Greenpoint Penthouse — Interior Architecture & Custom Millwork, Brooklyn New York
Brooklyn, New York | 2022
Interior Architecture & Custom
Millwork Design
`The building was already exceptional — designed by Lubrano Ciavarra
Architects, recipients of the 2018 AIA Brooklyn Queens Design Award.
The interior had to earn its place inside it.
1,520 square feet in Greenpoint. A contemporary architectural
framework that demanded precision, not decoration.
The brief:
create a highly personal environment that responds to the building
without being absorbed by it.
Custom millwork as the primary design gesture. Materials chosen
for weight and warmth. A spatial sequence that unfolds — not
all revealed at once.
The architecture set the standard. The interior met it.`
Context
Scope of Work
- Interior Architecture & Space Planning
- Custom Millwork Design & Fabrication Coordination
- Materials, Finishes & Lighting Selection
- FF&E Design, Specification & Procurement
- Art Integration & Placement Strategy
- Contractor & Fabricator Coordination
- Construction Administration & Site Oversight
Living Room
Design Intent
The intent was restraint with precision.
Not minimalism for its own sake — but a spatial clarity
that allows the art, the light, and the person living
there to be the protagonists.
Custom millwork was the primary architectural gesture —
running floor to ceiling, organizing space, defining
zones without walls.
Materials were chosen for weight
and warmth: walnut, stone, textiles with depth.
Art was treated as a structural element of the interior —
not hung after the fact, but designed around from the start.
Pieces by Huang Yan and Dustin Yellin informed spatial
decisions from early concept through final installation.
The sequence of the home was choreographed deliberately.
Not everything revealed at once. The space unfolds.`
Living Room
The living space features a Roche Bobois Profiles large four-seat sofa upholstered in Cabaret Blue velvet with a matching pouf, paired with mid-century modern armchairs in off-white linen with ash frames. Pillows are wrapped in bespoke Paul Smith Maharam fabric. The Eliseo round coffee table—designed by the studio and hand-crafted from reclaimed wood beams—anchors the space.
A custom-designed Maremma book storage wall defines the long elevation. The system features movable grilled panels in solid walnut, an oak frame in matte lead finish, and interior paneling lined in dual-tone gray-blue vegan leather, allowing flexibility and depth.
Living Room
Kitchen & Dinning
The kitchen is conceived as a singular architectural volume, defined by stained oak Brookside cabinetry with a sliding panel system. Arabescato Carrara marble is used for both backsplash and countertop, paired with matte black steel hardware. Open display panels house Wedgwood England dinnerware.
The dining area is anchored by the Hart dining table, carved from a single 12-foot slab of honed black granite, incorporating integrated wine storage and drawers designed by the studio. A custom-built-in bench (Arielle) by the window is upholstered in Josef Frank’s Anakreon textile (ca. 1938), reinforcing the dialogue between modern form and historical reference.
Kitchen & Dinning
Art Curation
The residence incorporates works from the client’s private collection, curated in collaboration with the studio. Artists include Chuck Close, Jim Dine, Louis Le Brocquy, Colin Middleton, and Milomir Romanović.
Sculptural works by Dustin Yellin are complemented by artists from the West of Ireland, including Claire Finlay, Gráinne Watts, and Ann-Marie Robinson. Custom ceramics by Brooklyn-based artist Jessica Capone complete the collection.
Art Curation
Night Zone
The private wing occupies the side of the apartment with expansive morning views over the Manhattan skyline. It includes the master suite, two additional bedrooms, dressing areas, bathrooms, and a continuous balcony with a small terrace garden designed by the studio.
The master bedroom is composed of a custom-designed ensemble of walnut millwork and blue vegan leather. The Somnia bed and integrated side tables feature a multicolored, richly textured fabric headboard designed in the studio. A central credenza includes concealed storage, including a discreet hidden drawer accessible only under specific conditions. Wall-to-wall soft wool carpeting completes the room.
The children’s room adopts an outer-space-inspired theme, featuring décor elements by designer Lorena Canalis and the custom Tresori walnut book storage, designed and fabricated by the studio.
Night Zone
Primary Challenge
`Designing a highly personal interior inside a building
with a strong architectural identity — without letting
either overpower the other.
The building’s contemporary framework is precise and
demanding. The interior needed to hold equal weight —
personal and specific — without competing with or
disappearing into the architecture that contains it.
As well: integrating a significant art collection
into a 1,520 SF footprint without the space feeling
crowded or gallery-like. Every piece needed to breathe.
Every wall had a job to do.`
Living Room
Methodology
The process began with the art — not the furniture plan.
Understanding the collection, the client’s relationship
to each piece, and how they wanted to live alongside it
shaped every spatial and material decision that followed.
From there: structural millwork design developed in
close dialogue with the fabricators at Eurostruct.
Multiple material mock-ups reviewed on site before
finalization. Nothing was specified from a catalogue.
Construction administration was hands-on throughout —
site visits at every critical phase, real-time decisions
made in the field to maintain design intent as conditions
evolved during build.
The result is a home where every detail was considered,
tested, and resolved — not improvised.
Living Room
PROJECT TEAM
Interior Architecture & Design
Natasa Tuohy Studio
Building Architect
Lubrano Ciavarra Architects
2018 AIA Brooklyn Queens Design Award — Merit
Custom Millwork & Fabrication
Eurostruct Inc.
Art Collection
Huang Yan
Dustin Yellin
Custom Textiles
Christopher Farr Cloth
Location
Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York
Year Completed
2022
Scope
Interior Architecture · Custom Millwork ·
FF&E · Art Integration · Construction Administration
Area
1,520 SF`
