Designed by well know French architect Jean Nouvel, 40 Mercer Street is a modern cast iron building in the heart of Soho with a cutting-edge Lobby design and spacious apartment layouts, flooded with light from large windows looking at all the downtown landmarks. With these features already in place, the Client had only one challenge: when they hired ORA studio, the client asked that the space be given a more personal touch in addition to enhancing some functional spaces. The bigger request from the client was to change all bathrooms. The reason being: The Master Bathroom, Guest Bathroom and Powder Room, were all built with three different types of wood in three different shades, and the custom kitchen cabinetry was also built with the same wood type and shade of the bathroom cabinetry. The client felt uncomfortable having the same material in the kitchen and bathrooms.  

We encouraged her to look at the challenge from a different perspective; with the bathroom basically being brand new with nice fixtures and marble, it would be a pretty expensive endeavor to change. So, we suggested instead to completely change the kitchen cabinetry, and in the bathrooms use a cosmetic approach by staining the cabinets with a contemporary shade and changing the wall color to be more compatible with the new wood shade.

In the Living room there was an optical separation between the entry, dining area and living area which was marked in three different zones by the drop ceiling defined in three different sections. We created a feeling of unity by consolidating colors and materials and creating a long wall (dark grey boiserie paneling) starting from the entry door up to the Kitchen and then continuing from the end of the Kitchen up to the window. This long wall would conceal an entry coat closet, the door leading to the laundry and powder room area, and on the other side, a large sliding door that concealed the Guest Room. The Kitchen was designed with dark colored cabinetry from Lube, and a large island in white Corian, that outlined the kitchen perimeter. Because the design was more minimal and sleeker, the space felt larger even though we used darker colors and introduced a larger island. We combined the three ceilings into one large one, framed by a light cove. Optically, because of this wall paneling, integrated ceiling, and by streamlining the entire space, we created a real sense of a New York City loft.

The original floor in the living room was slightly lighter than in the bedroom so we decided to lighten up the floor in the Living room and bedroom 2. In Guest Room 1 and Master Bedroom, instead, we stained the floor darker than the original. 

Because the apartment was exploding with light and the Master Bedroom was large, we decided to make the color for the walls a darker shade to give a cozy feel and complement the darker floor. 

In the Living room and Guest Room 2, we used a shade of white that was a little warmer than a plain white to create a contrast to our wall paneling. 

Other enhancements of the apartment included new Poliform walk in closets in the Master Bedroom and Guest Bedroom 2 and coat closet. In the Master Bedroom we have a beautiful B&B Italia King size bed, a Poliform chest of drawers and TV unit, a large custom mirror designed by Giusi Mastro and several light fixtures, including an Ingo Maurer heart fixture. 

In the Living Room there is a beautiful TV unit from InterLubke, Minotti sofa, coffee table and console. The Dining Area has an Armani Casa table and Minotti chairs. The Island is custom Corian and the Kitchen is from Lube. 

The second living area adjacent to Guest Bedroom 2 has two oversized Poliform armchairs and several small decorative side tables. In Bedroom 1, the Client needed a desk area so we custom designed a long glossy lacquer desk with stainless steel custom leg. We included a Poliform queen bed and Minotti glass book shelving on the wall. 

Another enhancement of the space was attained when we decided to paint the wall and doors leading to the Powder Room, concealing the laundry area, trash area, and storage room. We painted it the same dark color as the wall paneling including the interior of the trash chute and the interior of the laundry and storage and created custom shelving in the storage and laundry area. The result was that when the door was open you see a nice beautiful space leading to the Powder room instead of a service area leading to the Powder room. All bathroom walls were painted a little darker than the original color to create less contrast with newly stained wood finishing and all doors were re-finished to match the new color of the walls. When the client witnessed how we could improve a space and save money and time, she asked us to create a mural for the Guest Room and custom artwork for the study and, Voila!

The Client was incredibly pleased with the results and a lot of cooking was happening in the kitchen, being that the Client was a chef. It is always a pleasure to design a Kitchen for someone who really uses it to the fullest.