opportunity to modernize the home’s foundation and redistribute load bearing walls throughout.

“Rather than simply building upon the new ground, we saw the challenge as redistributing the ground vertically across the site, throughout the building,” says Dan Spiegel, architect and founding partner of SAW. “While many buildings have terraces, or balconies, or things like that, we set out to maintain a complete continuity of a new ground across the entire house, ensuring that every roof was not so much the top of something, but the bottom of something—a new ground.”

The property’s more challenging aspects also fueled creative thinking. “We really like constraints—they lead to unexpected solutions,” says Megumi Aihara, SAW founding partner and landscape architect who noticed that the new structure offered an opportunity for the back garden to be experienced from multiple levels. To create a stately backdrop, the team handpicked October Glory Red maple trees, known for their dramatic fall foliage.

For the interiors, completed by Heidi Kim of White Space Design, the Spanish Revival style of the original home inspired the use of creative geometry. “The curvy forms were inspired by Streamline Moderne/Art Deco architecture in the Marina neighborhood, and the curved archways and doorways of the original 1931 Spanish Revival home,” shares Spiegel.

Sinuous surfaces blur the separation between rooms, encouraging fluid movement. The house’s nickname, “Wraparound,” comes from the notion that subtle variations in corner geometry impact directional movement, similar to how the shape of a hockey rink influences control of the puck.

“It’s all a process of translation across eras, looking for something suited to the present moment by adapting several languages of the past history of the house,” adds Spiegel. With rich textures, soft curves, and an elegance befitting its history, the resulting space grounds in more ways than one, offering a calm respite for the family of five to call home.

dSPACE and Studio Gild Clad a Forever Home in Craft Masonry for Chicago Natives

When a couple returned from years in New York City to their roots in Chicago, they didn’t just want to build a house. They wanted to make a home—for themselves, their two kids, and their future. A 6,100-square-foot double lot in Lincoln Park was just the spot, and the family drew up plans with local firm dSPACE and interiors specialists Studio Gild.

The result is a 6,500-square-foot abode with six bedrooms and 7 ½ baths spread across three floors within a striking brick façade. “The beauty of this home is that while it’s fortified to withstand whatever the Midwest throws at it,” says dSPACE founding principal Kevin Toukoumidis, “the luxurious texture of the screen wall surprises observers accustomed to perceiving brick as hard and structural.” The brick’s custom midnight black color emphasizes the shadows created by the perforated installation.  “By harnessing the light angles,” that filter through the screen walls, explains dSPACE principal Tom Hagerty, “we were able to employ passive solar design, making the home energy-efficient while promoting a sense of wellbeing that comes from a constant connection to nature.”

Sunlight does flood the top floor’s gym, kitchenette, and guest quarters via a 30-foot ridge skylight, complimented by panoramic views of the city; beneath, bedrooms for the family flow through a lofted atrium. Interiors are defined more through texture than tonal palette. “There’s a subtle repetition throughout the home,” Hagerty explains. “From the front fence to the scale-like brass sequins on the wall of the first-floor powder room, the patterns are aesthetically rewarding without being overwhelming.”

A sculptural steel-and-glass staircase descends to the ground level’s common living spaces, including a custom kitchen and formal dining room. A backyard awaits, free of drop-down or steps. This kind of seamless transition, notes Hagerty, “is key for aging in place.” It’s a way, in other words, to make a new home a forever home.

“It was a dream working with such intelligent, witty individuals with clever taste and sagacious eyes,” says Jennie Bishop, principal of Studio Gild, which collaborated on the project. “The most exceptional materials and minute details were carefully considered in the midst of Covid, which presented its own procurement challenges. But corners were not cut and patience paid off on every level of this urban home surrounded in verdant landscape… making it hard to believe one is in a bustling city once behind the latticed façade of inky brick.”

Studio Bright Transforms a Historic Melbourne Property into a Cozy Family Home

It can be challenging to make a true family home in an urban environment. That was the brief for Studio Bright, which created a refuge for a couple with two young girls in a dense and gritty part of Melbourne. The clients had acquired a small Victorian terrace house that a previous resident, architect Mick Jörgensen, had modified in the 1980s by adding an extension; as a result, the interior detailing, from ornate cornices to modernist wood beams, spanned the centuries. Led by director Melissa Bright, the studio transformed the structure by adding two new wings—one with a roof deck—that better support the homeowners’ lifestyle.

Outdated service buildings on the site, including a shed and a garage, were removed to make way for the additions and an interstitial courtyard. The larger of the two extensions is a wedge-shape two-story volume of painted brickwork, its upper level wrapped in brown-painted metal mesh; accessible through a new entrance, the wing’s ground floor houses the kitchen and dining area and the primary living area/lounge. One flight up is the primary suite with a roof deck that boasts views of a tall elm. The second new volume, on the opposite side of the main courtyard, contains a home office and a bike room.

The original Victorian building became a family zone—complete with bedrooms for the girls and their own hangout space—that can be closed off via large sliding doors. “The configuration makes for connected family living but supports separation,” Bright explains.

The architect made careful decisions in how she joined the Victorian, the previous addition, and the new spaces. This feat was done with a steady hand that made sweeping structural changes to the layout in the existing portion. For example, the circulation route in the original building was moved from the south side to the north in order to give the girls’ bedrooms sunlight and views of the courtyard. The Jörgensen beams were removed but only partially, allowing for higher ceilings while also nodding to the home’s history. “We thought it was nicer to let all of these layers come through,” Bright explains. “Three eras sit together as a cohesive whole.” In this way, memory of the home’s past becomes a part of its present day.

grazia and co.: custom swivel chairs, custom daybed, custom coffee table (lounge)

instyle: leather upholstery

warwick: daybed fabric

l a a l: wall lights

truss forte: steel mesh (exterior)

dulux: steel mesh paint

nood co.: sink (kids’ bathroom)

cabinet smith: custom cabinetry

academy tiles: tiles

zuster furniture: sideboard (kids’ living space)

snelling studio: table, stools

jardan: sofa

muuto through living edge: chairs (kitchen)

inax through artedomus: tiles (primary bathroom)

lindsey wherrett ceramics: custom ceramic basin

duralloy: custom shower screen powder coating

australian sustainable hardwoods: wall panels, joinery

artefact industries: ceiling lights

brodware through e&s: sink fittings

artemide through stylecraft: wall lights (bathrooms)

eckersley garden architecture: landscape architect

meyer consulting: structural engineer

provanbuilt: builder

5 Homes Around the Globe That Nod to Their Surroundings

The strikingly diverse shapes of these five residences from around the globe are in direct response to their specific locales—physical and cultural.

HW Studio Arquitectos

Morelia, Mexico

Half buried under a grassy hillock, this 2,700-square-foot bunkerlike house—all concrete, wood floors excepted—is accessed by a narrow high-walled pathway that expands slightly to accommodate a tree. The bedrooms in the back look onto an equally narrow walled courtyard, while the large, vaulted living space in the front is completely open to the wooded ravine, thanks to an entire wall of glass.

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Imogen Pullar Architecture

Walkerville, Australia

At a mere 475 square feet, this seaside family retreat is a tiny house that doesn’t feel that way at all, thanks to lofty pitched ceilings, a mezzanine level, built-in furniture and storage, and expansive views of mountains, forests, or bay wherever you look. The exterior is clad in non-combustible fiber cement—the area is prone to bushfires—which a team of local artists has covered with colorful murals, making the little structure a delightful sight in its own right.

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HGX Design

Hudson, New York

Despite its size—more than 6,000 square feet in all, including a basement media room and gym—this elegant weekend house sits lightly on a grassy ridge, its clean form and silvery cedar cladding echoing the simple rural buildings in the area. Inside, a limited color and materials palette—walnut planks, also silvery, on floors and some walls; other surfaces painted a single, unifying hue—and soaring 13-foot-high ceilings create serene, light-filled spaces as hospitable to people as they are to the homeowner’s art collection.

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MCXA Group

Malinalco, Mexico

Nature and pre-Hispanic culture guided the design of this 2,900-square-foot house, which is surrounded by trees and located near Aztec ruins. Comprising a series of flexible volumes interwoven with courtyards of varying size, the residence is a seamless blend of indoor and outdoor spaces that take full advantage of the leafy canopy overhead while referencing ancient materials (chukum, a Mayan stucco) and structures (wood blocks that echo the steps of the region’s iconic pyramids).

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Nicole Blair

Austin, Texas

Like a bird, this 660-square-foot addition perches on four steel columns a couple of feet above the existing bungalow’s roofline. It’s shop-built steel frame was craned into position in a single day and then clad in low-maintenance oxidized-steel siding that chimes with other site elements. The split-level interior offers flexible space for family living, hobbies, and, during the pandemic, a hairstyling station.

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