Architects devise lofty ideas in decorating

In the entertainment area, a flat-screen TV is incorporated into a hanging wall designed by the Janson-Goldstein team

From Elsa Klensch
CNN Style Correspondent

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Lofts in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan are being turned into homes that are every bit as beautiful as uptown apartments.

Architects Marc Janson and Hal Goldstein are part of that effort. A public relations executive hired them to modernize his 2,500-square-foot (225-square-meter) loft, which sits inside a 98-year-old building that once was used for light manufacturing.

"What we really set out to do was to create a modern space ... but also making it comfortable and warm," Goldstein said. "It's modern, it's clean, it's comfortable. It allows him to entertain, it allows his art to be viewed."

VIDEO CNN's Elsa Klensch visits the loft Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     Gallery Click to tour the apartment

The mood is modern in the entrance, but the architects throw in a touch of the past, too: an early 19th-century Korean chest with terra cotta figures from the Ming Dynasty. Another piece of art, a drawing by modern artist Brice Marden in the home's entry, inspired the color scheme of the entire apartment -- gray green, dark blue and brown.

"Those three colors appear in the plaster walls around the apartment," Goldstein said. "They became the rule for the rest of the interior design of the apartment. So every fabric, material and stain, became derivative of those three colors."

The dining area is part of the entrance. While that may seem odd to some, the setup suits their client's needs.

"The dining area and the entertainment area all flow into one space," Goldstein said. "He doesn't cook, so the dining room did not need to be juxtaposed to the kitchen."

"We introduced a fabric headboard to kind of fill out (the owner's) request of being comfortable and soft and just a nice casual environment for him," Goldstein says

Goldstein and Janson designed the dining table specifically to accommodate the homeowner's Meese Bruno chair. On the wall is a Japanese piece representing infinity.

The living room represents a mix of modern and antique artwork, including a 16th-century Thai Buddha. The architects designed the chairs and sofa. The starting point for the entertainment area was the flat-screen TV.

"We wanted to design it to be a perfect environment to view that flat-screen TV and the sound system that goes with it," Goldstein says. "Architecturally, we created a hanging wall, coming down from the ceiling, that sits off the floor several feet to allow the space to flow under it."

They were pleased with the outcome, the designers say.

"Does this reflect who he (the client) is? And the answer to that was yes," Goldstein says. "That was very, very satisfactory."

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