March 19, 2024

Little Projects Went a Long Way in Designer Samantha Orley’s Manhattan Duplex

Samantha Orley’s Manhattan apartment is a living advertisement for small but super transformative design projects. Everyone loves a gut renovation. The horrifying before photos!

The dramatic reveal! But the reality is, little changes can be just as powerful. Samantha, the founder of interior design firm Stoop, never even considered the former; the layout of the ground-floor duplex, which she shares with her husband, Matthew, and their son, Malcolm, was already solid and the prewar architectural details gorgeous.

That’s not to say there weren’t a few few spots that needed some TLC, though. . .

The stairwell: When Samantha and Matthew first saw the apartment, the staircase was absurdly narrow – half the width of a normal one – and the “coat closet” wedged next to it couldn’t even fit a hanger. They worked with a contractor to completely open up the stairwell, widen the steps a bit, and tuck a fully-functioning storage space underneath. Given it’s one of the first spots you see when you enter the apartment, Samantha decided to create mini entryway with a Menu wall table. Thanks to its unique creased top, it takes up a fraction of the space a console would.

The kitchen: Around the corner, the kitchen had a good bones, but it was lacking in the looks department. Samantha kept the layout as is, but completely redid the cabinetry. “We wanted it to feel modern and clean,” she says, “There’s no hardware, it’s just these custom angled pulls. ” This still being a New York City apartment with limited square footage, she also wanted to squeeze in as much storage as possible. Samantha took the cabinetry all the way to the ceiling, tucking cabinets in custom sizes into the room’s quirky nooks and crannies. (An especially skinny one is just for spices! )

The living room: The couple moved in with some furniture from their old place so they wouldn’t have to decorate in a rush. “Sometimes you have to live in a space to see how you want it,” says Samantha. “We knew we wanted to be patient and get the right couch and wait for it. The lamps we got just a few months ago. ” The statement coffee table, too, wasn’t an immediate purchase. “I came across this specific travertine table – it was on Chairish, actually – and it was a little more than I wanted to spend,” she recalls. “Then I saw this exact table on Craigslist, and the same guy was selling it! I do the same thing, if I’m selling something, I price it differently on Chairish or Craigslist or eBay. He was somewhat close by, so I made the effort to go pick it up. Don’t be afraid to bargain. I’ll be like, ‘Here, I’ll send you a Paypal deposit so you don’t sell it to anyone else. ‘” The moss-green velvet sofa was made in Italy by Cappellini.

The dining area: Samantha is all about the mix – of old-world and modern design, but also of decor steals and splurges. Amongst her Craigslist scores in the main living space is a set of vintage CJ Van Os Culemborg dining chairs, an investment from 1stdibs. “They’re super iconic. I think we’ll have them forever,” says Samantha. “Knowing that they’re vintage, I made sure to get eight, not just six. ”

The downstairs windows: “Down here, we’re on street level, so you need privacy but you still want to have all the light,” Samantha says. Sheer roman shades made the most sense. “I never tend to do drapes, I think it’s a little more formal and heavier. Especially down here, I think you want nice and light and easy to open. ”

The master bedroom: In the beginning, Samantha and Matthew weren’t sure if they’d want a king- or queen-size bed, so they opted not to hardwire outlets in specific spots for sconces. But later on, Samantha fell in love with a pair of West Elm lights – and they had to be hardwired. Not to worry. “I just took them to a lamp place and they added the cord. It was maybe $50,” she says. They also decided not to spend extra money on installing dimmers in the space. Instead, they use Phillips Hue bulbs, which do the job just as well and connect to their Amazon Alexa.

The nursery: The major reno work happened a year-and-a-half ago, before Samantha and Matthew moved in, but the recent arrival of Malcolm required another round of changes. Because the couple had always viewed the upstairs den as a future nursery, Samantha purposefully decorated it with lots of pieces that could work in both types of spaces. So, the vintage credenza went from media cabinet to changing table and the rug stayed right where it had always been. In came a new crib and a daybed instead of a sofa. “Maybe as he gets older, it could be for guests,” says Samantha. The cozy glider chair was a cheap find from AllModern that Samantha then recovered in cozy faux fur.

The office nook: Another late-in-the-game addition? The shelves in the master bedroom. “We just added those last month. My husband is such an avid reader and he’s just switched from reading on Kindle to hardcover because he feels like he reads more. We were running out of space,” says Samantha. More built-ins were installed downstairs, too. “It’s funny because now you look at it and you’re like, that was obviously meant to be here. ” The eighth CJ Van Os Culemborg dining chair is tucked under a vintage burlwood desk.

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