meilun

Living in a prewar building is quite appealing to many young buyers for a slew of reasons. A pre-war apartment refers to a unit built before World War II, generally during the time period between 1900 and 1939. Pre-war buildings are known for the generous size of their apartments and beautiful 20th century architecture. Pre-war buildings often include features such as marble slab walls, mosaic flooring, elaborate plasterwork ceilings, and moldings.

That said, as a New York City lobby and hallway designer, I’ve learned that young buyers want to see something fresh and modern in their buildings, too. And before you fear that adding contemporary touches will interfere with a building’s original charm don’t worry. There are many ways to add modern influences to a space without compromising character. Below, I’ve listed a few solutions.

Bring wow-factor to the lobby with a well-designed doorman’s desk that is minimalistic and features state of the art technology. For example, iPad technology can be used to manage package retrieval and other essential functions. This will help bring even the most storied building into the 21st century.

Meticulously maintained existing finishes are key to ensure that the building stays looking elegant and sleek. Polished existing marble walls and floors, restored or even simplified plaster details, shiny clean surfaces indicate excellent maintenance.

Adding cove lighting where appropriate is a modern touch that is subtle enough to work in a traditional space.

Try some modern art with pops of color and opt for slightly oversized scale pieces. This helps emphasize their importance and presence

As a hallway designer, I’ve kept note of what those looking to start a family notice when touring buildings. This includes: kid friendly upholstery fabric that is easily cleaned to avoid the “oops” factor when accidents happen, package space designed to accommodate scooters, tricycles, and strollers and car seats, and furniture with soft, rounded ages that are safe for little ones wandering around.

It’s safe to say that as a professional who designs New York City apartment building hallways, I witness a number of mistakes that need remedying. I wanted to share the most common hallway design mistakes below—make sure your building is not guilty of any of these!

Lighting can so significantly contribute to the mood of a space. I often notice lobbies in which each light fixture has a different color temperature, which is certainly not ideal. If you don’t provide your superintendent or resident manager with a specific lighting temperature, they may simply grab the nearest bulb and call it a day. As a result, you wind up with a very visible mish mash of bulb colors, which leaves a lobby looking chaotic.

My advice is to avoid clear plastic corner guards at all costs. Why? The clear plastic versions look flimsy, yellow over time, and show damage and wear quite easily. I feel that corner guards should either be custom painted to disappear into the wall covering or should be a metal color that matches the brass or chrome finish used in the hallway. Also, keep height top of mind. When corner guards are short—as in, they do not range from floor to ceiling—they appear out of place.

I cannot tell you how many times New York City cooperative and condominium buildings opt out of upgrading their door hardware, door chimes, and the signage on their unit doors. After implementing a fresh, new hallway design scheme, these elements that are left over from a bygone era will be an eyesore. Do everyone a favor and say goodbye to them once and for all!

Purchasing stock material for future use is always a smart decision when it comes to lobby and hallway design. Unfortunately, some buildings must operate with very tight budgets and don’t purchase additional carpeting, wall coverings, light fixtures, or any of the other materials they just paid to have installed. But, the reality is that there may be times when you will need to replace some of your hallway design elements. And the unfortunate consequence is that often products are either custom to begin with or discontinued over time. It is best to have 10 to 15 percent of additional materials stored away for such occasions, trust me.

It is critical to keep a list of the paint colors used in the lobby and hallway so that when doors need to be repainted over time, your building staff doesn’t have to guess or try to match paint colors. This process is not fun for anyone and simply leads to complications that could have easily been avoided. 

It’s always easier to go into a remodel knowing what to avoid, and your condo and coop lobby design will truly shine if you just keep the above five tips top of mind!