If you have a decent deal on a home in New York City, you do not relinquish it easily. Neither noise, vermin infestations, nor children are likely to convince you to move. Faced with this latter situation, Svetlin Krastev and Dessi Nikolova opted for an extensive renovation of their 620 sq ft Murray Hill railroad apartment rather than moving to a larger space they could not afford when their second child arrived.
The space is a traditional NYC railroad apartment with one distinct bedroom that houses a bunkbed for the two boys. The main living space has a kitchen, dining area with bench seat and the parents’ bed, which doubles as the sofa during the day. There is extensive floor-to-ceiling shelving throughout the house.
By far the most distinctive aspect of the apartment are the shelves above the bed made entirely of Corian. Ferda Kolatan and Erich Schoenenberger of su11 architecture + design used the material to achieve its fluid, sculptural look while simultaneously having a virtually childproof finish.
While the space has a futuristic, high-end vibe, Krastev and Nikolova’s situation is very common: how do you make a small space work for a growing family without going broke?
One answer was cultural. Growing up in Bulgaria where homes aren’t so big made the couple receptive to the idea of a family sharing this relatively compact apartment.
The other answer was designing their space to work the best it could based on their current spatial and lifestyle requirements, not the ones 20 years down the road. Krastev told Dwell, “We realize the space has limitations. Maybe when the kids get to be ten or 12 years old, we’ll have to move. But we can easily spend another five years here. On a day-to-day basis we’re very comfortable. We don’t have endless means or endless space, but our quality of life is very high.”
Via Dwell
Photo by David Allee