Inside Third & Bond: Week 105

The blogging crew from the Hudson Companies dishes on the party they held last week to show off the model apartment designs from Pratt students.

You might have caught our most recent press in Interior Design and Metropolis: They both wrote about our collaboration with Pratt Institute in our model apartments. These photos, taken by Pratt, illustrate the broad contribution of current students, alumni, and faculty. Here is the wallpaper designed by Pratt interior design students who were inspired by the legendary Gowanus oyster, as well as a lounge chair designed by long-time faculty member (and centenarian+) Eva Zeisel, a prototype lamp by Pratt alum Tim Richartz, and a table designed in collaboration by Pratt student, Cory Watson, and Carlos Salgado of Scrapile. And that’s just one corner of the room.

As described in Week 100, we hired Pratt Institute to outfit our two model apartments from wall covering to couches to soap dishes. Everything was in place in the 3+ bedroom/3 bath duplex with private rear yard and the 2 bedroom/2 bath floor-through, just moments before the press sneak preview last week.

Also invited to the press event were the designers who had contributed to the project. One of the best parts of the evening was to see a couple of young people crowded around an object with one of them proudly claiming ownership of a piece. We were impressed with the work put into every chair, lamp, and clock, especially the prototypes made by the designers’ own hands.

We spoke with Tawny Hixson who designed and built the graceful Ari Chair while studying abroad in Copenhagen. She’s concentrating on her thesis right now so hasn’t had time to think about getting the chair into production. We also spoke with Michael Chuapoco who isn’t selling his prototype but is willing to talk prices for custom pieces. His piece is the Adams Table, a dramatic squiggly-lined wood base with a glass top.

Also present…

…were more seasoned designers, like Bruce Hannah who arrived early with his lovely wife. We have his Lounge Chair which is being used as a couch at Third + Bond. Bruce is a graduate of Pratt as well as tenured faculty. Mark Goetz made two stainless steel stools specifically for Third + Bond. Mark is also a graduate of Pratt and is adjunct faculty.

Pratt is impressive. We’re impressed by the designs. We’re impressed that Professor Anthony Caradonna pulled together at least 90 different designers. We’re impressed that the Office of Corporate Relations had a vision for this project and made it happen. We’re impressed that the Office of Public Relations is solidly behind the project and has a press contact list thicker than the condo plan (almost). We’re impressed by how well the furniture is absorbed by the space, whether intimate or spacious.

The silkscreened hand towels in the bathroom are small, well-made art pieces. When seen in the context of the ceramic wall tile’s handcrafted-look, there’s an overall sense of quiet, of harmonious design, of personal space made from simple, quality materials.

The duplex living room, dining room and open kitchen have at least 14 places to sit and still feel like they could take additional furniture. The room is airy with the 9-foot ceilings and nearly 20 feet of glass along the back. The deck just outside the glass adds an outdoor room as does the landscaped rear yard. Pictured here is just one corner of this generously-sized room.

We also love how the white oak floors look vis-à-vis the space and the furnishings. We used a very matte finish so the floors don’t have an obvious reflection but still draw light into the rooms. Both of the models have some wallpaper (as pictured) and some paint, and the floors look great with the blues and greens used.

And on top of all of that, it’s fun. Honest-to-goodness fun. Seeing someone’s face light up when they round the corner to see his coat rack standing proudly in the room, being admired, is definitely nice. It’s kind of like when people walk into one of the units and compliment the fixtures in the bathroom or the light reflecting off the kitchen cabinets. The moment between the hard work to make and the hard work to sell a product is sometimes slim but when you can take it and appreciate the product, it’s a good feeling.

Inside Third & Bond: Weeks 1-101 [Brownstoner]
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