{"id":960835,"date":"2026-07-26T17:52:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T17:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/960835\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T17:52:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T17:52:26","slug":"a-designer-couple-creates-a-new-york-city-apartment-where-their-guests-can-stay-for-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/960835\/","title":{"rendered":"A Designer Couple Creates a New York City Apartment Where Their Guests Can Stay For Months"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated2 min read<\/p>\n

Living in a New York City apartment with their two young children, Catherine and Nathan Bruckner found themselves facing a familiar problem: Where would they put visitors? The couple, founders of the design studio Casalta<\/a>, both have parents who live in Europe and come to the city multiple times a year, often for long stretches. To give them more space\u2014and freedom\u2014they acquired another apartment in their Flatiron neighborhood building and turned it into a pied-\u00e0-terre for family and close friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted them to have a place that felt like a true home rather than simply a guest room in our apartment,\u201d Catherine says. The focus was on creating something comfortable and stylishly functional, a place where guests could establish their own daily rhythms while being nearby. The setup proved useful almost immediately: Not long after they finished the project, Catherine\u2019s sister Nicole moved back to New York from Los Angeles and lived in the new space for about a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was exactly the kind of use we had imagined,\u201d she says, \u201ca place that could adapt to different moments in our family\u2019s life, whether for a few weeks or much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ModernVictoria Hely-Hutchinson<\/p>\n

Axel Vervoordt sofa, armchairs, and coffee table pair with vintage side tables in the living room. The pendant is by Ingo Mauer.<\/p>\n

The couple wanted the design to complement their own apartment, so that the two spaces connected in terms of the overall look. \u201cWe wanted it to feel like a natural continuation rather than something completely different,\u201d Nathan says.<\/p>\n

That did not mean literally recreating rooms but, instead, cultivating a shared sensibility through a restrained material palette. In a reference to Nathan\u2019s background, they added several pieces by Axel Vervoordt, the Belgian designer and art dealer known for his spare, materially driven interiors.<\/p>\n

Nathan grew up in Brussels, in a home designed by Vervoordt, and this apartment carries the same emphasis on natural materials and sculptural furnishings. His sisters and old friends have noticed those similarities on visits. That familiarity is part of what he hopes guests feel when they arrive. \u201cIt\u2019s fun for them to recognize certain elements and understand where the influences came from,\u201d he says. \u201cAs a result, many people say that it doesn\u2019t really feel like they\u2019re in New York. I suppose it feels a little more European.\u201d<\/p>\n

Step Inside This Flatiron Pied-\u00e0-terre\"ModernOpen Gallery\"\"<\/p>\n

Other influences came from much closer places. During the project, the Bruckners and their children frequently dined at Ootoya, their neighborhood Japanese restaurant. Only later did the designers recognize its impact in the new home\u2019s dark wood, white plaster, and stainless-steel finishes. \u201cWe weren\u2019t consciously trying to reference it,\u201d Nathan says, \u201cbut spending so much time there definitely influenced the apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The space is quiet but still has plenty of character. The rooms are outfitted with a mix of new and vintage pieces, from a painting by Louis Eisner and a reclaimed cast-iron tub to a comfortable Brazilian armchair and a 1975 stainless-steel-and-granite table.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople can cook, read, or simply sit and talk,\u201d Catherine says. \u201cThat\u2019s really what we hoped it would be: a place where family and friends enjoy spending time together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sourcebook\"Orielle<\/a>Kathy Kuo Home Orielle VaseCredit: Kathy Kuo Home\"Standing<\/a>Ekko Standing Circles Mobile\"Hendrix<\/a>West Elm Hendrix Drinks TableCredit: West Elm\"Wooden<\/a>Zara Home Wooden Tissue BoxCredit: Zara Home\"Sherman<\/a>Pottery Barn Sherman Task Floor LampCredit: Pottery Barn\"Romy<\/a>Mark Cross Romy Clutch in IvoryCredit: Mark Cross\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Julia Cancilla is the social media & news editor at ELLE Decor, where she oversees the brand’s socials and covers design, pop culture, and emerging trends. She also authors the monthly ELLE Decoroscope column. Her work has appeared in Inked magazine, House Beautiful, Marie Claire, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2 min read Living in a New York City apartment with their two young children, Catherine and Nathan…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":960836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[32],"tags":[648,1032,374334,1199,386388,1033,1201,171,3181,311952,2875,257140,386387,365830,248410,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-960835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-collection-elle-decor-premium","tag-content-type-default","tag-contentid-afcc49a9-168e-4660-8d0f-f410ee0f7cc8","tag-design","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-hasproduct-true","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-read_time-5","tag-shorttitle-a-sleek-nyc-apartment-made-for-long-stays","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-house-tours","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116987557215542443","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=960835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/960836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=960835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=960835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=960835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}