{"id":271746,"date":"2026-06-19T07:23:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T07:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/271746\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T07:23:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T07:23:54","slug":"tour-an-industrial-brooklyn-loft-turned-collectors-trove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/271746\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour an industrial Brooklyn loft-turned-collector’s trove"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the latest instalment of The Inside Story<\/a>, Wallpaper\u2019s series spotlighting intriguing, innovative and industry-leading interior design.<\/p>\n

In a waterfront enclave of Red Hook, Brooklyn, a loft in the historic New York<\/a> Dock Building served as an industrial landmark, a cabinet of curiosities sourced from across the globe, and \u2013 above all \u2013 the home of interior designer Laurie Blumenfeld<\/a> and her husband, Robert Russo. Conceived and executed by Blumenfeld’s studio, the space takes raw industrial architecture and coaxes it toward warmth and worldliness.<\/p>\n

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Laurie Blumenfeld at home in her Red Hook loft<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Photos: Tim Williams. Styling: Katja Greeff. Production: Karine Moni\u00e9.)<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Photos: Tim Williams. Styling: Katja Greeff. Production: Karine Moni\u00e9.)<\/p>\n

Built in 1910 as a warehouse for the New York Dock Company, the building arrives with all the industrial splendour one might hope for: soaring beamed ceilings, 13ft metal-framed windows, and original concrete columns still bearing traces of graffiti from the building’s years as an unofficial street art museum. The structure was reimagined into residences in 2018.<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Photos: Tim Williams. Styling: Katja Greeff. Production: Karine Moni\u00e9.)<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Photos: Tim Williams. Styling: Katja Greeff. Production: Karine Moni\u00e9.)<\/p>\n

When Blumenfeld arrived, she set out to build on its spirit, treating the home as a kind of autobiography rendered in objects. The result is part gallery, part travel journal, part family heirloom \u2013 filled with pieces old and new from South Africa<\/a>, India<\/a>, Greece<\/a>, Peru, Vietnam, Brazil<\/a>, Turkey<\/a> and Italy<\/a>, each woven naturally into the interior rather than displayed as trophies.<\/p>\n

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Among the most compelling of the apartment’s stories: a visit to the Basquiat<\/a> and Warhol<\/a> exhibition at Fondation Louis Vuitton<\/a> in Paris<\/a> led Blumenfeld to commission a large-scale artwork from artist Alex Mitrecey for the living room. Around it, other vignettes unfold \u2013 a ceramic bowl from Umbria, a soapstone sculpture from Cape Town, chairs by Brazilian designer Juliana Vasconcellos alongside \u2018Wassily\u2019 chairs, Marcel Breuer’s 1925 Bauhaus<\/a> classic.<\/p>\n

Recreate the mood<\/p>\n

The neutral palette \u2013 black, taupe, ivory, gunmetal gray and white \u2013 serves a dual purpose: canvas for the eclectic objects on show, and complement to the building’s industrial character. Powder-coated black metal echoes the factory-style window frames and threads through the kitchen, office and bedroom. Cerused wood, sheepskin, travertine and glass bring warmth, while colour arrives deliberately \u2013 through large-scale art and a striking antique concave mirror in the primary bedroom.<\/p>\n

Then there are moments that depart from the script entirely. The powder room, draped in Farrow & Ball’s \u2018Paean Black\u2019 in limewash and anchored by an asymmetrical vanity in Cipollina Ondulato Rosso marble, is moody and immersive \u2013 a world apart from the airy openness of the living areas.<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Photos: Tim Williams. Styling: Katja Greeff. Production: Karine Moni\u00e9.)<\/p>\n

Yet for all its gallery-like qualities, there is no mistaking this loft for anything other than a home. Russo loves to cook, and the bespoke kitchen storage system \u2013 a sculptural centrepiece that immediately draws the eye \u2013 was designed with dinner parties in mind. Each room also carries an original piece designed by Blumenfeld’s studio: a personal signature that runs through the whole.<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Photos: Tim Williams. Styling: Katja Greeff. Production: Karine Moni\u00e9.)<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Photos: Tim Williams. Styling: Katja Greeff. Production: Karine Moni\u00e9.)<\/p>\n

Red Hook, Blumenfeld says, is \u2018a place where past and present coexist effortlessly\u2019 \u2013 and the loft holds true to that: industrial and intimate, globally sourced and place-specific.<\/p>\n