An 1800s Department Store Becomes A Greenwich Village Loft
Amongst our frequent musings and deep dives into worldly interiors or feats of architecture outside of our New England stratosphere, we do find ourselves on the flip side, searching for spaces that are simple, light, and offer a sense of normalcy to our design eyes. A project rich with history completed last winter that we go back to again and again is a clean-lined one-bedroom apartment by the Brooklyn-based Studio Fauve, owned by designer Charlotte Sylvain.
Besides the design of the interior being one that offers a sense of serenity, the building it lives in is one with a robust New York history. It was designed in 1868 by architect John Kellum as the James McCreery Dry Goods Store, but in 1973 after a devastating fire destroying the building's interior, it became one of the first commercial to residential conversions in NYC. We could use a little faith in history and transformation right now.
Location: Greenwich Village, NYC
Interior Design: Studio Fauve
Photography: Sean Litchfield
Give us these high ceilings! Keeping it a true neighborhood project, Greenwich Village based architect Eric Sheffield was the mastermind behind the windows and cast iron doors that served as a jumping-off point for Sylvain.
One of our favorite Ethnicraft dining tables is the star of the show in the dining room – the Profile Dining Table in Oak. If you're an Ethnicraft fan, they have a Living Sale running thru July 13th on all their designs that help you lounge better.
Speaking of lounging, this nook in the sunroom is outfitted with perfectly layered textiles, we especially love the double ottoman situation so there's no fighting for legroom.
The sunroom also features a custom exposed plaster wall by Brooklyn-based Art In Construction who uses plaster in all sorts of artistic applications from residential projects like this one to handmade objects.
Other parts of the home balance that magnitude and industrial feel created with steel and ceiling height, like the intimate entryway where a classic bench and basket combo acts as the gatekeeper and clutter-catcher of the space. Peeking around the corner in the formal sitting room, we spy an Armadillo rug adding some warmth, the Ghan Berber Knot Rug.
This weave, in particular, combines uses a Soumak stitch and the Berber knot – you get the best of both worlds with a high pile and flatweave. And for more solid-wood atop the rug is another Ethnicraft design, the Mikado Coffee Table, and one of our favorite lounge chairs ever (especially in sheepskin) the Little Petra Lounge Chair.
We've already gone into our love for the Little Petra many times before, but the Little Petra was designed by architect Viggo Boesen in 1938, winning accolades from exhibitions in Copenhagen, New York, Berlin, and more. It was brought back into production by &tradition and is part of the '30s Funkis style design movement, which embodied a softer, more organic aesthetic.