East Meets Warhol

The owner of this Tribeca loft was persuaded he’d been a Buddhist monk in a previous life. Over several decades, he had collected a suite of Chinese antiques and a fine art collection that included two Andy Warhols and a Mark Tansy. Thus, the Laight Street loft became a study in the collision of two cultures. Ebonized wood floors, evocative of eastern residential architecture, were installed throughout. White walls provide a gallery-like backdrop for the art collection. A sculptural gold leaf spiral, inspired by the Wat Pho reclining Buddha, dominates a central open core that is carved out of the center of the loft. A limestone temple gate stone, mounted flush with limestone lined walls, hovers above the master tub and is engraved with the Chinese characters “polite” and “amicable” to symbolize, in combination, peace. A sleek Poliform platform bed with a low-profile headboard is combined with a sprawling hand-painted Edo period gold leaf Japanese screen to create a room-scaled headboard. A solid black granite Botero Buddha presides contemplatively over the entry.

Project Team: Adam Rolston, Drew Stuart, and Gabriel Benroth
Services: Architecture, Interiors, and FF&E Design
Featured in: Interior Design 2008
Part of

laight apartment foyer 1 ENTRY, sculpture, art, gold

laight apartment light cove DINING, statue of liberty painting, side table

laight apartment living LIVING ROOM, sectional, coffee table, art

laight apartment study STUDY, desk, art, cowhide chair

laight apartment loft LOFT, dining table, seating area, art

laight apartment sitting DEN, sofa, hexagon table, zebra art

laight apartment master bedroom BEDROOM, screen art, bed, lamps

laight apartment window STATUE, buddha, window

laight apartment kitchen 1 kitchen, steel, marble, stove, double sink

laight apartment kitchen 2 marble, steel, cabinets, tea set

laight apartment shower SHOWER, rain shower, large, bench

laight apartment master BATHROOM, bathtub, double sinks, dark wood