Location: New York, NY
Price: $4,500,000
This prewar loft in Manhattan was originally built as an edgy home for a single man. It is asking $4.5 million —Emily Nonko
Chris James and three friends purchased loft apartments in a prewar building in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood so they could live close to one another. He worked with design firm Gachot Studios to turn the space into a bachelor pad. But by the end of the renovation, he was dating Jessica Hanks, who he eventually married. ‘Our relationship started and evolved in this apartment,’ Ms. Hanks says.
Mr. James, a 42-year-old finance professional, purchased the home in 2013 for $2.85 million and spent about $1.5 million upgrading it. ‘He envisioned it as the ultimate playground,’ Ms. Hanks, 33, says. Mr. James hung a swing from the great room, which Gachot Studios lined in white-oak flooring and millwork.
Mr. James selected Midcentury Modern-style furniture to decorate the 57-foot-wide great room, which has six windows and 10-foot ceilings. ‘The design is clean and minimalistic,’ Ms. Hanks says.
The antique cast-iron columns were the only original details maintained, though they were painted black in the renovation. The white-oak kitchen cabinets were custom made by Gachot Studios. The addition of the wet bar, Ms. Hanks says, came in handy after the couple married and began entertaining their families.
The office space is an extension of the master bedroom. Mr. James wanted the apartment to have plenty of shelving for his large book collection.
In the master bedroom, the walls were lined in custom linen panels to ‘create a warm aesthetic,’ Ms. Hanks says, adding that the room is large enough to carve out a separate office or bedroom.
The 2,500-square-foot apartment has two bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms.
The master bathroom was lined in a lighter Nero Marquina marble along the walls and floors to juxtapose against the black monochromatic guest bathroom. Another bathroom, not pictured, was decorated with photographs from Toiletpaper, an Italian arts magazine.
The apartment is listed at $4.5 million with CORE agents Todd Lewin and Michael Rubin.
Over the years, Ms. Hanks helped ‘soften the apartment up a little bit’ by transforming the guest bedroom into a nursery for their first child.
The couple is preparing to move to the Upper West Side, where Mr. James grew up. ‘We’ve gone from a young couple to a family here,’ Ms. Hanks says. ‘It’ll always hold a special place in our heart for that reason.