Grace under pressure, always a useful quality in the big city, these days amounts to a guiding principle. When it comes to the comforts of home, that means creating warm, artful dwellings in difficult, awkward, even unruly spaces. On the following pages, you’ll find four daring makeovers of problem apartments: Whether the mandate has been to open up cramped rooms, bring light into dark places, or simply turn the ordinary extraordinary, they’ve all succeeded with elegance and ingenuity. We’ve also compiled expert tips on reinventing your space as well as furnishings that will help you stylishly conquer that other challenge on the home front: the budget.
Restoration Drama
The Colonnade building – a wreck with a bold-faced past – takes a step into the twenty-first century, with a modern, easy (and dog-friendly) interior.
Cloud Nine
Floating in a once-cramped apartment, a quirky glowing room infuses the space with sunny warmth.
Papaya King
A tiny Trump box gets the tropical treatment – an invigorating coat of orange.
Bright Idea
How to let light into a long, dark loft? Cover it in materials that shine.