Is this a laundry room or a trendy restaurant in the Meatpacking District?
In a move to lure young, hip buyers to his latest Upper East Side condo project, Paramount Hotel owner Aby Rosen tapped Meg Sharpe, the chic designer known for revamping the basement supper club at his Midtown inn, to design the model units.
Sharpe’s involvement, her first foray into condo design, brings a cool factor to the building, which launched sales last week. In addition to the Paramount’s Diamond Horseshoe, she’s designed Manhattan hotspots like the Lion, the Crown and Bill’s Food & Drink.
Her backroom aesthetic has translated well from nightlife venues to private homes. The model units feature creamy leather recliners, pink velvet sofas, satin sheets and leopard print and fur accents.
- Meg Sharpe’s interior of model apartments at 300 E. 64th St. show a Downtown sensibility.
The building seems destined to appeal to apartment hunters underserved by the current condo inventory available in the city, such as young Manhattanites buying their first homes.
Prices at the new 31-story condo conversion, at 300 E. 64th St., start at $795,000, below the average price for comparable condos in the neighborhood.
The dearth of $1 million apartments in Manhattan has reached chronic levels, said Jonathan Miller, an appraiser, meaning this project will likely be well received.
“In this market, you’re just not seeing one-bedroom apartments in new developments priced under $1 million,” he said. “This is the exception, not the rule.”
Sharpe’s first taste of residential design has been enlightening, she said.
“It’s an entirely different animal,” she said. “Coming from a hospitality background, it’s so much fun to get to use all these luxurious and dreamy materials that are no-noes in my other world. I could never get away with using some of the velvets and the satins, just because they wouldn’t last in other environments.”
When Aby Rosen needed some sizzle, he went to Meg Sharpe.
Sharpe’s reputation plays into the image of the building Rosen is looking to portray, he admitted.
“She looks like the young, dynamic, single girl who works in an ad agency,” he said.
The condo’s clubby atmosphere permeates its amenity spaces, too. The basement laundry room, which Sharpe designed with NoMad Hotel architect Stonehill & Taylor, has been transformed into a dimly lit hangout with sofas, shiny metallic seating and eclectic wall art.
Broker Karen Mansour of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing has the exclusive. Amenities include a fitness center, a landscaped roof terrace and a media room.
[Source:- Daily news]
