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Park Avenue may be synonymous with glamour, luxury, well-known corporations and investment banks, but that was not always the case. Initially, it was Fourth Avenue and supported tracks for the New York and Harlem Railroad.
On the west side of Manhattan, Chelsea boasts some 200 art galleries, along with the upscale Chelsea Market, housed in a former Nabisco factory. The now mostly residential neighborhood was an initial center for the motion picture industry.
While initially a hood-like barrier of stone or wood to trap and direct smoke up a chimney in medieval times, fireplace mantles have evolved into aesthetic components.
Vintage anything lends a warm-n-fuzzy feeling. Whether it’s an old style coat, a red barn in the countryside or a wallpaper pattern in the Big Apple, nostalgia delivers a smile to the heart. It’s timeless and classic and just fun to wear or see or live with.
There was a time when interior residential design presented every room enclosed in its own walls with a door. Heating would have been one consideration, with fireplaces or heat sources in each room before central heating could reach all the spaces.
When you have a penthouse condo in Manhattan at a prestigious address, you want your visitors’ first impressions to be warm and gracious. The entry in this residence was blah, nothing to impress except perhaps the mirror which reflected to make the space feel larger.
Someone decided to make a more elegant and dramatic entry into this Brooklyn apartment building, and we were thrilled to be a part of it. The non-descript rectangle tile entry floor was replaced with a charming diamond pattern mosaic in black and white, which was a great first step – pun intended.
Historic architectural styles like Italianate, Greek Revival and Gothic Revival made an impact on Brooklyn’s 19th century home construction. Three to four-story style townhomes, often with a front stoop, bay windows and exterior ornamentation, exuded wealth and luxury of the time.
A home office and den space in a glass residential skyscraper with a city view across and over to the urban landscape deserves a powerful, yet comforting, color. From relaxing with a good book, TV show or movie – with popcorn – to brainstorming and keeping the brain in high gear – with coffee – this stunning, rich, deep blue color exhibits confidence and stability.
Neutral is a delightful lukewarm word that stands in the middle of things without a commitment to anything. Neutral in the car transmission is neither forward nor reverse. In politics, it’s neither for nor against. In colors, it’s not black or white, not even light or dark. The advantages are abundant starting with that proverbial blank slate.