WARM FRONT

Designer Clive Lonstein elevates his carefully curated Manhattan home with rich textures and fabrics

- ALFREDO MINEO

Approaching this Manhattan pre-war building, once home to famed luxury retailer Barneys, one cannot help but feel a sense of nostalgia for the bygone era in which it was built. Early 20th-century Manhattan structures are typically both charming and flawed, containing occasional whimsical treats from a creative mason, but often saddled with odd layouts and narrow corridors. This is why, when entering Clive Lonstein's 17th-floor residence, you are struck by an unexpected feeling of spaciousness. The architectural designer's home is drenched in natural light from its southwest-facing windows, combined with unusually high ceilings for a building of its vintage and, most notably, a distinctly minimalist aesthetic.

'What's interesting about this apartment is that it's part of the building's setback.

All the floor plans change for this unit and the two floors above. That setback also affords the apartment an oversized terrace.

'When these upper levels were being built, they really were doing something more glamorous; they raised the ceiling height and there is also a fireplace,' says the designer, who moved in after a year-long gut renovation of his own creation.

Lonstein strove for a more contemporary interior to contrast with the architecture:

"The beams have a pre-war sensibility, but I did clean up the detailing. The bathrooms are quite contemporary. The kitchen is sleek, but then you have the contrast of the foliage outside on the terrace.