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Houzz Tour: Two Small New York Apartments Become One
An architect has combined a one-bedroom and an adjacent studio flat to create a colourful and functional home
When the studio behind this couple’s one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn became available, they snapped it up, but were then confounded as to how to join the two into one cohesive home. A cluster of two small kitchens and two small bathrooms occupied the centre of the long, narrow space.
The couple hired architect Andrew Mikhael to give it a pleasing flow and make it functional, beautiful and able to accommodate overnight guests. In addition, their favourite destination in the world is Morocco, and they wanted to bring some of the saturated colours and artistry of that country into their New York home.
The couple hired architect Andrew Mikhael to give it a pleasing flow and make it functional, beautiful and able to accommodate overnight guests. In addition, their favourite destination in the world is Morocco, and they wanted to bring some of the saturated colours and artistry of that country into their New York home.
The architect came up with a great solution to give the living room flexibility. Now, two oversized pocket doors can close off the space when overnight guests use the sofa-bed, affording privacy. In this photo, the doors are partially open, but most of the time they’re open all the way, enhancing flow.
Here’s the view from the living room out to the dining room. The entry door is on the left and the kitchen is on the right.
Giving overnight guests their own full bathroom was also a goal. The door on the left leads to the guest bathroom, which also serves as the couple’s cloakroom.
“My clients had a lot of books and objects from their travels that they wanted to display,” Andrew says. So he designed built-in units to run along the side of the dining room. These units include lights at the top and closed storage along the bottom. “Wall space was at a premium in here, and this was the right space for bookshelves,” Andrew says.
“My clients had a lot of books and objects from their travels that they wanted to display,” Andrew says. So he designed built-in units to run along the side of the dining room. These units include lights at the top and closed storage along the bottom. “Wall space was at a premium in here, and this was the right space for bookshelves,” Andrew says.
The 3.5 sq m second bathroom mostly serves as a cloakroom. Because it’s next to the living room that doubles as a guest space, Andrew found a way to squeeze a shower in here. “It’s so much nicer for your guests to have their own bathroom, rather than them having to walk through the apartment to use the main bathroom,” he says.
To fit a shower into the compact space, Andrew utilised a wetroom strategy. This means the shower doesn’t have an enclosure or curtain. Striking Moroccan tiles mark the shower area and the floor slopes slightly towards a drain.
The walls that aren’t covered in tiles are covered in tadelakt. “This is a waterproof plaster that has been used for centuries in Morocco,” Andrew says. He matched it to one of the colours in the tiles, and the dark hue makes the colourful tiles stand out.
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To fit a shower into the compact space, Andrew utilised a wetroom strategy. This means the shower doesn’t have an enclosure or curtain. Striking Moroccan tiles mark the shower area and the floor slopes slightly towards a drain.
The walls that aren’t covered in tiles are covered in tadelakt. “This is a waterproof plaster that has been used for centuries in Morocco,” Andrew says. He matched it to one of the colours in the tiles, and the dark hue makes the colourful tiles stand out.
Hire a local tiler on Houzz.
Rooms in apartments often have to perform multiple functions. In the dining room, Andrew added a bar and made room for the couple’s piano.
Here’s the original layout, showing the divided flats. Look to the bathroom in the centre of the floor plan: the door above it led to the studio apartment; the door below it led to the couple’s original apartment.
The bathrooms and kitchens were clustered in the centre of the plan.
The bathrooms and kitchens were clustered in the centre of the plan.
Andrew knew his clients loved to cook and entertain, so he placed a reconfigured kitchen in the centre of the apartment. He moved the couple’s bedroom into the studio apartment, seen here at the top. Then he expanded the footprint of the studio’s original bathroom into an adjacent cupboard.
He also crafted an office anteroom between the primary bedroom and bathroom, using cabinetry and a pocket door to make the most of the space.
Moving down the plan, he used the small kitchens from both apartments and the couple’s original bathroom for the kitchen space. Then he added a second bathroom next to the primary one.
He sited the dining room where the couple’s bedroom had been and added the large doors to the existing living room. To make room for a functional kitchen, he moved the entry door to the dining room wall.
He also crafted an office anteroom between the primary bedroom and bathroom, using cabinetry and a pocket door to make the most of the space.
Moving down the plan, he used the small kitchens from both apartments and the couple’s original bathroom for the kitchen space. Then he added a second bathroom next to the primary one.
He sited the dining room where the couple’s bedroom had been and added the large doors to the existing living room. To make room for a functional kitchen, he moved the entry door to the dining room wall.
The kitchen, living room and dining room are now within view of one another. Previously, the kitchen was a small area on one wall, and it didn’t have an extraction fan. “They used to have to fan the air towards the windows whenever they cooked,” Andrew says.
Luckily, he discovered an existing unused roof penetration where he was able to run a duct vent to a powerful extractor. Having a functional and well-ventilated space was a dream come true for the couple.
Luckily, he discovered an existing unused roof penetration where he was able to run a duct vent to a powerful extractor. Having a functional and well-ventilated space was a dream come true for the couple.
“When you have an open kitchen, it just feels nicer to make it look not so kitchen-y,” Andrew says. This is the view of the kitchen through the living room’s pocket doors. The dark colours on the cabinetry and splashback let the more “kitchen-y” elements fade into the background. Meanwhile, the bright yellow wall draws the eye.
Although the colours are dark, the skylight floods the room with natural light. “The existing skylight provided a shaft of light. I suggested stretching it out,” Andrew says. “There was a lot of space between the ceiling and the roof. I was able to shape it and create a large rectangle. The sunlight bounces off the angled ceiling around the skylight in different ways.”
He also added lights to the ceiling around the large rectangle, including a light that washes down the art on the wall. Additional lights under the upper cabinets provide good illumination for cooking and prepping.
Although the colours are dark, the skylight floods the room with natural light. “The existing skylight provided a shaft of light. I suggested stretching it out,” Andrew says. “There was a lot of space between the ceiling and the roof. I was able to shape it and create a large rectangle. The sunlight bounces off the angled ceiling around the skylight in different ways.”
He also added lights to the ceiling around the large rectangle, including a light that washes down the art on the wall. Additional lights under the upper cabinets provide good illumination for cooking and prepping.
“The couple had lots of colours they knew they wanted to use in the apartment,” Andrew says. “Knowing they liked black, I thought soapstone would be good for the [worktop], [splashback] and ledge. It’s a very versatile material and has a natural feel to the touch.”
The soapstone sink is integrated for a seamless flow of stone down from the worktop. And Andrew integrated the electrical outlets beneath the wall cabinets to keep the splashback uninterrupted. This monolithic look is clean and pleasing to the eye.
A tall stepladder folds flat and hangs on the dark kitchen wall for easy access to items in the high cabinets. The yellow kitchen wall connects to the office off the primary bedroom, and the office side of the wall provided a good spot to hang art.
Andrew designed cabinetry to serve the office and hide things such as printers, files and other supplies.
The angled wall in the bedroom shows the shape of the building’s mansard roof. Andrew added a ledge in lieu of a headboard.
The homeowners love Marrakech and wanted to bring the essence of it home. “They wanted to do that in the main bathroom without resorting to kitsch,” Andrew says. “They loved the subtle texture, colour blocking and high ceilings found in the architecture of this Moroccan imperial city.”
The tiles on the floor and bath panel are colourful, varied and colour-blocked in a way inspired by the architecture in Marrakech and they were handmade in Marrakech by Popham Design. The pink walls are tadelakt.
Because space was tight, the homeowners opted for a bath-shower combination and a floating vanity unit. Andrew also saved space by installing a wall-mounted toilet, which has its tank hidden behind the wall.
This room also has a skylight that brings in natural light. Andrew stretched the opening beneath this one just as he did in the kitchen.
The tiles on the floor and bath panel are colourful, varied and colour-blocked in a way inspired by the architecture in Marrakech and they were handmade in Marrakech by Popham Design. The pink walls are tadelakt.
Because space was tight, the homeowners opted for a bath-shower combination and a floating vanity unit. Andrew also saved space by installing a wall-mounted toilet, which has its tank hidden behind the wall.
This room also has a skylight that brings in natural light. Andrew stretched the opening beneath this one just as he did in the kitchen.
Wall-mounted taps also save space. Andrew continued the marble on a ledge over the taps so his clients could place necessities and accessories on it. The mirrored medicine cabinet provides additional storage.
The marble on the sink is Breccia Capraia. “This marble has a beautiful pink to it,” Andrew says.
The marble on the sink is Breccia Capraia. “This marble has a beautiful pink to it,” Andrew says.
Andrew concealed pipes by designing both the ledge and this niche next to it to look like intentional architecture. Both the niche and cabinet provide storage. The niche also has an outlet for hair appliances, shavers and toothbrushes.
Tell us…
What do you like about this apartment transformation? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tell us…
What do you like about this apartment transformation? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? A couple
Location Brooklyn, New York, USA
Size 79 sq m
Architect Andrew Mikhael Architect
Photos by Brad Dickson
The building is a landmark structure in Brooklyn with a mansard roof. The apartments were back to back, so the newly configured space is long and narrow. At this end, there’s a living room, seen here, and a dining room.
The living room is one space that remained in its original spot with the same footprint. “Like lots of New Yorkers, this couple had lots of people who would come stay with them,” Andrew says. “But they didn’t want to dedicate space to a room that would just be a guest room.”
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