Architect: Mark Holmquist Architect
This powder room was created from an unused storage closet originally connected to a butler’s pantry adjacent to the apartment’s main dining room. Though compact in scale, the project was approached as an opportunity to create a highly atmospheric interior with a strong architectural identity.
The design draws inspiration from classical Grecian forms reinterpreted through a more restrained and contemporary lens. At the center of the room, a custom-designed pedestal vanity was conceived as a sculptural object, combining the solidity and proportion of classical stone furnishings with cleaner modern detailing. The vanity cradles a vintage carved stone basin that introduces texture, weight, and a sense of age to the otherwise refined composition.
Walls finished in shimmering silver leaf mosaic tile amplify light within the small footprint of the room while creating depth and movement across the surfaces. Reflective materials were used intentionally to heighten the sense of space and create a layered, almost jewel-box-like atmosphere. An Edwardian mirror introduces an additional historical reference, balancing the more minimal geometry of the vanity with softer decorative detail.
As with many renovations in historic Manhattan residential architectural interiors, the challenge involved integrating contemporary plumbing and lighting systems discreetly within an existing architectural framework. The transformation of a former service space into a fully realized powder room required careful coordination of proportion, circulation, and material transitions within a highly constrained footprint.
The resulting interior balances classical influence with contemporary restraint—creating a powder room that feels intimate, sculptural, and quietly dramatic.