WEA Apartment

Shiri Amoray
Dec 23, 2025
4 min read

Upper West Side, New York City.

1,500SF.

Duplex apartment, located on the second and third floor of a prewar building, commenced in 1924. Each unit originally was a 1 bedroom / 1 Bath apartment, with an eat-in kitchen. Owners looked to fit this apartment for their family of 6, including 4 children, ages 14, 11, and 6 year old twins.

The apartment has already been vertically combined by previous owners, with entrance on the second floor. Aside from its foyer hallway, that level included the kitchen, a large open space serving as a living room and dining room, and a bathroom with a tub. On the third floor, the kitchen has already been converted to a bedroom, along with the original bedroom and the living room that has also been transformed into a bedroom- for three bedrooms in total. One of which served as master bedroom with a walk-in closet and an en-suite bathroom with a shower. As result, the full bathroom to be used by other two bedrooms was downstairs, off the dining / living space. Lastly, that unit also included a laundry closet.

To meet the desired plan, the apartment was fully gutted and several layout changes were made. Starting with the kitchen on the second floor, the French doors that encapsulate the kitchen were removed and kitchen opening has been expanded, opening up the space to the living room. This allowed for placement of a custom-made caster base dine-in table that serves the family in the day-to-day with 8 permanent chairs, allowing addition of an extension table and folding chairs stored in the apartment for larger gatherings. The kitchen maintained the early 2000’s Subzero refrigerator and Wolf stove, cooktop and range as act of sustainability to extend the lifetime of those fine appliances. Countertop space has been maximized, allowing work for three to four individuals along each other, to fit the large family who likes to host. Microwave has been placed into the pantry cabinet, with doors cut around it. The pantry itself stores dry food and small appliances on pull-out shelves while remain connected to power stored at back of the pantry cabinet. To improve convenience, we installed a wall-mounted pot-filler above the stove. The kitchen cabinets were made in slim shaker base with top glass doors top cabinets surrounded by a black aluminum frame.

On to the remaining of the lower level, the new owners were interested in having a continuous space that appear spacious and allowing for light to penetrate throughout, while allowing for privacy in creating a master bedroom suite for the parents. A custom-made metal and glass frame along with a matching door was designed by the architect and was then manufactured and shipped from Italy, at specifications allowing for proper noise privacy. The system was placed atop a three feet half-wall that was specifically designed for the space. For complete sense of privacy, dual wall-wide shade system with a hideout was designed and installed, with both see-through and privacy shades. From the living room side a custom wall with gray stucco wash finish was designed to feature a low profile electric fireplace, allowing a Frame TV to be placed above it to show rotating art.

In the master bedroom side, the room was designed to accommodate a king size bed, with a cement gray accent wall behind. a free-standing closet was designed and installed, with large doors in color matching the back accent wall. Behind the closet, a pocket door opens, leading to a walk-in closet and master bathroom. The original tub was replaced with a shower, including a floating bench.

As a result, the entire lower level at this second floor allows for maximum privacy while serving as family and public space- all within a fairly small area of ~750 square feet. For the parents, it may feel as a hotel suite that allows for on-demand privacy while transparent when desired.

Connecting the lower and upper level, the old wooden staircase covered with red carpet has been replaced with modern custom steps and a black steel staircase was added to align with the industrial style, while staying true to the original style of the building and apartment.

On the upper level, along the third floor of the building, several layout changes were also introduced. First and primarily, the en-suite bedroom was cancelled to allow convenient access to the bathrooms for all the apartments residents. Also, the walk-in closet was converted into a powder room. As result, the four kids are not required to walk downstairs to use the bathroom, and now have another powder room available for their use. Lastly, the hallway has been moved slightly to accommodate ADA regulation for both the powder room and hallway.

Throughout the apartment, gray material and color pallet were selected, along with white, black steel, brass, glass and walnut. Design esthetics honor the pre-war French style while adding intertrial modern elements. Trims were restored, including wall and crown molding and matching baseboards. Chandeliers supplement the original style of the apartment, installed in both the living room and one of the upper level bedrooms. Smart home switches and lighting were installed all around the apartment, including controls for the shades.

Each of the children was involved in the design and furniture selection of their rooms, and were excited about the plan and outcome!