My Houzz: A Bright and Characterful One-bedroom Flat
This furniture designer has filled his urban home with pieces collected from all over the world
Elaine Musiwa
22 February 2016
Houzz Contributor, interior architecture and design photographer, and freelance writer based in Chelsea, Manhattan.
Instagram: @designrumors
Houzz Contributor, interior architecture and design photographer, and freelance writer... More
John Sorensen-Jolink focused all of his creative energy on contemporary dance and choreography before starting his Brooklyn, New York, furniture design studio, Coil+Drift. His line of contemporary, handcrafted furniture explores space and movement.
As creative director, Sorensen-Jolink uses his home to showcase his studio’s popular pieces and as a way to see how they interact with the other components in his apartment. He considers his home a testing ground for finding the elements that create a harmonious and peaceful space away from the busy streets of New York.
As creative director, Sorensen-Jolink uses his home to showcase his studio’s popular pieces and as a way to see how they interact with the other components in his apartment. He considers his home a testing ground for finding the elements that create a harmonious and peaceful space away from the busy streets of New York.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here John Sorensen-Jolink and his partner
Location Brooklyn, New York
Size 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom; 65 sq m
John Sorensen-Jolink and his partner have lived in this ground-floor apartment for two years. ‘Of course, I’d love higher ceilings and another bedroom, but there are always trade-offs and there is so much to love in this space,’ he says. What they love includes the natural light that floods every room, even the bedroom. Shutters on the windows help maintain privacy.
Throw, Jill Lindsey. Dream catchers, Alyssa Eckert.
Who lives here John Sorensen-Jolink and his partner
Location Brooklyn, New York
Size 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom; 65 sq m
John Sorensen-Jolink and his partner have lived in this ground-floor apartment for two years. ‘Of course, I’d love higher ceilings and another bedroom, but there are always trade-offs and there is so much to love in this space,’ he says. What they love includes the natural light that floods every room, even the bedroom. Shutters on the windows help maintain privacy.
Throw, Jill Lindsey. Dream catchers, Alyssa Eckert.
From the outset, Sorensen-Jolink and his partner wanted to maintain the apartment’s unique character, which includes cornices and a brick fireplace.
‘For this apartment, I wanted to focus on rich materials and colours – velvet, cherry wood – and plants,’ Sorensen-Jolink says. Potted plants can be found in almost every corner of the home.
Soren chair, Coil+Drift.
‘For this apartment, I wanted to focus on rich materials and colours – velvet, cherry wood – and plants,’ Sorensen-Jolink says. Potted plants can be found in almost every corner of the home.
Soren chair, Coil+Drift.
This bespoke Hover shelving unit is made of hand-picked reclaimed wood, iron piping and black steel cylindrical clamps. It serves as a functional statement piece in the bedroom.
‘When my partner and I are at home, we both treat the space as a place to relax and recharge,’ Sorensen-Jolink says. ‘It’s important for the space not to create its own stress, but to function as a place to exhale at the end of each day.’
‘When my partner and I are at home, we both treat the space as a place to relax and recharge,’ Sorensen-Jolink says. ‘It’s important for the space not to create its own stress, but to function as a place to exhale at the end of each day.’
The apartment opens into the light-filled living room, which overlooks a garden shared with neighbours.
‘My partner and I had one month to find a new apartment after our landlord decided to sell her building. We happened upon this garden-level apartment, owned by friends of ours, and signed the lease as fast as we could,’ Sorensen-Jolink says.
Vase cushion, Amelie Mancini.
‘My partner and I had one month to find a new apartment after our landlord decided to sell her building. We happened upon this garden-level apartment, owned by friends of ours, and signed the lease as fast as we could,’ Sorensen-Jolink says.
Vase cushion, Amelie Mancini.
The non-working fireplace serves as a nook for storing books, and its mantel displays various small figurines and masks from the couple’s travels in Ethiopia, Myanmar, Rwanda, Thailand and Indonesia.
Soren chair in natural, Coil+Drift.
Soren chair in natural, Coil+Drift.
‘I am of the mind, especially when renting an apartment, that you should lay out your space exactly as you want it, and if you have extra furniture, let it go instead of squeezing it in,’ Sorensen-Jolink says.
With this in mind, the designer started with the living room when organising the furniture, keeping things minimal, with just one statement piece – the coffee table – grounding the space.
Dusk coffee table in black marble/steel, Coil+Drift.
With this in mind, the designer started with the living room when organising the furniture, keeping things minimal, with just one statement piece – the coffee table – grounding the space.
Dusk coffee table in black marble/steel, Coil+Drift.
This living room window frames a view of the shared garden space – a rarity in New York that made the apartment a real find.
Ceramic pots, btw ceramics.
Ceramic pots, btw ceramics.
The minimalist feel continues in the bathroom, with its all-white aesthetic, and the pussy willow arrangement its largest decorative component.
Discover 10 interior design rules worth breaking
Discover 10 interior design rules worth breaking
‘My partner and I travel quite often for work, so our home is filled with things we’ve collected from different countries,’ Sorensen-Jolink says. This cube art on a bathroom wall ledge is an original from Argentinian artist Gastón Liberto.
Jolink-Sorensen, pictured, says he has many dream spaces. ‘I’d like to live all over the cities of the world and in the countryside. My dream spaces include urban lofts that house my studio and home, old countryside estates, modern single-storey homes and traditional Southeast Asian houses,’ he says. ‘In terms of Brooklyn, this is pretty much my ideal space.’
See inspiring ways to work art into your kitchen
TELL US…
What do you think of this Brooklyn flat? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
See inspiring ways to work art into your kitchen
TELL US…
What do you think of this Brooklyn flat? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
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Using the fireplace so creatively...love.
Amazing and inspiring thank you for sharing .