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Picture a studio, and you probably conjure an image of a glorified kitchenette, low ceilings, and a bed pressed up against a coffee table. What you likely don’t picture is this home. Though it may be filtered into the studio category on listing sites due to its lack of interior walls, the loft-like space actually spans more than 1,100 square feet.
And the square footage is gleaming with industrial allure, from the custom concrete flooring and tall ceilings to the chrome fixtures and large factory windows. If the decor style feels extremely cool, you can thank the home’s owners — Lisa Menichino and her wife Jo-Ann DiSantis, owner of the popular bar Cubbyhole, one of NYC’s only lesbian bars.
In one corner, a neon sign spelling out “All I Need Is You” in glowing purple letters hangs above a Murphy bed, which doubles as a giant piece of artwork thanks to the mural that appears when the bed folds away. I love the open layout and this ingenious hidden bedroom idea, but the listing also touts the unit’s ability to be converted into a classic one-bedroom if you so choose. You can head up a few stairs to a loft currently in use as a home office, which you could easily repurpose it as a sleeping loft, but tall people beware: It’s just 5 feet 9 inches tall.
A far cry from the hot plate and mini fridge of a more compact apartment, this kitchen boasts beautiful white stone counters, stainless appliances, glass cabinets, and even a wine vault. The entire living area flows easily around a giant concrete pillar, making the light, soaring space feel grounded and solid.
This home is listed for $950,000 by Kristi Ambrosetti of Sotheby’s International Realty – East Side Manhattan Brokerage.
Are you on the house hunt, or just the type of person who loves browsing real estate listings, even when you’re not in the market for a new home? Property Crush is a column where we feature actual real estate listings that get the Apartment Therapy seal of approval in regards to style (we haven’t done home inspections or anything, so don’t sue us). Know of a great house on the market? Email the listing to repitches@apartmenttherapy.com.
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Name: Jamie Vicars and partner Location: Chicago, Illinois Type of home: Timber loft Size: 1200 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned
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Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: The space is an old furniture manufacturing facility and has the most amazing view, timber ceilings, flooring, and Chicago brick. We collaborated on the design and renovated the bathroom and kitchen last year. Jamie is an interior designer and Andrew is a software sales rep by day and vintage furniture hunter/collector by night.
The way I style myself is very aligned with my interior design style. I like a minimal look and clean lines with bold statement pieces such as a patterned rug or unique earrings.
Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Collected, inspiring, peaceful, vintage, minimal
What is your favorite room and why? The space is basically one big room but I would say the kitchen. We renovated it last year and I love the concrete countertops and the way the cool-toned cabinets contrast the warm wood flooring and ceiling. It feels very open and airy. When I’m cooking I sit in a stool and get lost in the view.
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? Currently bidding on two camel leather Jean Gillon Brazilian lounge chairs.
Any advice for creating a home you love? Don’t rush to purchase everything. You may come across things you love in your travels and to make it feel personal it takes some time. Don’t buy cheap furniture, buy second hand. Don’t buy everything from one place, it will not feel curated and layered. And lastly, don’t think you need to stick to one design style either. The best spaces are ones you can’t put into a box.
When you aren’t working with tons of square footage, you have to get creative to make your small space feel functional. Some folks opt for petite furniture, while others rely on smart storage solutions. For one small-space dweller in Taiwan, the trick to keeping her loft feeling light and airy lies in a few strategically-placed floating shelves.
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Mish and Ryan recently renovated their 600-square-foot loft apartment in Taipei, Taiwan. According to Mish, their home was initially a “very awkward studio with a tiny storage room upstairs that nobody used.” So she and Ryan ended up transforming it from top to bottom to create a bright, breezy loft space that suits their lifestyle and shared aesthetic. “I saw huge potential within the existing structure to convert the space into a duplex loft, which was a dream we always had of creating,” Mish says in her house tour. Since the overall footprint of the apartment just hits 600 square feet, the couple wanted to prioritize a feeling of expansiveness. To achieve this, Mish stuck to classic minimalist colors and finishes — blonde woods, whites and dove grays — as well space-saving furniture ideas. In fact, in lieu of traditional furniture, Mish decided to utilize wall space over floor space and incorporated floating shelves all throughout the loft. These simple wall-mounted perches completely transformed this tiny space, and these three spots in particular stuck out to me as worth copying in my own home.
The kitchen in this apartment is smaller than most, but it’s one of the more stylish spaces in the house, thanks to this little built-in counter situation. The long, narrow layout leaves virtually zero room for a dining table, so Mish had to create one. She mounted a sturdy wood floating shelf to the wall across her appliances then placed two custom stools underneath it. Now the couple has the perfect eat-in kitchen for two.
“The house is filled with fun touches that give it its own unique personality, like our fold-out Murphy working desk in the closet that we DIYed ourselves,” Mish says. Some may have taken one look at the tiny closet in this loft and thought to stash a few boxes or extra clothes here — but not Mish. She turned this feature into a home office with the help of a small, wall-mounted shelf turned desk. “We followed a YouTube tutorial and now have a functional foldout work desk,” Mish says. “This means that the walk-in closet now doubles up as a private work area.”
An unexpected art display
Accoding to Mish, her favorite element in this loft just might be the gallery wall near the staircase. “Our signature art gallery wall symbolizes how decor is way more than just about aesthetics but also an opportunity to positively affect your psyche,” she says. On this same wall, Mish also mounted a thin floating shelf above a doorway to create an additional spot to display even more art as well as some colorful candles, which function like tiny sculptures here.
Name: Sarah Buckley, my girlfriend Jenna, and our dog, Ruth Location: Chicago, Illinois Type of home: Condo Size: 2,700 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, own
Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: Our home is… hard to describe. Our condo is the former loading/warehouse addition to five- and seven-story adjoining light industrial buildings. Therefore, it is both part of larger loft buildings, but also its own structure. The buildings were converted from multi-tenant manufacturing to a mixed-use residential and commercial loft property in the late 1980s.
I purchased it in 2019 from the original owner who had molded the space for the last 30+ years. The main living area is about 1,000 square feet of open space defined only by a raised platform and fireplace. The scale of this room is emphasized by a nearly 20-foot curved entry hallway. I painted the hallway walls and ceilings black and installed gallery walls along each side. The dark, compressed, art-filled hallway empties into the bright, vast main living area. A 12-foot long skylight and textured glass block windows flood the living area with natural light, which accentuates different areas of space throughout the day and nourishes countless plants. A fig tree has grown into the skylight and is at least 10-feet tall. The platform contains our dining area and record player. Custom speakers have been created out of fiberglass pedestals that formerly served a movie theater.
An exceedingly unique bathroom with floor-to-ceiling black tile, custom chrome sink, black toilet, and space-age tube shower stall exists behind the platform wall. The remainder of living space is occupied by a bar, seating area along the rear wall, and S-shaped two-sided sofa. The living area leads to an open kitchen with commercial stainless steel hood, hand-painted sage green cabinets, and large pantries along the rear wall. My friend and Chicago muralist LeftHandedWave painted a mural along the kitchen pantry doors. The mural depicts the Ohio House Motel, a Chicago landmark that I have appreciated since I moved to Chicago. LeftHandedWave creates murals emphasizing a neighborhood’s history and evolution. The two-story motel seems out of place in its downtown location but somehow proudly holds its own with an iconic “mod” sign above the office.
From the living area, a mint green steel case desk (with original chair!) fits perfectly behind the entry hallway’s curved wall to create my home office. From the office, a door leads to the bedroom via several steps. Another skylight with the exposed structure of the ceiling illuminates a king-sized bed with an oversized Art Deco pink velvet channel tufted headboard. A large closet exists off the bedroom and is accessed via an unevenly broken penetration in the thick brick wall.
Finally, a spiral staircase from the bedroom leads to the primary bathroom below. The massive bathroom includes a stand-up shower and an “L” shaped, floating, high-gloss black laminate vanity with mirrors wrapping around each wall above. The mirrors extend to the ceiling, reflecting into the heart-shaped two-person Jacuzzi tub. The walls are painted black and white, with contrasting black and white ’90s pop art vinyl decals. Whenever a guest comments on the space, I always say “just wait until you see the downstairs bathroom.” and it rarely disappoints.
If I bring the design aesthetic, Jenna brings the comfortable, personal touches to our home. She has filled the vintage Art Deco bowl with rocks and seashells from our travels, displayed family photos, and filled every shelf with books. Ruth, or affectionately Baby Ruth, is a perfectly thick pit bull mutt that primarily naps in the path of the sunlight that filters through the skylight throughout the day. She loves to pile her toys under the dining room table and has claimed one corner of the sofa as her own.
Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Art Deco Eclectic Mural Loft
What is your favorite room and why? Although the bathrooms and main living area get the most attention, my favorite room is our closet. When I saw how the bricks were unevenly broken to make the opening, I knew this was the place for me. You understand the structure and its history when you literally see and feel how the bricks were broken to make the space. The closet wall is also fun and gives off superhero vibes of breaking through a brick wall. Furthermore, the space works well as a closet. It is spacious, secluded, and cozy. Jenna even added a chair when she moved in. Getting ready for the day in our closet allows for a quiet, protected moment to gather your thoughts and I honestly cherish starting my day in there.
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? The last thing I bought for my home was the sofa. Because the living space is so large, I knew I wanted a sofa that was large and two-sided. By adding seating along both sides, the TV, fireplace, seating area along the back wall, and the bar would all be connected. But finding a sofa in the desired configuration or size proved difficult, and custom sofas were too expensive. I also have an inherent aversion to mass-produced furniture.
So instead, I purchased a vintage curvy “L” shaped sectional from a local Chicago shop for $600. The sofa had a great shape, but the original fabric and foam had seen better days. I found an (incredible) upholsterer that was willing to fabricate the curved corner, additional back pillow, and essentially an ottoman to attach to the back of the original sofa, creating the desired “S” shape. I picked a fabric, and they rebuilt the vintage sofa with increased support, new foam and legs, as well as added the channel tufting. It took nearly two years to complete this process.
Admittedly, it took this long because once I found a sofa with the right shape, I could not pick a fabric. My friends can attest to how many “pick your top five swatches” texts I sent over those months. In giving that vintage sofa a new life, I learned so much about fabric, foam, frames, and the upholstery process, and saved thousands of dollars in the process. And going through all of this only makes me love the final product more.
Any advice for creating a home you love? Work with what you have. I’ve always appreciated design that responds to its surroundings. When I was trying to figure out what to do with the downstairs bathroom and most “current” styles seemed to only call more attention to the 1990s heart-shaped Jacuzzi tub in all the wrong ways. But the tub works perfectly, and I use it all the time, so why replace it? Gut renovations are often wasteful and yield cookie-cutter results.
When updating room, I try to highlight some of the dated features to give the space character. The ’90s pop art shapes work with the elements of the bathroom. In choosing the vinyl decals, I leaned into the quirky 1990s elements like the tub and vanity, instead of masking or removing them. New light fixtures and vent were installed to give the space modern feel. These decisions have created a one-of-a-kind bathroom that brings me joy with every soak.
This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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Name:Francesco Bertelli Location: Bed-stuy, Brooklyn Type of home: Loft Size: 1000 square feet Years lived in: 6 months, owned
Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: When I moved here the loft didn’t have a specific style so I wanted to infuse it with my love for design and photography.
I’m a designer but I freelance sometimes as a product photographer so I wanted to keep the space uncluttered and modular in case I wanted to use it as a shooting space. I tried to use only colors and materials inspired by the materials/colors you can find in a photo studio: black, white, and wood (plywood birch).
Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Photo-studio inspired loft
What is your favorite room and why? I like how the bedroom turned out, with the little bookcase-stairs to access the nook. I always loved since I was a kid the idea of small stairs and offset spaces.
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? Well, the big letter A, which is at this point quintessential if not stereotypical of NY lofts, but it was really hard to find one oversize.
Any advice for creating a home you love? Have a clear and strict plan: choose 1/2 colors and 1/2 materials and stick to that. This helps when you browse endless catalogs and keep you focused on the final feeling you want to infuse into your home.
This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
