{"id":172402,"date":"2025-09-21T19:08:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T19:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/172402\/"},"modified":"2025-09-21T19:08:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T19:08:15","slug":"how-one-rising-designer-created-an-elegant-loft-with-soho-grit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/172402\/","title":{"rendered":"How One Rising Designer Created An Elegant Loft With \u201cSoHo Grit\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a young finance professional was looking to move from New York City\u2019s East Village to SoHo, he knew exactly what it held in store. \u201cTo me, SoHo epitomizes the essence of Lower Manhattan,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a neighborhood layered with history, yet continually reinvented as a hub for art, fashion, and culture.\u201d He found a loft on Crosby Street in a building that had once been a corset factory and was smitten: The space spoke perfectly to the dichotomy that made him fall in love with the neighborhood in the first place.<\/p>\n

Though his sister-in-law decorated his East Village apartment, he saw the Crosby Street residence as an opportunity to collaborate in a more formal capacity with an interior designer. The sister-in-law introduced him to Sebastian Zuchowicki<\/a> and told him he\u2019d \u201cbe an idiot\u201d not to work with the young studio on the project. \u201cWhat I admired most about Sebastian\u2019s work was his originality,\u201d says the homeowner. \u201cFrom the outset, it was clear that he takes a truly bespoke approach, crafting something unique and exciting for each client, rather than repeating a formula.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ModernAdrian Gaut<\/p>\n

The custom dining table had to be craned in through a window. The chairs are after Ettore Sottsass from Raisonn\u00e9, the chandelier is by Santa & Cole, and the ceramic vessel is by Kathy Herteman from Hostler Burrows.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re entertaining, you need a space for people to gather themselves.\u201d
\u2014Sebastian Zuchowicki<\/p>\n

Zuchowicki, whose family is from Argentina, grew up in Miami. His mother worked in interiors at the time and saw in her son the potential to do the same. \u201cShe was always like, \u2018you should be a decorator, you’re sensitive to your surroundings,\u2019\u201d he says, though the young Zuchowicki wasn\u2019t keen on it. He went to school for hospitality management before dropping out to work odd jobs, entertaining a somewhat rebellious phase to perhaps delay the inevitable: enrolling at the New York School of Interior Design, belatedly following in his mother\u2019s footsteps. \u201cNow, I can\u2019t imagine doing anything but what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

He credits his eye to a \u201choly trinity\u201d of mentors: Charlie Ferrer<\/a>, who taught him how to edit; ELLE Decor A-List<\/a> designer Andre Mellone<\/a>, from whom he gained an appreciation for historical references; and Bill Sofield, who taught him how to run a business. It was during his time at the ELLE Decor A-List Titan firm Studio Sofield that the opportunity to strike out on his own arose, designing a \u201clittle jewel-box of a one-bedroom\u201d for a friend\u2019s boyfriend in Miami. That was quickly followed by another residence for a friend at the Isay Weinfeld-designed Jardim building in West Chelsea. Zuchowicki capitalized on the momentum, building his business into the six-person team it is today.<\/p>\n

\"ModernAdrian Gaut<\/p>\n

The kitchen cabinets feature patinated metal fronts that extend to the appliances as well. The refrigerator is by SubZero.<\/p>\n

The SoHo loft, at 4,200-square feet, has two bedrooms, an office, and a lounge. \u201cI wanted it to feel like a handsome space, but still have some softness to it,\u201d says Zuchowicki. \u201cI thought maybe French \u201860s living was kind of the attitude, or 1970s Italy.\u201d It was also designed with an eye toward the future\u2014he and the client aligned on an open-plan layout for the space that\u2019s optimized for flexibility. \u201cNothing has to be in one place forever. We can put this lamp here and this lamp can move over there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The homeowner likes to socialize and entertain, so while Zuchowicki and his team sourced mostly vintage furnishings, larger upholstery pieces were done custom to minimize issues with sizing and durability. One of the biggest changes to the layout was the decision to carve a dedicated foyer out of the large living and dining area. The homeowner was initially hesitant, but Zuchowicki won him over by mapping out the transformation with painter\u2019s tape. \u201cThere’s nothing worse than when you’ve said goodbye to someone and then you’re just facing a wall, waiting for the elevator to arrive\u2014it looks like you’re in time-out,\u201d says Zuchowicki. \u201cIf you’re entertaining, you need a space for people to gather themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CozyOpen Gallery\"\"<\/p>\n

Metal fronts were added to the kitchen cabinets to preserve a sense of \u201cSoHo grit\u201d that extends to the appliances as well\u2014the SubZero fridge and even the dishwasher have patinated fronts. The paint choices also add depth and a sense of progression throughout the space. Guests emerge from the dark vestibule into the light, airy communal spaces, while the primary bedroom at the back of the home is a welcome respite in an earth-toned Philip Jeffries grasscloth. \u201cI think we have a formula for how we work with scale, texture and composition,\u201d says Zuchowicki. \u201cBut what really makes our projects stand apart from each other are the clients.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Sean Santiago is ELLE Decor’s Deputy Editor, covering news, trends and talents in interior design, hospitality and travel, culture, and luxury shopping. Since starting his career at an interior design firm in 2011, he has gone on to cover the industry for Vogue, Architectural Digest, Sight Unseen, PIN-UP and Domino. He is the author of The Lonny Home (Weldon Owens, 2018), has produced scripted social content for brands including West Elm and Streeteasy, and is sometimes recognized on the street for his Instagram Reels series, #DanceToDecor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When a young finance professional was looking to move from New York City\u2019s East Village to SoHo, he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,1240,103066,229,874,88,873,103065],"class_list":["post-172402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-content-type-feature","tag-contentid-6af21f00-defd-47d3-9e28-ad162dbc1a5d","tag-design","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-locale-us","tag-shorttitle-this-elegant-soho-loft-used-to-be-a-corset-factory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}