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A big challenge in my line of work as a hallway and lobby interior designer in New York is the city’s ever-expanding safety code regulations. I’m proud of how my firm manages to find a balance between the aesthetic sensibilities of the spaces we create while we carefully follow every rule.

However, a new set of rules has caused my artistic sensibilities to be piqued. It is posing a significant challenge for us. It involves fire safety signs.

Now, I’m all about safety first – don’t get me wrong. One can’t live in the greatest city in the world and not be aware of the risks of living like canned sardines in apartment buildings – many of which were erected before WWll.

However, these new fire safety sign requirements are really pushing it. Here is an excerpt from the FDNY website, which will give you an idea of what designers are up against:

Letters and numbers shall be san serif, not less than one-half (½) inch in height, and shall use Arabic numerals and/or English alphabet capital letters. (B) Character proportions and spacing, including stroke width, spacing between characters and line spacing, shall be in accordance with national and industry standards for building signage. (C) Letters and numbers shall contrast with the background (whether of the door, the wall, or the sign) so as to be plainly discernible. Room number markings and signs may, but are not required to, include hyphens or other forms of punctuation. (Original Source)

The new rules also state that each interior door in a residential building displays a fire safety sign – including individual apartment doors.

To make things even more complicated, the signs must:

• Be phosphorescent (glow in the dark, but not in a cool way)
• Include key symbols indicating if the unit is a duplex or combined apartment
• Be no higher than twelve inches above the floor, so firefighters can crawl on their bellies and be able to see them.

Oy vey! The signage, as presented by the FDNY, is flat out ugly!

Each of our clients makes a significant investment when they hire us to renovate their coop or condo’s hallways and lobby. We take great care when in the selection of new lighting, flooring, wall coverings, hardware, decorative accessories, artwork, and more. We create environments that are at once beautiful and functional. (A little brag: my firm has been in business for over thirty years, and most of our work comes through word-of-mouth.)

Design and aesthetics are critically important to my staff, our clients, and to me. So, today, I’m rolling up my sleeves to make my voice heard. With the help of a colleague who is also a leader in the NYC interior design industry, we are lobbying the FDNY to allow interior designers like us to customize fire safety sign designs for our clients.

Here are some design concepts we’re working on:

I believe that design can play nice with safety regulations. If you agree, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading!

–Marilyn

If you own a coop or condo in a vintage New York City building, you may be wondering how the value of your property is holding up in the face of the vast residential construction of the past few years.

Realtors will tell you there will always be people who want to own a beautiful apartment in a classic NYC structure. However, there’s a catch. Your property will likely hold its value only if the common areas of your building – the lobby, elevators, and hallways – are beautiful, too.

As a lobby and hallway interior designer, most of my work involves updating the common areas in classic NYC residential buildings. Granted, it’s not always easy for a condo or coop board to convince owners to make the kind of investment my work requires. In my experience, however, the results are totally worth it.

Check out our before and after gallery HERE.

I recently spoke to four busy real estate professionals and got their take on the topic. Here’s what they had to say:

Beautiful common areas can elevate perceptive value anywhere from 5-10%.


John Wollberg of Halstead Real Estate explains: “When you walk into an apartment that hasn’t been kept up – that has cracks and water stains on the walls, for example – the buyer asks thinks, “What’s gone on in this apartment? It looks like it hasn’t been kept up.”

The lobby sets the tone for the entire building. When there are gorgeous apartment upstairs but drab and run-down common areas, buyers often think, “If the common areas look like this, the building probably is not well-maintained.”

You Must Get Buyers Upstairs.


Rande Coleman of Douglas Elliman Real Estate said this on the topic, “First impressions matter. A clean and fresh appearance when a customer enters a building sets the tone. I have had buyers walk in and out of a building because the lobby is run-down. When a lobby is run-down it doesn’t present well to a customer.”

It’s Always Worth It.


Ellen Cohen, who represents Compass agrees. “Outdated, shabby-looking lobbies and hallways can hold people back from buying. As the president of the coop board in her vintage 1911 building, she knows this to be true first-hand. “Before renovations, we heard a lot of negative comments about our shabby hallways and lobby, even though the apartments are beautiful.”

“As a project, it’s always worth doing. But you need a designer who is willing to really listen to the residents. The outcome is always worth the pain and effort to get there.”

First Decisions Happens Instantly.


Randy Lombard of Sotheby’s International Realty told me, “The first part of the decision about a property happens the minute a buyer steps into a building. Sometimes a seller’s apartment is beautiful, but their building’s lobby and hallways are run-down. People want not just their apartment to be beautiful, but the whole building to be as attractive as possible.”

If you find yourself in this situation, you need to make the case to your neighbors and board that a common areas renovation is the way to ensure your apartments hold their value and appreciate over time. Here’s what I recommend:

1. “A drab and dreary lobby makes potentials buyers think that our building is not well maintained, even though it has.”
2. “Some buyers don’t make it upstairs to view our units because our lobby is such a turn-off.”
3. “We’re competing with newer buildings that have beautiful common areas and offer amenities our building can’t provide.”
4. “Our building’s “curb appeal” is determined by the condition of our lobby.
5. Young, affluent buyers want to be proud, not just of their own spaces, but of the common areas, too.

In Conclusion:

As John Wollberg said, “In real estate perception equals value.” So, don’t wait until you’re ready to sell to start thinking about your building’s common areas.

Want to discuss a lobby or hallway renovation in your building? Let’s talk!