An Elegant Contemporary Apartment in the East Village of New York City

The East Village Loft by Shadow Architects

The East Village Loft occupies a wing of what was once a small hospital across the street from the historic St. Mark’s Church. While already converted to an apartment in the 1980s, Shadow Architects reconfigured and renovated the layout to create a new master bedroom suite and a great room with three sides of windows at the end of the apartment, highlighting the expansiveness of the original structure.

After entering the apartment via a large foyer, the Owners now pass through two large framed portals delineating their bedroom hallway and then enter the main living area beyond. The kitchen, seating and dining areas are now all combined in this spacious great room, with a study behind new metal and glass doors off to the side that can easily be closed off to create another bedroom for visiting guests.

From the beginning of the design process, the Owners and their designer Harriette de Swaan Arons were heavily involved in discussions of concepts and materials, and did a lot of research on possibilities for finishes, keeping the budget for the project in mind.

The team eventually settled on an simple palette of dark wood floors and white painted walls and cabinetry, and then added selected statement pieces like the dining light fixture, the metal and glass partition, and the low slung living room sofas with an oversized coffee table.

New air-conditioning and audio-visual systems are carefully coordinated to create minimal visual intrusion so as not to take away from the clean effect. Surrounded by the city beyond, the great room is now the center of activity for the owners and their guests.