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Sunny and Sky High Using a View, in Brooklyn

When you think about a house with a breathtaking view of lower Manhattan, two notions are more very likely to come to head: packed and small shoebox or gold-splashed penthouse. That is why it’s so refreshing to come across real estate agent Zelda Josephs soaking up the New York City skyline at a spacious, easy-breezy, sun-filled house on the 22nd floor of a Brooklyn Heights construction.

With crisp white walls, rich wood floors, a few well-chosen, much-loved handmade furniture pieces and a smooch of lipstick red, the area feels personal although not in-your-face; spacious although not cavernous.

What is more, an expansive private terrace with space for gardening lets Josephs feel like she’s in a quaint home while soaring through the urban landscape. After 30 years, the only thing she has had to get used to is the skyscraping place. “Over time I have learned how to operate with the height and the end,” Josephs says. “When Hurricane Sandy came, I had to tie everything down.”

at a Glance
Who lives here: Zelda Josephs
Location: Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York
Size: 1,150 square feet; 1 bedroom, 2 baths, office

Chris A Dorsey Photography

Red in the stools and chairs — everything from Tribeca Decor — adds a kiss of fashionable color to the hot walnut walnut floors and white walls. Josephs says she should have sat on each bar stool in New York before finding the ideal style. “When I finally found this one, the colour choices were black or red,” she recalls, ” so these stools really informed the rest of the space.”

Chris A Dorsey Photography

The spacious terrace and garden area are only a few steps from the living room. The breathtaking view of the Manhattan skyline appears like the Emerald City of Oz at the space. “When I first saw the place, I was not sure it was the perfect one, but when I took out my son here, he looked at me and said, ‘You are mad! Have a look at this view!'”

Chris A Dorsey Photography

A few well-chosen furnishings and an open floor plan permit the packed lower-Manhattan landscape to fill in the gaps.

Every living area should have a dialogue piece. For Josephs, it is her Pratt harp, which she started playing a few years ago. The dining table set is by artist Jake Solomon, who also made a table and desk at the office. “I got the desk in 1979 and also the table in 1980, and had them both recently refinished,” says Josephs. “I presume, as with many things, I have come to appreciate them more and love them more as I have gotten older.”

Art: Joe Stablito, USA; table, chairs: Jake Solomon

Chris A Dorsey Photography

When Josephs purchased the area, the kitchen has been bloated and tight. She afterwards pushed the island out, first making the error of adding cabinets over the bar area. “I had to yank those out, because I realized I had this beautiful view and I was covering it up,” she says. “Opening the kitchen was unquestionably the best part of this renovation.”

Cabinets: David Greenberg; cooker: David; artwork: Joe Stablito, USA; chairs: Tribeca Decor

Chris A Dorsey Photography

She added glossy wood cabinets from David Greenberg and put in a Viking selection.

Art: Inna Caruk, Budapest

Chris A Dorsey Photography

After her son moved out, Josephs transformed the bedroom area into this cozy office.

Coffee table: handmade by Jake Solomon; side table: Ikea; artwork: photographs from Josephs

Chris A Dorsey Photography

The handmade Jake Soloman office desk is Josephs’ favorite piece in the house. “I love this particular table,” she says. “It was made from a slab of redwood and utilizes Japanese-style pegs instead of screws or bolts.”

Stool: family piece; lamps: Ikea

Chris A Dorsey Photography

Not surprisingly at a 22nd-floor area, the amount of natural light is plentiful. The master bedroom is dressed in special inherited furniture and just two eye-catching pieces of artwork that help enhance the style but keep things simple. “This blue seat has been around since I was a small kid,” Josephs says. “I was come home from high school and simply curl up in it and have a nap.”

Art: Stephanie De Gannon (right), B. Espinoza (left)

Chris A Dorsey Photography

The trousseau was also handed down. “This was my mother’s trousseau,” says Josephs. “She gave it to me before she died, because she knew how I always admired it. I thought at one stage that I would make it into a vanity, but the space would have been too little for it.”

Chris A Dorsey Photography

Letting one bit of arresting artwork inhabit an entire wall smartly pushes the simple and spacious vibe further. “I met the artist of this piece over the bed in the Netherlands,” Josephs says. “She’s this bit as a portion of her show, and the entire time it was I thought, ‘I hope no one buys it’ Fortunately, I managed to grab it up. It is an Italian love letter that adds a bit of whimsy to the bedroom.”

Art: Stephanie De Gannon, from the series “Italian Love Letters”; side tables: Home Court

Chris A Dorsey Photography

The sink at the floor-to-ceiling Travertine master bathroom was another important “aha” moment. “Throughout the remodel I moved to this store to check out bathroom fixtures, and I found this sink. They told me it was for another client, but I loved it so I said, ‘Well, order another one.’ It is my favorite piece in this room.” The sink comes from Grand Central Plumbing, and the mirror and vanity lighting are from Lighting New York.

Chris A Dorsey Photography

When Josephs (displayed here) moved into her house, in the 1980s, the living room and kitchen were fully separated. She opened the space up and expanded the kitchen to make a constant living room that celebrates the big-city view.

Chair: Hennessy, Crate & Barrel; chairs: Tribeca Decor; mirror: Mexican street fair; acrylic table: from a friend; artwork: B. Espinoz


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