2005 May
2005 May Vol. 25, No. 5
Focus on...Interior Design
Fully Committeed
Using the services of a trained professional and making sure you have the input of your constituents - in this case the residents of your co-op or condo building - are two elements of a project that are sometimes hard to reconcile, particularly in the case of a creative endeavor like a remodel or renovation. It is important that all parties know what their roles are, so they can work together and not step on each other's toes. In the case of interior renovations, a shareholder design committee is typically formed and seeks the input of an architect or a designer. Read More
The Power of Green
For the past couple of decades, interest in the environment and "greening" of residential buildings has been creeping into our daily lexicon; nowadays, the theories have become practice, and renewable or "green" power is now more accessible than ever before. With planning and guidance, just about any building can inject a little environmentally friendly, money-saving green into its daily operations. Read More
You're Fired
While not a common practice, boards of directors of New York cooperatives have, at times, reached the decision to evict a shareholder based on objectionable conduct. Nearly every cooperative corporation's proprietary lease contains a section on dealing with default. Objectionable conduct on the part of the shareholder or other residents in the apartment provides the board with the basis for terminating the shareholder's shares and evicting them from the building. Read More
Preparation and Planning
There are five main rules that must always be considered when designing apartment building lobbies. Each project has its own set of circumstances and goals. And these goals must also coincide with the aesthetics, the inherent building style, furnishings, fixtures, and existing interiors of the building. Read More
Home Sweet Home
Patricia is a 65 year-old woman who is in good physical and mental shape. She exercises daily, sees her physician regularly and is active in the community. She lives alone in an apartment and doesn't even want to consider moving to an assisted living center or nursing home when the time comes that she has difficulty caring for herself. Patricia prefers to age right where she is, in her own home that she loves so much. Read More
White Noise
In a recent New York magazine article on sound and noise levels, an acoustics expert measured various sound levels throughout the city. Read More
Quiet on the Set
Unwanted sound is the bane of many a New York co-op or condo dweller's existence. Few things are as annoying as being awakened in the middle of the night by a car alarm, being forced to listen to a neighbor's stereo against your will, or having to tread lightly in order to avoid disturbing the people who live below you. Noise-driven complaints can also generate serious friction between residents, leading both to festering resentment and, in some cases, to lawsuits. Fortunately, there's an entire industry dedicated to providing soundproofing solutions for almost any scenario, from the light sleeper who needs to seal noise out to the music lover who wants to seal it in. Unfortunately, the word "soundproofing" itself is a bit optimistic. Read More
Old Glory
Throughout New York City, some of the most sought-after apartments are located in prewar buildings (those built prior to World War II), such as the Central Park West's Dakota or the stately maisonettes located on the Upper East Side. On the outside, these majestic structures reflect a bygone era rich in detail and master craftsmanship matched only by the ornate moldings, solid wood mantels, grand marble staircases and other design elements which impart an old world charm to the apartments within. Read More
Life of Luxury
We've all done it: walking along a quiet street in the evening, our eyes are drawn to the lit windows overlooking the sidewalk-we crane our necks to catch a quick glimpse of the sumptuously-decorated apartment behind the curtains, and immediately begin speculating on how much it's all worth. Read More
Attack of the Messies
Everybody knows at least one person who can't seem to bear parting with anything, be it movie ticket stubs from 1978, scratched-up Tupperware, or their grandpa's back-issues of National Geographic. The tendency to hang onto every random piece of clothing, furniture, paper, or printed material can cause problems aplenty even when the packrat has tons of space, but when the tendency toward clutter meets a waffle-sized Manhattan apartment, disaster is imminent. Read More
Room to Breathe
The classic "New York apartment" with the bathtub in the kitchen and a Murphy bed folding out from one wall may not be as common these days as it was a few decades ago, but the fact is that unless they're among the fabulously wealthy, space is at a premium for nearly all New Yorkers-especially Manhattanites. Whether it's a lack of storage, no room for guests, or a microscopic bathroom, practically everybody has at least one space-related complaint. Frustrating as it can be to try to jam one more Rubbermaid storage tub under the bed or find a place to put the ski equipment, there are ways to make the most of small living quarters-it's a combination of illusion and organization. Read More
Grand Entrances
You only have one chance to make a first impression, and when it comes to co-op and condo buildings, your lobby is that first chance. The way a lobby is designed expresses what kind of building residents and visitors are walking into, both in style and in what kind of service residents can expect. "It sets the tone for the value of the building," says Marilyn Sygrove, owner of Sygrove Associates Design Group, Inc. "The lobby is the building's face. If a woman is going out to an evening function and you see her step out of the car and she has on a beautiful cloak and nice shoes and diamond earrings, that's the street. When she walks into the party and takes off her coat, that's the lobby. The lobby is the whole picture. It's the value, the dress, the smell of the perfume. The lobby is the whole romance of the building-you get a sense of what the apartments are like from the lobby." Read More
