Inside a Minimalist New York City Apartment Filled with Natural Light

For the redesign and renovation of this one-bedroom apartment in New York City’s Flatiron neighborhood, architecture firm Messana O’Rorke focused on making the most of the home’s high ceilings and abundant light, centering the main living space around four large south-facing windows. Materials like oak, walnut, marble and glass give a nod to the building’s previous use as a manufacturing space.

The large living room is bathed in sunlight and has impressive city views. The apartment features rich dark brown stained and wire-brushed European engineered oak flooring from Town & Country Flooring, which grounds the airy space.
The living room is at the center of the apartment with the bedroom concealed behind the frosted sliding glass doors and the home office behind the flush doors. The corridor at the center leads to the front door, kitchen and bathroom.
Messana O’Rorke custom designed the floating European oak shelving unit with brass trim that provides storage at one end of the living room. The unit contains three vitrines to display objects and a ladder for easy access to the upper shelves.
The kitchen features custom designed cabinetry by Messana O’Rorke and is the same European stained white oak that is used for the flooring. The countertop and backsplash are honed Calacatta gold marble. A gray tinted mirror at the end of the galley kitchen provides the illusion of additional depth to the space.
The master bedroom features an elegant and minimalist custom-made solid European oak bed that was designed by Messana O'Rorke.
The bathroom was designed to feel bright and airy like a spa. Three of the four walls are tiled in white subway tiles. The unlacquered brass plumbing fixtures are from Waterworks.
Architectural lighting and a floor-to-ceiling mirror create a unique atmosphere in the bathroom. Two full height medicine cabinets are concealed on either side of the sink, and the floor is covered in Basaltina stone with radiant heat.