THE PROPERTY
This sophisticated party house and New York apartment is a converted former industrial space in SoHo, now a neighbourhood of modern homes. An entrance area leads into the open-plan living space, with a kitchen, dining area, living room and smaller seating area. There are two bedrooms, both en suite, and a WC.
ENTRANCE
With velvet banquette seating that wouldn’t look out of place in a Manhattan club and a kitchen island shaped like a cocktail shaker, this SoHo loft home is all about partying and having fun.
Interior designers Amanda Jesse and Whitney Parris-Lamb, founders, Jesse Parris-Lamb, had a blast creating this apartment that comes into its own on a Saturday night, but their challenge was to also include more restful spaces that are perfect for lazy Sunday mornings.
‘The owner wanted it to feel more like a hotel lobby or nightclub than a conventional home, but we ensured it’s a soft, comfortable and high-end place for day-to-day life, too,’ explains Amanda. With a creative mix of materials and luxuriant colours, this exceptional home has a balance between night and day, and the public and the private
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Mindful of the building’s industrial roots and the city’s Art Deco heritage, Amanda and Whitney also wanted to work these elements into the story. Deco-feel screens in steel and micro-fluted glass also help maintain a smooth flow in what is predominantly an open-plan space, cleverly concealing storage and a WC.
But the duo were careful not to go down the pastiche route. ‘We studied a lot of authentic deco designs, but we didn’t want ours to feel like a reproduction,’ says Whitney.
SEATING AREA
The deco theme continues in the cosy smaller seating area, where heavy textures and rich materials lend a particular intimacy. ‘At night, this little corner sparkles with glossy wood, polished copper and mirror glass,’ says Amanda.
It’s a good example of how materials were key to bringing atmosphere into this home, particularly as the overall backdrop – the walls and floors – was to remain industrial grey concrete.
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Whitney and Amanda’s solution was to go deep into texture and colour. ‘We chose super- saturated textiles and opulent finishes,’ says Whitney. But as they progressed, they and their artistic plasterers developed a finish that brought ‘the light-play and movement of Venetian plaster’ to the concrete.
By the entrance, the circular banquette that wraps around a structural pillar has a dual personality. First of all, the mohair velvet ‘transforms from a warm olive in the day to pure gold in the moody evening light,’ says Whitney.
Then there’s its functionality. After dark, it acts as a welcoming hub where guests enjoy their first cocktails. But, like every self-respecting metropolis superhero, come Monday morning it’s back to being quietly good-looking and useful. ‘It’s where the owner sits to put on his shoes before he heads out to his day job,’ smiles Amanda.
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KITCHEN
Manhattan hotel bar style meets loft living in the kitchen, where surfaces and detailing also come to the fore. The monolithic kitchen island feels refined thanks to the scaled-up fluting and gentle curves. ‘Early on, we nicknamed it the “silver bullet” as it was inspired by an art- deco cocktail shaker,’ says Amanda.
The cabinets are in walnut with stainless-steel fronts that have been sandblasted and waxed for added patina.
BAR AND SNUG
The high-shine design is bespoke by Jesse Parris-Lamb.
MASTER BEDROOM
Rich shades of ochre and plum warm up the concrete backdrop.
MASTER ENSUITE
A vintage Paul Frankl credenza provided the inspiration for the vanity unit.
POWDER ROOM
This small space gets the saturated, high-gloss treatment, with vivid tiles complemented by an equally dramatic black basin and distressed copper fixtures.
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