This 113-Year-Old Apartment Gets a Total Makeover That Preserves “All the Charm"
For the last 20 years, a spacious top-floor apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side has sat empty. With its owners living overseas full-time and no one around to check up on it, the corner unit had seen better days: The ceiling was peeling, and its floors had suffered water damage.
When the owners decided to say goodbye to the historic unit, they tapped real estate broker Charlotte Van Doren with The Corcoran Group. Van Doren, in turn, brought in Amanda Wiss, CEO and founder of Urban Staging, to not only stage the property, but also to coordinate the repairs.
Though the unit was in need of some serious work, Wiss was able to see past these blemishes. In fact, as soon as she saw the property, Wiss was smitten. She knew it wouldn’t be an easy project — something needed to be fixed or refinished around every corner, it seemed — but she was up for the challenge. By bringing in modern light fixtures, refinishing the floors, and incorporating bold colors and textures throughout, her team at Urban Staging managed to breathe new life into the charming, historic space.
Now that it’s staged to sell, Wiss is confident the apartment will find new owners in no time.
“We stage aspirationally, so that potential buyers can see their fullest selves in the space,” she says. “The mix of vintage and modern pieces give off the vibe of a well-traveled family that has collected pieces from around the world, but loves to come back to their couch at the end of it all.”
The apartment is a two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom unit spanning roughly 1,376 square feet. It’s located at the top of a Beaux Arts condominium built in 1911 in the Morningside Heights neighborhood, close to parks, coffee shops, restaurants, cultural attractions, and Columbia University.
In addition to views of the city and tons of natural light, the unit has lots of original prewar details — from transom windows above the doors and high ceilings to oversized bay windows and hardwood floors.
“The moment you step into the building’s lobby, you’re transported to the New York of old films and books,” she says. “The apartment had a similar effect, featuring all the construction and charm that can’t be created with modern materials or motivations.”
As she came up with a plan for the space, Wiss knew she wanted to highlight some of the unit’s original features — including the millwork, doors, and floors, which were “brimming with potential,” she says.
“The space felt enduring, despite all that needed doing,” she adds. “The early 20th-century millwork is what sold us on the place completely. The craftsmanship and attention to detail became an anchor in our design. The bay windows also opened the front rooms up considerably, giving us a lot of room to play.”
While she dreamed up the apartment’s new look, crews came in to do more of the heavy lifting — painting, staining, sanding, and doing repairs. They replaced the damaged sections of the hardwood floors, then sanded everything down to perfection. They restored the floors to their original color, Golden Oak, to help retain even more of the apartment’s authentic charm.
Some of the apartment’s small light fixtures were charming, but the old ceiling fans and “a rug from last millennium” had to go, Wiss says. Her team brought in modern light fixtures that felt interesting but were still timeless, including a red, Bauhaus-inspired chandelier for the dining room.
“Having this sleek, contemporary fixture accentuated the details in the surrounding millwork instead of distracting from it,” Wiss says.
Her team also installed floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in the hallway that opens into the living room. Then, they added vintage decor and antiques to make the shelves a “sort of shrine to the history of the apartment, guiding you into the more modern vision in the living room,” she says.
They kept the walls a simple, warm white, but added pops of color everywhere, including a pair of bright red dining room chairs, vivid blue artwork, red and yellow candles, and vintage emerald green glassware.
Faux plants added even more splashes of green and helped bring the outside in. The use of varying textiles also helped give each room a distinct personality.
“Color is extremely important to us,” Wiss says. “Not only does it pop in listing photos, but it also adds an immeasurable amount of personality to a space, giving the feeling of real comfort and humanity. The abundance of natural light gave us a lot of freedom to choose colors at our leisure. With its corner positioning and southern exposure, we didn’t have to factor dark corners into our decor choices.”
With the staging complete, the apartment now “radiates warmth in every room,” says Wiss, adding that this might be her favorite project to date. The unit is still listed for sale, but Wiss is confident it will sell quickly.
“Staging allows people to see beyond all of the home improvement projects they would home in on if there were nothing else to look at,” she says. “Our hope is that someone leaves an open house thinking about how cozy the living room felt, and not about the outdated toilet by the kitchen.”
In addition, now that the once-empty unit has furniture and decor, it should be much easier for buyers to envision themselves living in the space.
“It can be hard to envision a space as your own when presented with an empty box,” she adds. “Our staging shows you how large a couch can fit in the living room. It shows you a king bed in the primary, and answers other questions you may not have even thought to ask before. Seeing something physically in the space can help move buyers toward putting in their offer.”
Further Reading
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