Raised by two aesthetes in an historic 1899 home in Hartford, Connecticut, Audrey Rose Smith had an art-filled childhood. Her father was a preservation architect, and her mom ran an artwork gallery, so their residence was continuously hosted by artists and their work. It is solely logical that Audrey later turned a gallerist herself.
It additionally makes the sense that she swiftly falls in love with a fellow artistic. Solely eight months after assembly Ecuadorian photographer and designer Vicente Muñoz, the pair collectively bought their prewar Clinton Hill condo in Brooklyn. They married quickly after, partnering in matrimony in addition to actual property with out wanting again.
Eight years later, the couple has cultivated a tight-knit and like-minded group within the neighborhood. Flip-of-the-century buildings by architects like William Tubby, Montrose Morris, and Ebenezer L. Roberts pepper the streets the place they regularly run into mates and colleagues. “It appears like an artwork world sitcom,” Audrey quips. “The farmers market is admittedly thrilling.” —Morgan Goldberg
“I consider a home as a sophisticated machine wherein one thing new breaks down day-after-day: a lamp, a faucet, a lock, an electrical socket, the boiler, the fridge…. However after we can overlook in regards to the duty of steady upkeep, we really feel joyful. Then the opposite facet of the coin, against the tasks of possession, is sheer gratitude.”
That was the pondering of Álvaro Siza, the nice Portuguese architect who, on the age of 89, continues to encourage a youthful era. Of their area, design duo Eugenia Rolando and Federico Patacchiola of Paros Architettura—a pair in life in addition to at work—begin from these very phrases to create subtly ingenious locations.
A first-rate instance of their work is Casa Costantino, a small however elegant Rome condo. The constructing, a Nineteen Sixties construction within the Ostiense district, is a stone’s throw from the well-known Garbatella space. The 700-square-foot condo is all trendy, and due to Paros Architettura, it has been reworked from an previous household residence stuffed with reminiscences right into a light-flooded setting with a recent really feel. —Ludovica Stefan
Stéphane Monnet and Jeroen Dijkstra both have good luck, good timing, or just the nice sense to know when one thing simply feels proper. After they had been condo looking in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Stéphane was in search of out distinctly European environment—since he was transferring from Toronto—they usually discovered them in a one-bedroom property, downtown. “With all of its prospers, enormous home windows, and open areas, it was an ideal match,” says Stéphane. “It was already snatched up, however that deal fell by on the final minute.”
Set inside a constructing from the Eighties, going through a busy road on one finish and a verdant courtyard on the opposite, their residence has been not too long ago restored to replicate what existed approach again when. Intricate crown molding sprawled throughout the ceilings whereas wainscoting lined the decrease half of the partitions, and that artistry was painted in shades of inexperienced to distinction the white in between. Home windows stretched over their contrasting out of doors views, and loads of mild streamed in. The couple additionally had a non-public balcony to share, in case they ever wished a more in-depth take a look at the birds, whose nice tune woke them within the morning. —Kelly Dawson