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When Sandra Davis and Bruce Levine purchased a garden-level duplex in a 1910 townhouse on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, they knew they’d have to just accept its quirks, at the least for some time.
“We liked the massive backyard house, however the condominium itself felt cramped and darkish,” stated Mr. Levin, noting that the yard was solely accessible by one of many bedrooms. “And the doorway was unusually configured: To get to the condominium we wanted to stroll up a set of stairs, and again down one other set of stairs.”
The couple purchased the co-op condominium in 2012 for $1.25 million, “understanding that we wanted to renovate it,” stated Ms. Davis, the founding father of Donorly, a fund-raising consulting firm.
As the years handed, the time by no means appeared proper to start main development. They had been touring forwards and backwards to Seattle, the place Mr. Levine, now 74, is a associate in a legislation agency. Then Ms. Davis, now 62, began her enterprise. They additionally had been busy elevating their household, which included 5 youngsters from earlier marriages, now 22 to 42, in addition to grandchildren (they now have 5).
“Then the pandemic hit,” Ms. Davis stated, they usually had been instantly compelled to ponder their environment. “When you’re taking a look at your partitions day in, time out, you begin to actually take note of all of the issues that should be completed.”
Nearly a decade after shopping for the condominium, they determined it was time to take motion. That’s when one thing sudden occurred: The proprietor of an adjoining triplex determined to promote. Ms. Davis and Mr. Levine purchased the condominium for $1.25 million in September 2021, with the thought of mixing the 2 locations to create a 2,500-square-foot house the place their total household may collect — and eventually fixing their authentic condominium.
As a feminine enterprise proprietor, Ms. Davis needed to work with an structure agency owned by a girl. After taking a look at portfolios, she and Mr. Levine selected Alexandra Barker, the founding father of the Brooklyn-based studio BAAO.
The manner the residences had been organized, Ms. Barker stated, “was all very convoluted,” with oddly positioned staircases and stage adjustments. To kind that out, she not solely took down the partitions separating the 2 properties, however moved the staircases.
The major dwelling house on the backyard stage now runs all the best way from the road to the yard. It features a front room on the entrance, a kitchen subsequent to a eating house with a built-in banquette, and a major bed room with an en suite lavatory and glass doorways that open to the yard. To present one other level of entry to the yard, Ms. Barker added a slender bridge off the kitchen.
On the cellar stage, she created a media room, a visitor room and an workplace for Ms. Davis, in addition to an area for a free-standing soaking tub. Upstairs, on the parlor stage, the place the couple occupies the entrance of the constructing, Ms. Barker designed an workplace for Mr. Levine that doubles as a visitor room, in addition to a play space for the grandchildren, hidden behind shutters.
The renovation infused the house with a brand new sense of favor. Ms. Barker used a shade palette of deep blues and greens meant to evoke the Pacific Northwest, and selected attention-grabbing finishes: terrazzo with outsized stone chunks. wallpaper murals depicting bushes, clouds and animals, and slatted and tambour wooden paneling.
“We had been pushing it,” Ms. Barker stated of her daring decisions.
But her shoppers had been receptive. “The terrazzo is one thing I don’t assume I ever would have picked out alone,” Ms. Davis stated. But now that it’s put in by the house — as flooring, counters, baseboards — “I simply like it.”
Similarly, “I didn’t know I used to be a wallpaper particular person,” she stated. “Every time I’m on a Zoom assembly in my workplace, everybody feedback on the wallpaper” — a mural of multicolored bushes from Rebel Walls. “I’ve no regrets.”
The couple moved into a close-by rental when development started in April 2022; their house was full in May 2023, at a value of about $1.2 million. Since then, they’ve put the condominium by its paces and located that it’s working precisely as they hoped.
Last Thanksgiving, all the youngsters and grandchildren arrived to spend the vacation collectively. “We simply had such a good time. Everybody was sitting across the desk doing puzzles and enjoying video games,” Ms. Davis stated. “It simply felt so comfy to have so many individuals in a New York condominium.”
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