• This Month on WestView News
  • Featured
  • Monthly Columns
  • Editorials
  • Articles
  • Briefly Noted
  • WestViews
  • Photos
  • Front Page
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • EXTRA
WESTVIEW NEWS
Menu
  • This Month on WestView News
  • Featured
  • Monthly Columns
  • Editorials
  • Articles
  • Briefly Noted
  • WestViews
  • Photos
 › Architecture › Articles › Real Estate/Renting › Renovating in the Big Apple—Thinking Outside the Box

Renovating in the Big Apple—Thinking Outside the Box

Andreea 05/09/2018     Architecture, Articles, Real Estate/Renting

By Ananth Sampathkumar and Mary Chandrahasan, Partners/NDNY Architecture + Design PLLC

RENOVATIONS CAN BE STRESSFUL, BUT TRY AND HAVE FUN: 310 W. 72nd St Living Room Before and After. Photo credit: NDNY Architects & Charlie Bennet.

Renovating your new home or commercial space can be a daunting task, even for the most seasoned hand. Having designed and managed a few renovations in the city, we can lend some insight into counterintuitive decisions that owners should consider which could add value to your project.

#1 Hire Young: Starting with the design team, hire a young architect or design firm and pay them well. Young offices have the drive, determination and time to invest in projects. They manage every aspect of the project from fielding calls, drafting the details and observing the construction on site. Clients like the fact that they have one point person to rely on for their project which might not be the case with a larger more established firm. It is risky but the rewards are big for both client and architect.

#2 Hit The Road Running: Many owners wait until the deal is sealed to start the renovation conversation and hire their design team. We suggest starting early, once the property is in contract. The 2-3 months that ensue provide a golden opportunity to make some headway on design decisions as the potential owner does not incur carrying costs. Once the lease is signed or the contract is closed, the owner takes on the carrying cost on residential projects and sometimes, the rent on commercial leases. While there is always a risk that the deal may fall through, the progress made on the design side usually outweighs any consultant fees that are paid out if the agreement goes south.

#3 Go Original with Aesthetics: With a proliferation of online image boards, owners rely heavily on precedent images to create their “vision” for the space. Websites like Houzz and Pinterest allow users to create inspiration boards for their renovation. This does not always lead to good results. The sum of the parts often does not equal a beautiful whole. Instead, we suggest looking for creative cues outside of magazines and blogs and in the real world. Dieter Wiechmann, Managing Partner and Creative Director of Tacombi describes his inspiration for La Cornelia, their West Village outpost on Bleecker Street as follows—“I took a particularly close look at how market stands, stalls and taquerias were built and presented in the Yucatan. I found an impressive resourcefulness and creativity that relied on readily available, cheap building materials. Layered on is a pride in the products they serve expressed through its display, illustration, and visual description. We employed those same values in the design of Tacombi Bleecker.” There is something familiar about the place especially for those who have travelled to Mexico. The ambience and food pair well here and therein lies the success of the project.

#4 Think About the Planet: Often times small businesses and homeowners do not even consider green ideas because of the misconception that either green design costs more or that their project is too small to count. Every project matters and being sustainable is not only easier than it looks but also good for your bottom-line. Eric Ortense, Founder and CEO of Streamline USA, a Manhattan based commercial and residential General contracting firm recommends that clients pick local materials, use energy saving lighting with daylight controls, install low-flow plumbing fixtures and salvage as much of the existing space as possible. Given the Earth’s perilous state, sustainable design is no longer an option.

#5 Lastly, try and have fun: Renovations are very stressful endeavors and it doesn’t hurt to lighten the mood with quirky design and material selections. At the end, you should have a space you can be proud of and have plenty of good stories to tell.

 Previous Post

Celebrating the Legacy of Joe Cino’s Legendary Caffe Cino Coffee House Theater

Next Post 

Maggie B’s Quick Clicks

Related Articles

Where Have All the Theaters Gone?
A Billionaire Bully Slumlord
Kakushi Ari Kata Sanmai Hozo Joint
Woodstock
Matronalia to Mother’s Day:
I Swim, Therefore I Am
A Yogic Guide to Dying:
John Rockefeller Joins Non-Profit to Cure AIDS
A Doctor’s Advice on Staying Injury-Free this Spring
Livable Streets lV: Our Streets, Our Rooms
Gifts and Bliss to City Councilman Erik Bottcher in Celebration of Earth Day
Thinking of Moving Out of New York City? Some Cautionary Words.
Village Independent Democrats Political Club Now Covers Healthcare Matters
Beth Soll & Company to Premiere Four Dances and a New Film at Westbeth
New York Incumbent Politicians Vote to Silence Minority Voices
Gunpowder
Two Small Giants: Haile Selassie and Volodymyr Zelensky
Explosions and Ukraine
A Ring as Weapon: How Vladimir Putin Thinks
Business as Usual
Mom & Pops Suffer Loss of St. Vincent’s
Pharmacists Protest Governor Hochul’s Neglect of Patients in NYS Budget
Washington Square Musician Plans Protest Concert to Keep Live Music in the Park
How Do We Get a Full Service Hospital?
A Personal and Broader Case For a Hospital in Greenwich Village
All-Day Coffee and Delectable Light Meals at El Condor
Forget About What’s Wrong with Healthcare: The Problem is Our Health
New York City Retirees’ Medicare is Under Attack
It’s Healthy to Talk to Yourself!
Village in the Sky
A Lesson in Hope
COVID in Dubai
Superb Owl Sunday
Perfect Little Rectangles
A Defense of Elon Musk, the World’s Most Cryptic Billionaire
The Pluck O’ the Irish
The Quarry
Running From the Holocaust

1 Comment

  1. Renovating in the Big Apple – Thinking Outside the Box – NDNYBLOG
    ― 06/02/2018 - 1:33 pm  Reply

    […] Renovating in the Big Apple—Thinking Outside the Box […]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

May 2022

Subscribe Now

May 2022

Donate Now

 

Read the Archives

Copyright © WestView News
 

Loading Comments...