New Affiliates makes plywood look modern and sexy in this Bed-Stuy reno

Plywood doesn’t have the reputation of a desirable material when it comes to chic home renovations. But the Manhattan design studio New Affiliates used it in this Bed-Stuy loft reno to surprising results. By using raw plywood and rough materials like exposed steel and mesh screens as finishes, the space retains its industrial edge while pulling off a clean, modern–even sexy–aesthetic by pairing such materials with stark blocks of color. As the firm says, “These adjacenies of contrasting materials work to produce something clean, light, and unprecious while maximizing usable space in the loft.” All we have to say is, who knew plywood could be so appealing?

The apartment occupies 750 square feet of a formal industrial space, according to Dezeen, and boasts incredibly high ceilings. The raw, unfinished materials were selected to retain the original atmosphere and have been used to partition off different areas.

The designers also chose to work with restrained blocks of color, like the green-lacquered kitchen island contrasted with the bright copper pipes that extend down from the ceiling as a way to break up the high-ceilinged space.

The most significant addition of the reno is the mezzanine level, clad in plywood with a distinct gradient also visible across the doors of cupboards in the kitchen. The structure has a sleeping area on top and a workspace underneath.

Two massive cylindrical columns were kept in the apartment–one comes right up to the mezzanine, while the other was incorporated into the kitchen island.

A staircase tucked at the back of the box-like plywood structure leads to the upstairs bedroom. There’s a white mesh material around the upper level–which holds both the bed and a raised dressing area– to form a barrier for safety and privacy. If you’re now falling in love with the potential of plywood and mesh screens, check out a few more shots of the renovation project in the gallery below.

[Via Dezeen]

[Bed-Stuy Loft by New Affiliates]

RELATED:

• Noroof Architects’ Bed-Stuy porcHouse re-imagines the classic American front porch
• My 900sqft: An interior designer fills his Bed-Stuy home with rare objects pulled from the street
• Top Design Pro’s Impressively Renovated Bed-Stuy Brownstone Asks $2.375M

Photos by Michael Vahrenwald