Making the most of space
Manuel Fernandez: Minimize private rooms; celebrate the public
areas. It's the same idea as on a boat: Give the spaces you use
for sleeping and bathing only the square footage needed to make
them work, and give the rest of the square footage to the public
space. I think, in general, bedrooms are too large.
Maximize the light
MF: Use many, many shades of white. Here, the starting
point was a premixed color called Super White from Benjamin Moore.
If you want to add color, make your florist your friend. Or add
color with the artwork. Instead of a painting, have a supersize
photograph, and print it on Plexiglas so it becomes another reflective
surface.
Jane Krolik: If you can't have a skylight, try either a light
running up a wall, or carve a little well into the wall and put
bulbs in there. Faking it is the best way to do it. Lee's
Studio has a very good selection of lighting, from soup to nuts.
Experiment with materials
MF: Plastics and polycarbonates are great for partitions
and ceilings. Polygal is a flexible one we've used a lot —
it comes in different finishes and even in color. Ain Plastics (249
East Sanford Blvd., Mount Vernon; 914-668-6800) is a good source.
JK: Sometimes I go to the fabric district and walk down 39th
or 40th Streets — a lot of fabrics eventually end up in those
stores, like vinyls and so forth. I also go to Long Island Fabrics
in TriBeCa (406 Broadway, near Canal Street; 212-925-4488).
Fixtures and fittings
MF: Hit your local hardware stores. Any Ace Hardware, literally
— they have the largest selection of common artifacts. Also
auto-parts stores: At body shops, you can buy mirrors, upholstery,
even cleaning supplies like Armor All. The small light fixtures
on automobiles are very good to use in small residential spaces.
And try the Sweets catalogue — available online at www.sweets.com.
Rugs
JK: If you're going to have a carpet, keep it small if you
want things to be cozy. If you want wall-to-wall carpet, try to
keep it the same color as the wall. You can have heavier, traditional
pieces if you love them, but use them as an accent, and let the
rest of the room be clean. Carpet Innovations (588 Broadway, near
Prince St., suite 803; 212-966-9445) has got some of the best things
— I like Paola Lenti.
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