Tour a Stuffy Prewar NYC Apartment Transformed Into a Modern Family Home

Turning a historic apartment into a 21st-century family home with modern amenities requires much more than meets the eye.

By: Kamron Sanders

Related To:

Shop This Look

Photo By: Matt Dutile

Two Architects Transform a New York City Prewar Apartment

Thomas Morbitzer and Goil Amornvivat of AMMOR Architecture knew their recent renovation project — an update of a prewar apartment on New York City's Upper West Side — called for special attention to preserve its historical beauty. "New York City 'prewar' buildings are well built with distinct rooms and desirable details such as ornate moldings and beautiful floors. They were designed as an affordable alternative to owning houses in the city. Created specifically for refined urban life, a good specimen has many wonderful qualities, usually large windows and tall ceilings, but many still have elements that may not be as desirable, like maid’s quarters and closed kitchens," explains Goil.

Maintaining History and Providing Appreciable Updates Is a Balancing Act

The goal for this renovation was to maintain the apartment's built-in beauty and historical significance while making it livable and comfortable for its owners, a couple and their two young sons. "Maintaining a home's history can mean a lot of different things to different people and we often assess what works and what doesn't," notes Thomas. "We would not recommend keeping something just because it was old or does not work with the needs of the owners. For example, a maid's room may function better as a laundry room or a small window facing a brick wall may work okay to vent a kitchen range. We bring the home to 21st-century standards while maintaining prewar character."

Designers Sourced Period-Correct Hardware From Contractor's Collection

"Generally, we always try to maintain original room proportions and keep original details," says Goil. "Wherever we could, we kept the door hardware and base moldings and — when we could not — we found the closest new replicas. The builder Reid Maclean of BIKO Renovations has a collection of salvaged hardware from similar projects and came through with many replacements he had in storage."

Updating the Infrastructure Was a Top Priority for This Renovation

Alongside the overarching mission to preserve the apartment's prewar charm, Thomas and Goil were hired to make it more livable and comfortable. "The most common upgrades for this building type are the infrastructure (like power, new windows and central air) as well as kitchens and baths," explains Thomas. Their experience working on similar projects in NYC proved valuable for completing these challenging tasks.

Adding Central AC to Prewar Buildings Involves Some Red Tape

While the end result looks effortlessly polished, adding central AC to a prewar apartment isn't a walk in the park. "It's a challenge!" admits Thomas. "First, we had to make sure there was enough power and demonstrate to the co-op board it was feasible, as many prewar apartments do not have enough electricity for modern upgrades. We consulted with an engineer who designed the air conditioning system and the power, situating the condensers in a small window in the laundry. This property is in a landmark district which required a 'Certificate of No Effect' before we could apply for permits. Then we had to find places to locate the new machinery and ductwork that would not negatively impact the interior rooms."

A Certificate of No Effect (CNE) is required in certain districts, especially historic areas, before interior or exterior renovations can be made. This ensures that the alterations and additions don't compromise protected features of a building.

Limited Space Calls for Creativity and Experience

If you look closely, you'll find vents throughout the rooms, often in unconventional places. While these out-of-the-box solutions are a necessary part of adding modern amenities to any historic home, there's a certain level of creativity and expertise it takes to tackle these requests in the confines of a prewar apartment building.

Practical Storage Space Is a Must-Have for This Manhattan Apartment

Nearly every family can benefit from more storage space, but for a family living in a Manhattan apartment, it's a necessity. AMMOR outfitted several rooms in the home with built-in cabinetry and shelving, even integrating benches beneath some of the windows to best utilize the square footage.

Built-In Shelves Stop Short of the Ceiling to Preserve Original Crown Molding

Built-in shelving was also added to the dining room, creating a space for tchotchkes and books with closed storage at the bottom. Rather than taking them to the full height of the ceiling, Thomas and Goil opted to stop them just short, preserving the room's original molding. The design results in the installations feeling more like furniture pieces than permanent fixtures.

A Custom Knife Allows Plaster to Perfectly Match Original Moldings

In the main bedroom, the newly built storage flanking the window was taken all the way to the ceiling, as replacement moldings could be mounted in front. To match the original moldings, Thomas and Goil had a custom knife made to shape the plaster.

A Light Sanding Revives These Original Hardwood Floors

Thomas and Goil were able to preserve the apartment's original hardwood floors by giving them a light sanding rather than a full refinish. "Wood floors can only be sanded down to the bare wood so many times and these had reached a limit," explains Thomas. "The finishing process here was to take off the layers of poly, touch up areas by hand that needed some extra love and put down two new layers of water-based coating."

Wood-Look Tiles Fill the Absence of Original Hardwood Floors in This Kitchen

Unfortunately, the linoleum in the kitchen wasn't hiding more wood floors, so the choice was made to install durable wood-look tiles. "Once we removed the red linoleum, we discovered the subfloor was different than the rest of the house. That, along with the fact this kitchen is well-used led to that decision," to use wood-look tile rather than real wood floors says Goil.

A Wide Transom Establishes a Clear Boundary Between Rooms

Altering a prewar apartment's footprint to appeal to modern life and comfort without sacrificing its personality requires a good eye and real discernment. "The biggest change was to create a large opening between the kitchen and dining room," notes Goil. "We were sensitive to not make it feel like an 'open kitchen,' as it wouldn’t be appropriate. We negotiated this by making the opening feel thick by adding panel details in the jambs and creating a glass clerestory similar to those above the original bedroom doors. This makes it feel like the kitchen and dining room are still two distinct rooms."

Get more tips on updating a historic home without sacrificing its character here.

Smart Design of Doorway Allows for Future Additions

"The way the woodwork was detailed makes it so that, in the future, doors could be installed if they wanted to close the kitchen back up," explains Thomas. Sunlight, says Thomas, "now flows from the front to the back of the apartment in a way it never did, making for a bright apartment all day long."

Historical Documentation Gives Reference for Restoring Old Buildings

For historical homes that have received prior renovations, restoring them or even honoring their heritage through a renovation can be hard to navigate. "Fortunately, there is a lot of documentation available and we have original catalogs and books from historical periods to reference original source materials," notes Thomas. "In this project, the kitchen was not original, but we were able to pair a contemporary plan with traditional cabinet details, such as the panels and hardware."

Experienced Architects Know How to Maintain a Historic Building's Personality

Another tricky aspect of altering a historical home's footprint is deciding how to handle quirky corners and architectural features that don't lend themselves to contemporary designs and layouts. Hiring a professional with experience renovating historic buildings can help you make the most of your square footage without losing the architectural quirks and personality. The result is a design that unlocks the true potential of the space.

This Dining Room Combines Modern Comfort With Historic Charm

With its spacious dining table, cozy sitting area and storage-filled built-ins, there's no doubt the updated dining room has been brought up to 21st-century living standards. However, the space managed to hold on to many original prewar details, like an intricate plaster ceiling and original molding, giving it unmatched charm.

Hand-Sanding This Plaster Ceiling Restored Its Original Beauty

"Fortunately, the elaborate ceiling in the dining room was in pretty good condition but it needed to be hand-sanded and the cracks needed to be repaired," says Goil. "From there they were re-primed and painted — overall it was a lengthy and messy process."

Premium Rift-Sawn White Oak Library Paneling Covers This Living Room

Behind the pocket-door opening is a distinguished room with dark library paneling and ornate glass door cabinetry. The library paneling is constructed with rift-sawn white oak, a premium option. "It is cut from the wood log in a different way and you get medullary rays (we call it flecking)," says Goil. "That cut exposes horizontal marks that extend away from the core of the tree toward the bark. This is commonly used in stained millwork and flooring but is considered an upgrade as you get less usable wood from each tree."

Leaving This Library Paneling As-Is Maintained Its Charming Age and Patina

Rather than sanding and refinishing (or — dare we say — painting) the library paneling to update the room's aesthetic, Thomas and Goil felt this was another opportunity for discernment. "We left it as it was. Part of the charm is its age and patina," notes Thomas.

A Floor-Plan Alteration Hides a Bathroom From the Front-Door View

Another alteration to the apartment's floor plan was in order for the bathroom. "The main bathroom needed a plan update, as it was visible from the front door. Once the plan was updated, we were able to incorporate subtle improvements like marble tiles, large mirrors and great lighting," explains Thomas.

An Extensive Bathroom Renovation Yields Elegant Results

Getting the bathroom to its current elegant state involved more than just picking out and installing pretty finishes. "Some items, like the bath floors, needed to be new and required layers of soundproofing and waterproofing below the finish," says Goil. "We used a delicate pattern mosaic in the main bathroom that has an almost Roman quality and felt very much like part of the house."

Fun Details Make the Boys' Bathroom Age-Appropriate

In the boys' bathroom, Thomas and Goil maintained the elevated aesthetic found throughout the home with marble tiles, original door hardware and elegant moldings, but threw in fun details like blue paint and a framed soccer ball print to appeal to the family's children.

Barn-Door Hardware Makes This Mirror a Window Covering

To both keep the window above the vanity and have a mirror, a mirror was mounted on barn-door hardware. Now, it can slide out of the way to enjoy the view and the light of the window, then slide back in place for privacy.

Color and Decor Give Boys' Bedrooms a Childlike Aesthetic

The boys' bedrooms benefit from the same new amenities found throughout the apartment, such as built-in cabinetry, benches and hidden ductwork for central AC. But, with colorful walls and fun decor, the spaces have a noticeably lighter tone without feeling too childish. The end result is spaces that can effortlessly evolve and mature alongside the growing boys.

We Recommend

A Gloomy Manhattan Apartment Is Transformed Into a Light-Filled Showplace 13 Photos

Historic New York City Apartment With Classic Architecture 11 Photos

Tour a TikTok Exec's Bold and Colorful NYC Loft 12 Photos

500 Operands are not of the same type: comparison is supported for Number types only.

Operands are not of the same type: comparison is supported for Number types only.

Cannot serve request to /content/hgtv-com/en/design/home-tours/photo-galleries/2023/april/tour-a-prewar-nyc-apartment-turned-into-a-modern-family-home.html on this server

ApacheSling/2.7 (jetty/9.4.42.v20210604, Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM 1.8.0_271, Linux 4.14.256-197.484.amzn2.x86_64 amd64)