Design Archives | Capital CraftsmenCapital Craftsmen

December 7, 2016

When 2-Become-1

Soaring over 70 stories above New York City’s Upper West Side sits a “Five Star Living™” luxury apartment with panoramic views of Central Park and the Hudson River. By combining two apartments, the renovated space now boast over 5,400 sq. feet along with unparalleled amenities in a much sought-after Manhattan address; 80 Columbus Circle at The Time Warner Center.

To accommodate visiting friends and relatives, a partition was needed to temporarily divide the space into two separate living quarters. The Modernfold Acousti-Seal 932 provided the privacy and acoustic sound barrier required.

Challenge: The challenge was to integrate the panels with the apartment’s existing design and architecture.

Solution: Capital Craftsmen, a New York general contractor specializing in high-end residential construction, built custom mullions and mirror inserts for the Acousti-Seal panels perfectly matching the distinctive window frames. The mirror inserts creates an optical illusion of infinite windows, and extends natural light into the space with stunning cityscape views. The results are quite impressive, and it now serves as a sophisticated room divider with a custom-built recessed side panel that neatly conceals the stacked edges when not in use.

July 12, 2016

Kitchen: Before & After..

Renovations are part and parcel of owning a home, and while few are stress-free, the end result can be stunning. One of our most recently completed projects is this kitchen renovation located on 82nd & Madison. This renovation was simply an upgrade to our client’s outdated kitchen working with the same overall design, below you will see how new material can revitalize your space.

Cabinets: POGGENPHOL – Teak Quartz Base & Polar White Lacquer Upper

Floor: ARTISTIC TILE – Venezia Terrazzo White Polished 16″ x 16″ tiles

Countertop: CAESARSTONE – Frosty Carrina

Backsplash: TILEBAR – Loft Super White 2″ x 8″ Glass tile

June 15, 2016

Space Saving Ideas for Your Small Bathroom

1105 Park Avenue

In many cases, baths are already among the smallest rooms in a home—so what do you do when yours is especially petite? Here are a few tips & tricks on making your small space appear larger.

1.) Rethink your sink: Pedestal sinks can be attractive and have a nice vintage quality, but they’re not great when it comes to storage. You’re dealing with a basin you can barely put a bar of soap on! If you have a lot of accouterments, go with a console sink with a flat top or a converted cabinet with an under mount sink. You’ll have so much extra space, whether it’s to hang towels or store things behind doors or in drawers.

169 Hudson Street

2.) Creative fittings: A wall-mounted faucet is a very smart space-saver. Not only does it give you bonus counter space, it’s actually much easier to clean.

515 East 89th Street

4.) Create space you don’t have: If you can, hire a professional to cut into the walls just a bit to create a shallow recessed medicine cabinet. Or have them create a tile or marble recess in the shower, one just small enough to store your shampoo bottles.

500 East 77th Street

Throughout our portfolio (including all of the above), you will see various bathroom designs all fitting to each client’s needs. Our goal is to always give each renovation the attention it deserves and exceed your expectations; after all, we are Contractors of Distinction.

April 13, 2016

First Look Inside ODA New York’s Luxe Long Island City Rentals

ODA New York’s cantilevering building rising in Long Island City is hitting the rental market this spring but looks into the new building have been limited—until now. The Post got a peek at new renderings of the 175-rental building’s interiors, the first put on display. The studios to three-bedrooms of 222 Jackson will hit the market in April asking from $2,600. Tenants can expect the luxe rental to have the amenities du jour: an attended, triple-height lobby; valet parking; a resident roof deck; and, via a membership, access to the building’s gym, pool, and resident’s lounge.

The renderings also come along with new intel about the apartments, mainly that the rentals will have white oak floors, Blomberg and Bosch kitchen appliances, and some units will have private outdoor space and/or concrete ceilings.

January 5, 2016

Keyless Entry System via Smartphone

Forgetting your keys at home or getting locked out of your apartment will soon be a mundane problem of the past – well, at least if you live in a luxury building. A new keyless entry system is being introduced into a handful of residential buildings across the city, and its success could make riffling through a pesky set of keys totally obsolete, the New York Times reports. Buildings are staring to experiment with apps like Latch and KISI that allow you to control the lock on your door through a smartphone.

While several office buildings and private homes have already experimented with similar mechanisms, real estate developers have been hesitant to install the technology due to the cost and the security factor, but services like Latch offer several comprehensive features that override some of those concerns.

For instance, there won’t be a need for spare keys anymore. The app will produce a unique code that residents can then share with people to access the apartment – baby sitters, delivery persons, and guests who then input it into an electronic key pad located on the lock. And for the purpose of safety, the owner of the home can revoke access whenever they chose as well.

This touch pad also comes enabled with a camera and thus acts as a keyhole, and what’s more – if you lose or forget your phone somewhere you always have the option of inputting a code into the touch pad or using a physical key.

And the features don’t end there – the same device can also be used as a key for various other amenities in the particular building – gym, pool, storage, etc.

Latch was created by Swedish designer Thomas Meyerhoffer. KISI has already been used by several offices and is now moving into residential territory.