Park Avenue Prewal By Michael K. Chen Architecture

The renovation concentrated on maximizing the already well-proportioned formal spaces, including a generous entrance gallery, formal living room and dining room; while converting the dark and crowded storage and service areas into functional contemporary living elements. Because the historic layout was quite segmented, MKCA set out to create enlarged openings to increase circulation between spaces. MKCA's selection of furniture, finishes, and unique art and design objects played a large part in maximizing natural light, visual interconnectivity, and playfulness throughout.

"Drawing from our experience designing micro-apartments, we start every project, large or small, looking for a very flexible spatial organization, where spaces can slip into and overlap with one another. Not only is that how most of our clients actually live, but it's a way to make sure that every space in a project is utilized", says Michael K. Chen, founder and principal of MKCA.

In the living and dining rooms, a tiny door opening was substantially enlarged and infilled with black metal and glass sliding partition creating a generous portal between the two spaces. Facing the doors, a grey onyx and bronze fireplace mantel is flanked by turquoise glass sconces with a vintage Fontana Arte mirror above. A massive circular custom sofa designed by MKCA is upholstered in a bright blue synthetic textile from Maharam. "The round form was so useful," says Chen. "We intended the sofa to be the centrepiece of the room, and be large enough for the whole family to plop down, and to transition between intimate conversation and full-blown party mode, which is doing really well." A sculptural chair by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and poufs upholstered in shaggy mohair surround a vintage brass table. A bone console, sculptural stainless steel shelving unit by François Monnet and linen-wrapped game table complete the room. A painting by artist Ilona Savdie and drawings by Karin Haas hang adjacent to the fireplace. A carpet by MKCA is made from joining two shapes of broadloom synthetic silk together.

The dining room is shrouded in a desaturated pink paint and anchored by an eleven-foot custom table in high gloss lacquer, steel, and gold leaf from Los Angeles designers Alex Drew and No One, show-stopping yet visually very light. The table is surrounded by vintage Joe Colombo dining chairs in their original well-worn fabric, and a pair of voluptuous leather and steel lounge chairs are used by the family to have coffee in the morning and to read after dinner. A massive vintage chinoiserie panel, chosen by the client at Housing Works, hangs above the vintage Henry Glass sideboard from Converso, beautifully integrating all of the colours of the room. To create a light-filled kitchen where there was only one window facing a courtyard, Chen relied on high-contrast materials. The lacquer and ebonized oak pantry links the dining room and kitchen, which is lined in glossy three-dimensional tile from Ann Sacks, and pale iridescent wall covering from Flat Vernacular. "We wanted to catch as much light as we could with the glossy moulded tiles," says Chen, "There is always a play of light and shadow along the wall because of the three-dimensional texture".

An inky blue-green back hall leads to three bedrooms. In the couple's daughter's room, the tropical motifs from the front of the apartment mingle with Scandinavian sensibilities. Sheepskin pillows dominate a CB2 daybed with a custom cushion, upholstered in a Josef Frank botanical print. A vintage teak rocker by Finn Juhl, tall shelving from Hem, and a coterie of animal-cum-footstool pieces from Kinder Modern surround the daughter's play and drawing table.



The master bedroom and bath were touched lightly, with the addition of custom millwork his and hers closets, and new finishes and fixtures in the master bath. A vintage shelving unit by Frederick Weinberg sourced from eBay holds vintage ceramics and books that the couple collect, and the couple's bed is flanked by vintage nightstands by Luigi Caccia Dominioni for Azucena, sourced from Compasso Gallery; and custom sconces by Allied Maker.