PERFECT CIRCLE

Ishka Designs bridges history and heritage to forge a harmonious Brooklyn brownstone.

- CAMILLE OKHIO

Stripped-back spaces are a specialty of the New York City studio Ishka Designs. "A home should be able to come to life at its barest," declares Anishka Clarke, one-half of the design duo behind the firm. With her partner in life and work, Niya Bascom, Clarke fashions spaces that support myriad functions with sleek, streamlined forms. The duo's practice is rigorous and responsible; Clarke and Bascom eschew synthetic materials in favor of natural ones and incorporate their clients' identities while working to sidestep clichés. This can be a tough ethos to follow, but it's all done with the goal of "giving more" while using less, says Bascom.

In a Brooklyn brownstone completed in 2019, Clarke's and Bascom's skills at designing with both efficiency and cultural context in mind were put to the test. The result is an elegantly minimal home with details that speak to the heritage of its stewards. The clients, a couple with Pakistani and Haitian lineage, were aligned on their needs: a largely open-plan home with room for their young family to roam. "It wasn't a very hectic brief," says Clarke. "They simply wanted a space that felt like them." As a starting point, Clarke and Bascom deployed a circular motif in their decorative choices throughout the house. "We love the principle of a circle," says Bascom. "There's no beginning, no middle, no end-only constant growth."