Kane Chan, who moved to New York from London in 2009, suffered through his previous apartment’s makeover. “One would have thought I’d learned a lesson then, but despite all the dust and frustration one has to go through, the end result was enough for me to want to do it all over again,” he says. And so Kane engaged in the process of renovating a forlorn one-bedroom apartment with narrow rooms into what’s now his radiant modern loft. Only his photos can speak to the level of transformation. Photo: Peter Marginelli
“When I first saw it, I fell in love with the windows and the quality of the morning light,” Kane says. “The entire renovation took nine months, and I lived in it for the last four months. It was quite a journey.” “The space was bisected by the bedroom wall,” Mercado says. Once that came down, the full beauty and light from the windows was revealed. Photo: Peter Marginelli/Courtesy of Kane Chan
The view of the loft toward the stairs reveals hidden touches of color in the storage areas. The photograph of the swimmer is by Kane, who shot it in Belize with a $100 medium-format camera when he was there with Operation Raleigh (the U.K.’s version of the Peace Corps). The baby fig tree is from the Chelsea market. “Fig trees are common in Singapore, where I grew up, and they remind me of my childhood,” Kane says. Photo: Peter Marginelli
The opposite view shows the dining area with a Saarinen table purchased at Conran’s in London with vintage Paul McCobb chairs. The console is from Ikea. The sofa is from B&B Italia, and the standing lamp is from Flos”Kane bought at Purves & Purves in London. “I couldn’t bear to part with it, so I had it shipped over and rewired,” Kayne says. Photo: Peter Marginelli
The mezzanine sleeping loft is only 227 square feet, but it is elegant and efficient, with storage area for books in the oak shelf. Photo: Peter Marginelli
The new bathroom includes a sink carved from one piece of black granite with a three-by-eight-foot sheet of steel, bent to create a backsplash and shelf. The faucet is by Rhol. Photo: Peter Marginelli
The streamlined kitchen recedes into the landscape with two-inch-thick repurposed black granite countertops found at B.I.G. in Brooklyn. The wall panels are Ikea, and the appliances are Miele. The wood shelves are stained with metallic-gray stain. Photo: Peter Marginelli
