When marrying two Upper West Side apartments to accommodate a growing family’s needs, the team at Axis Mundi was faced with a conundrum: how to distinctly delineate public and private spaces without sacrificing the greater openness conferred by the expansion. So they limned that line with a six-foot square sliding glass door, which enables parents to block out the sounds of rambunctious youth emanating from private quarters, while also shielding sleeping children from the later night activities of their parents—all of it without obscuring light or affecting the impression of open-plan living. Continuity of materials—hand-scraped walnut plank floors, a custom bamboo veneer kitchen and living room shelving—enhances the sense of sweeping, loft-like spaces. Materials also create intriguing textural contrasts, as in a powder room where a high-tech glass sink and black stainless steel penny tile is softened by a leather door with contrast stitching one must open to enter the space. Highlights: A pair of Gio Ponti lounge chairs, black glass rock tables and a William Yeoward area rug from the Rug Company (living room), sliding glass shower door from Magnum in the master bath. Total Area: 1950 sf Design Team: John Beckmann, Richard Rosenbloom and Nick Messerlian Photography: Mikiko Kikuyama Contractor: Steve Smith © Axis Mundi Design LLC

When marrying two Upper West Side apartments to accommodate a growing family’s needs, the team at Axis Mundi was faced with a conundrum: how to distinctly delineate public and private spaces without sacrificing the greater openness conferred by the expansion. So they limned that line with a six-foot square sliding glass door, which enables parents to block out the sounds of rambunctious youth emanating from private quarters, while also shielding sleeping children from the later night activities of their parents—all of it without obscuring light or affecting the impression of open-plan living. Continuity of materials—hand-scraped walnut plank floors, a custom bamboo veneer kitchen and living room shelving—enhances the sense of sweeping, loft-like spaces. Materials also create intriguing textural contrasts, as in a powder room where a high-tech glass sink and black stainless steel penny tile is softened by a leather door with contrast stitching one must open to enter the space. Highlights: A pair of Gio Ponti lounge chairs, black glass rock tables and a William Yeoward area rug from the Rug Company (living room), sliding glass shower door from Magnum in the master bath. Total Area: 1950 sf Design Team: John Beckmann, Richard Rosenbloom and Nick Messerlian Photography: Mikiko Kikuyama Contractor: Steve Smith © Axis Mundi Design LLC

Our client had the laundry room down in the basement, like so many other homes, but could not figure out how to get it upstairs. There simply was no room for it, so when we were called in to design the bathroom, we were asked to figure out a way to do what so many home owners are doing right now. That is; how do we bring the laundry room upstairs where all of the bedrooms are located, where all the dirty laundry is generated, saving us from having to go down 3 floors back and forth. So, the looming questions were, can this be done in our already small bathroom area, and If this can be done, how can we do it to make it fit within the upstairs living quarters seamlessly? It would take some creative thinking, some compromising and some clients who trust you enough to make some decisions that would affect not only their bathroom but their closets, their hallway, parts of their master bedroom and then having the logistics to work around their family, going in and out of their private sanctuary, keeping the area clean while generating a mountain of dust and debris, all in the same breath of being mindful of their precious children and a lovely dog.

Bathroom - french country bathroom idea in St Louis