Location: Manhattan, NY
Price: $5,950,000
An attorney and fashion-industry executive undertook a year-long renovation to brighten and personalize their Manhattan apartment—Emily Nonko
Matt and Lauren Breen moved to New York from Philadelphia in 2013. ’I wanted to move to New York to pursue my fashion career,’ says Mr. Breen, 33. ‘But my wife wasn’t all that pleased at first and gave me a few mandates in looking for a new place.’ After a months-long search, they found this 2,500-square-foot Tribeca loft, for which they paid $4.295 million. ’We walked in here and fell in love,’ says Mr. Breen, creative director of fashion brand Deveaux New York.
With the help of the architectural firm Zimmerman Workshop, the Breens customized the home as part of a year-long renovation. One example: Electrical and USB outlets emerge from the poured-concrete counter in the kitchen.
One task of the renovation was to brighten the apartment. The couple painted the exposed brick white and added white oak floors in a herringbone pattern. The wooden ceiling beams—reminiscent of an old Tribeca artist loft—came from a burned-down barn in Vermont.
To better use the window space, Zimmerman Workshop added seating made from reclaimed wood. ‘My wife couldn’t be happier with this lounging area in the sun,’ Mr. Breen says. Mrs. Breen, 34, an attorney and avid reader, often works from this spot. ’If she’s not in that nook, it generally means she’s not home,’ Mr. Breen says.
‘I love watching sports and movies, so I demanded the TV be as big as humanly possible,’ Mr. Breen says. To integrate it with the interior design, Zimmerman Workshop built a custom wall made of Japanese charred wood and nestled the television inside. ’Though the TV is a predominant feature, it does get lost in that wall,’ Mr. Breen says.
There are three bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms. To save space, the television in the master bedroom sits on an art easel found in Germany. The adjacent closet was expanded because ’while most men don’t have an extension collection of clothes, I happen to,’ says Mr. Breen.
The tilework in the master bathroom was inspired by a photo of a Moroccan tile layout found mid-renovation.
In the Breens’s eight-year marriage, this is the longest they have lived in any one place together. But post-renovation, ‘I’ve got the itch to do it again,’ Mr. Breen says. Their move will keep them in New York, particularly Tribeca. ’The neighborhood has stuck, and we will not be leaving it ever,’ Mr. Breen says.
The Breens renovated an office to accommodate their now 6-month-old son.
The second bedroom was left untouched in the renovation. The home is listed for $5.95 million with CORE brokers Jarrod Guy Randolph and Elizabeth Kee.