How to have a loft in Soho without actually buying a loft in Soho: pay $1.4 million for a Harlem brownstone and hire an architect for a $740,000 renovation that will make the brownstone as loft-like as possible. Architect Gregory Merryweather passed along the above before-and-after photos of 225 West 112th Street, a Harlem townhouse that sold for nearly 17 percent above its $1.2 million asking price in 2007. The owners, a sound designer and blogger, wanted an "environmentally conscious" renovation and a house that would mimic the open space of the Soho loft they were leaving behind. How so?
In the architect's words:
The solution to this request was to introduce a series of openings between the floors that not only let light come through the house from the skylight above but also to allow views and communication to take place between the floors....Additionally, the stairwell, which in a townhouse is typically strictly for circulation, was fitted with bookshelves and a reading nook to introduce some program to that space, so rather than being just a place to pass through, it is also a destination in itself. The kitchen, for the client the social focus of the house, was placed at the center of the parlor floor, rather than the more typical rear.
So, does it look like Soho?
· Official Site: Gregory Merryweather [gmarcllc.com]
· Sale: 225 West 112th Street [StreetEasy]
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