2008 May
Focus on... Design

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” “There’s no accounting for taste.” “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” While these age-old adages generally hold true, when it comes to working with design committees in co-op and condo sp…

To many people, the elevator isn’t just a device to get you up or down. Wood paneling, exotic woods, carpets, mirrors, chandeliers, brass operating panels—that’s what you’ll see when you go into many elevators in high-end buildings. …

In architecture, floor plans or designs have always been crucial in mapping out how a structure is put together. Even in ancient Egypt, primitive drawings have been found to suggest that builders have been relying on floor plans for mill…

In the past, choices for wall decorations were simple—paint, wallpaper or paneling (like the infamous paneled dens of the 1970s.) Once you made a selection, you simply narrowed the options down from several available colors or patterns a…

As prices for co-op and condo apartments in Manhattan continue to climb, and wealthy buyers continue to clamor for the next word in luxury real estate, one subset of house-hunters has set their sights on something different. They want on…

When it comes to issues of design and aesthetics, New York is the epicenter of all things style. That is certainly the case when it comes to architecture and perhaps most importantly, interior design. For co-op and condo buildings, style…

Although the position offers little compensation apart from the satisfaction of a job well done, building board members are still in charge of running a business—a business with revenues, expenses, and assets. Regardless of the size of the …

Living in a community sometimes requires a bit of flexibility, and that’s especially true when a large construction project is happening. Usually, whether it’s a facade restoration, lobby redesign, or a heating/ventilation upgrade, most …

A good redesign of an outdated, obsolete, or run-down common area in your co-op or condo building can be a thing of beauty. Spiffing up a lobby, hallway or elevator can not only inspire residents to take more pride in where they live, bu…

Nothing says luxury and elegance quite like acres of polished marble— particularly in the lobby of an upscale co-op or condo building. Marble has been used in palaces, temples, and homes for thousands of years, and is prized for its beauty,…

With more and more people hanging out shingles as either interior design professionals—thanks partly to the popularity of television shows like Design on a Dime, Extreme Home Makeover and Trading Spaces—knowing who to hire for a job in y…

The “Green Movement” has quickly gone from fad to trend to global initiative. In the U.S., corporations as well as commercial and residential property owners are being challenged to find ways to embrace ‘Green Initiatives’ in response to…

Keeping your property free of rats and mice is a perpetual problem for home and property owners. New York City recently put noted rodentologist Bobby Corrigan on the payroll fulltime to combat its burgeoning rat problem. Heading a beefed-up…

New Yorkers live in an ever-changing city that’s been building and rebuilding continuously since its inception. Today, throughout the five boroughs, according to the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB), there are more than 950,00…

New Yorkers are obsessed with real estate development. We all pause to stare at the listings in our local real estate office window, and everybody knows the average price of an apartment in Manhattan (currently $1.7 million). Citywide, m…

Q Our condo gives out gifts (in monetary form) to the employees of the building. The gifts go through the president of the board first. The president has created a separate bank account for employee gifts. Is this breaking any laws? Shoul…

Q I live in a Mitchell Lama co-op which is starting the process of privatization. We have a very large mortgage that has many years to go until it is paid off. We also have a large reserve fund for various contingencies. At a meeting r…

Q One of our board members has been president for many years. She runs the building on a unilateral basis, giving out very little information about the business of the condo. Unit owners have little influence because the she is elected by…