Elena Colombo has long loved the home and workspace she shares with her partner, Mark Lovell, in the industrial neighborhood of Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. It gave Colombo a workshop and office to tinker with, and it was close to the artisans and tradespeople her company, FireFeatures, needed to create the large fire bowls and sculptures it needed.
But as her business grew, much of the production moved to a facility in Factoryville, Pa. She and Mr. Lovell, both 61, saw it as an opportunity to return to Manhattan, where they previously lived.
Colombo said his Brooklyn residence “felt a little far away,” adding that he liked the idea of ​​living in the city center because he also owns homes in Greenport, N.Y., and the suburb of Scranton, Pa.
“I love being in Manhattan because everyone’s there,” she said. “All my friends were still there.”
In spring 2019, she and Mr. Lovell, who works in health care finance, bought a two-bedroom, 1,700-square-foot condo in a 1920s Art Deco building near Penn Station for about $1.9 million. They liked the corner unit’s windows facing two sides and the location, which made it easy to get in and out of the city by car or public transportation.
But what about the interior, with its commercial-gray wall-to-wall carpeting, outdated kitchen with laminate countertops, and tiled sink with thick lines of stained grout, it was just waiting to be demolished.
Colombo began planning their renovation immediately after the couple moved in. Working with architecture firm Tasset Creations, Colombo wanted to create a home that reflected her style—not only did she want to be surrounded by the things she loved, but she also planned to work from home and meet with clients in the space.
In 2020, they obtained permits and hired STM Interior Construction to do the work, and demolition began just before the pandemic halted construction. While work was stalled for months, Colombo used the downtime to adjust plans and address unexpected discoveries. For example, when contractors removed the carpet and tile, they found the original floor was terrazzo. It was in poor condition and covered in glue, but Colombo determined it was far better than the new hardwood. When work resumed, she had contractors sand and polish the floor and install brass inlays where there had been gaps caused by expansion.
To make the kitchen larger, we moved the front door, which was in the way of the cabinet layout. We got quotes from many companies for the cabinets, but were surprised to find that most of them were over $200,000. We wanted to keep the cost down while still maintaining a high-end feel, so we followed the advice of our friend, interior designer Julia Ross, and contacted the Indonesian company Kalpa Taru.
For about $65,000, the company created a custom solid teak kitchen for her, including the ceiling and backsplash panels. Finished with one-piece brass pulls, soapstone countertops and a blackened steel range hood that Colombo made in his shop, the kitchen exudes a slightly nautical feel that’s anything but ordinary.
She did the same with the other pieces: For the living room’s custom steel wall-mounted shelving units, she worked with architect and metal fabricator Parke MacDowell, who she found on Etsy; for the bathroom tiles, she visited a slate quarry in Pennsylvania and ordered the exact size and finish she wanted; and for her home office, she bought gold-leaf-backed grasscloth wallpaper from Donghia at a LiveAuctioneers warehouse sale.
Vintage furniture and art that Colombo has collected over the years add visual warmth. In the living room, there’s a midcentury modern Eve Kofod-Larsen armchair that Colombo found on a TriBeCa curbside decades ago and has since repaired and reupholstered. A worn bilge-pump cover from a ship is displayed like a sculpture on an antique China stand on a teak sideboard, flanked by vintage Italian lamps.
In the dining area, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s tubular Brno chairs are placed around a vintage rosewood table, but it’s not just a place to eat: “It’s my conference table,” Colombo says.
A pair of repurposed pocket doors she found at Old Good Things opens into her office, where inspirational artwork hangs on the grasscloth, including paintings by friends and pieces by lesser known artists she picked up in vintage stores. “I love antique collecting,” she says.
The home was nearly finished by summer 2021, costing about $600,000, but Colombo is still tweaking the decor. But while everything isn’t in perfect place yet, the apartment is exactly how she wanted it.
“It’s all about creating the right atmosphere and stimulating a creative vibe,” she said. “It feels like coming home.”
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