Project: City Retreat
Interior Design: Anabel Murillo
Architect: Bryan Min
Contractor: Omega Construction & Design
Integrated kitchens, wardrobes: Henrybuilt
Location: Manhattan, New York
Photo Credits: Haris Kenjar
Text by Henrybuilt
Designer Anabel Murillo had a tough assignment: To create a sense of serenity and spaciousness in a dated Manhattan apartment (inside the former Ritz-Carlton Hotel building) with a small footprint and big storage needs.
The math problem to solve: equating 40 pairs of shoes, 2 bedrooms, 1 hardworking entry, 1 high-demand kitchen, 1 wardrobe, and 6 dining room chairs to 1200 square feet, leaving as much open space as possible.
To come up with a solution, Anabel partnered with Henrybuilt.
“It takes a certain capacity and expertise to understand the programming we needed. Henrybuilt has it all figured out. It is complete. It is natural and refined. And, it takes out the excruciating management of the details.”
Tailored to quietly recede physically and aesthetically, the kitchen is dark, quiet, and refined. It breathes space into the adjoining dining area.
The opening at the far end of the former galley kitchen was filled by the space-consuming refrigerator. A small design move with big impact. Suddenly, the kitchen was a stronger force in storage and performance. Less of a throughway and more of a destination. It meant more storage in the same footprint.
Sometimes it is what you don’t see that matters. In this instance, the high-performance system details are kept behind doors and drawers to activate the otherwise subdued exterior.
Maximize what’s done on the inside to minimize the eating-up of open space on the outside. The sum is larger in function, smaller in footprint – the magic of the Henrybuilt system details. And, no where does this ring more true than in the kitchen and wardrobe.
The math equation wasn’t the only problem to solve. There was an accompanying art assignment:
To bring together two ‘style’ norms with seemingly irreconcilable differences – city sophistication and the natural bohemian spirit of the Catskills.
The creative tools used included vintage French Mid-century Maurice Pré dining chairs and a Collection Particulière Rough dining table.
The same intelligence behind the high-performance interiors is applied to the handcraft and material beauty on the outside. Natural and refined. The life of the walnut and the touch of the hand. A bridge between sleek Manhattan and the bohemian Woodstock.
City Retreat is a perfect escape without leaving the city.
