NYC Carriage House

The structured of the home already existed, so FdM:Arch worked to improve upon its current pieces. On the ground floor, the swimming pool and gym were transformed into a sybaritic space, at once fitness room and cocktail lounge, that serve multiple purposes. A chandelier, sitting group and stucco wall mediate the dual characteristics of the room, while a voile curtain adds a layer of spatial ambiguity regarding the extents of the gym beyond. An existing garage was transformed into a TV room/den that can be reverted back to its original intention.

In a small move that had a large impact, we shifted the elevator’s location from floor to floor, so that one has a different experience depending on this varying perspective. On the second floor, new fireplace and lowered ceilings at the living and dining areas create intimacy within the open floor plan. A curtain and awning transform a rear terrace off the kitchen into a wonderfully intimate space that is at once private and yet completely outdoors.

Within the third floor study/dressing room, a cantilevered desk and restored fireplace create the perception of a larger space. A small atrium with a glass block floor off the master bedroom brings daylight to the bathrooms and to the living room below. Windows hug the floor extending the bathroom into the atrium in the Japanese tradition of “borrowed space.”