BIA Interiors Feature: Harmonious DUMBO Apartment

In smaller spaces like New York City apartments, consistent color palettes go a long way to creating an elevated, cohesive feeling throughout the home.

Our clients came to us wanting to introduce a sense of softness into their industrial-inspired loft apartment. We strove to juxtapose the weight of the interior architecture with lighter, organic elements. In doing this, we also sought to blend the couple's individual styles – his interest in Arts and Crafts interiors and her simple, organic taste.

In the living room, this blend of different styles is apparent. One of the challenges of the project was matching the scale of the wide-open grand room, large windows, and heavy industrial columns and ceiling material.

A custom Cliff Young sofa can easily accommodate guests and family and balance the large space and heavy, industrial architectural elements in the apartment. Selecting a sofa that extended all the way to the floor matched the weight of the large column behind and soffit above, grounding the space. We tucked wine storage into a custom credenza, which provides a warm wood tone that connects to the kitchen millwork. A massive rug from The Rug Company grounds the space, providing softness with a custom geometric pattern and a subtle color palette. A round Eurofase light fixture communicates with the custom-designed arts-and-crafts chandelier above the dining table. We rounded out the room with organic shapes in the coffee table from Crate & Barrel, ottomans from Lee Jofa, a Mia Hamborg and Peter Hagen Shuffle Table inspired by Nordic turned wood toys, and lush jewel-toned pillows from Anthropologie to balance out the sharper edges in the space.

Our clients host people in their home often, which meant that the dining room had to be a comfortable yet elevated space. When designing the tablescape, we started with the clients’ existing pieces – from the table to different plateware to bold glassware. Careful curation of linens and tablecloths ensured that everything they already owned coordinated with the new additions. 

We designed the stained-glass chandelier above the dining table to pay homage to the husband’s style, picked up again in his office millwork. The double-beamed back of the dining chairs plays on the shapes of the light fixture and balances the warm wood millwork in the kitchen. Most of clients’ art collection was gifted to them by friends and loved ones – many made specifically for them by artist friends. We took care to integrate these pieces into the project to create a curated look.

In the primary bedroom, with spatial size restrictions, our goal was to create an oasis that felt well thought-out, rather than just feeling like a room with furniture placed in it. We also needed to have outlets, storage, and lighting on each side of the bed. To meet all these requirements, we designed a custom headboard with built-in sconces and floating nightstands. Because of the concrete ceilings, we were not able to put an overhead light in the space. We solved this by mounting an overhead light to the wall above the bed, instead.

The bright colors of the headboard and bedding tie in to the bright, poppy wallpaper in the powder room and office, creating a cohesive feeling throughout the apartment. From color choices to a mix of soft and hard edges, each room feels consistent as you move from one corner of the apartment to another.

When considering the powder room, one wall of the bathroom was tiled with dark charcoal large format tiles. We selected a bold, floral wallpaper within the pink and blue color scheme in which we were working, capable of competing with the heaviness of the existing tiled wall. This served a dual purpose, ensuring that each wall of the powder room felt balanced while connecting the powder room to the rest of the home.

The office doubles as a guest bedroom, so we selected a calming suite of materials, from pale mauve paint to soft, organic, and natural tones in the furnishings. A custom desk was designed to incorporate a workspace and a TV console into one piece of furniture. Including bold pops of dark blue, such as in the arm chair, are characteristic of the design throughout the apartment. Our clients wanted lots of light in the space, but our options for overhead lighting were limited by the concrete ceilings throughout the apartment. To provide adequate lighting, we utilized multiple lighting options – wall-mounted fixtures, table and floor lamps, and taking advantage of the large windows. This provided for all basic levels of lighting design: natural, ambient, task, and decorative lighting.