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New
York Times – Adapting Design
August 4, 2005
By Stephen Treffinger
Q.
How can I adapt details from the newest Richard
Meier tower in Lower Manhattan to my home?
A. Unlike the apartments in Mr. Meier's two buildings
on Perry Street, which were sold raw, the ones
at 165 Charles Street, in the West Village, are
being sold finished, without furniture but with
cabinets, bathrooms, kitchens and all fixtures
in place. Mr. Meier designed the interiors, creating
a look that brings to mind an art gallery crossed
with a lavish yet comfortable penthouse.
Chocolate-brown flooring throughout - the first
thing you notice (after the view) - prevents this
large space from seeming sterile. "Wood floors
give it a warmth that works well with the openness
and transparency of the units, the way in which
the wood extends out to the balcony," Mr.
Meier said. "It gives it a continuity of
surface, and people can then put down carpet or
rugs or whatever they want."
The floors (except in the bathrooms) are wide-plank
stained wenge, above. Wenge (pronounced WHEN-gay),
imported from Africa, varies quite a bit in quality,
finishing and cost. One New York remodeling company,
MyHome (212-666-2888 or myhomeus.com) said it
could provide and install wenge flooring for about
$34 a square foot.
For the balconies, below right, Mr. Meier chose
flooring made of ipe (pronounced EE-pay), a durable
hardwood from South America. It is dense and weather-resistant
and needs no stain (although a UV blocking sealant
is recommended if you don't want it to bleach
in the sun). Ipe may sound exotic, but you may
have already taken a stroll on it: the Atlantic
City boardwalk, for example, is made of ipe. The
raw material is about $5 a square foot; delivery
and installation are extra. Information: floorings.com.
Mr. Meier, who designed the Getty Museum in Los
Angeles, said he frequently uses "museum
walls," or ones lacking baseboards and molding,
in residential spaces. Here, center right, he
made striking use of them, including a quarter-inch
gap between the floors and the walls, making them
seem to float.
They get their smooth, seamless look from skim
coating, or the layering of several thin applications
of plaster. Mr. Meier hired the artisans who did
the walls at the new Museum of Modern Art in New
York, but your contractor should be able to arrange
the same thing.
Mr. Meier's kitchens and bathrooms gained their
seamless quality from expanses of white Corian.
I was surprised there wasn't something more rarefied
(read "quarried halfway around the world
and shipped at great expense") but, as Mr.
Meier put it, "marble is too busy."
He also noted that Corian is easy to keep clean,
"and whatever you put on it looks good."
He ordered a custom white, whiter than the stock
one. Corian is priced from about $45 a square
foot, installed; for information: (800) 426-7426
or corian.com.
Questions about furnishings and décor may be sent
by e-mail to room@nytimes.com. Unpublished questions
cannot be answered individually.
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