Designer Meri Goldstein’s apartment is in the heart of New York City, in the center of one of its most energetic neighborhoods, SoHo. “It’s in SoHo, one of New York’s top addresses for celebrity spotting, the restaurant scene, nightlife, and shopping,” she tells us. “What I love most about my area is that there’s never a dull moment. There is always something happening, whether it’s a new restaurant, a bar, or a gallery night—there is always plenty to do.”
Inside, Meri wanted the energy to continue, envisioning a bold, artistic aesthetic. “Usually when I design spaces for my clients, I have to follow certain guidelines based on what they like,” Meri shares. “In my own space, though, I was fully free to give my creativity room to run, and I wanted every space to feel different from the next.”
A Bold, Artistic Aesthetic
Because the apartment is new construction, it was in good shape when Meri first moved in. “I didn’t have to do any major renovation—just what I like to call a ‘cosmetic renovation,’ which can be anything from painting the walls to redoing a kitchen or bath floor,” she explains. “I leaned heavily on paint. For that, I used limewash rather than regular paint, as limewash naturally adds depth and movement to the walls. It’s currently very sought after, and it’s a great alternative to Venetian plaster since it’s less costly but can also be easily painted over if needed.”
The result is an apartment that shifts in mood and palette from room to room, with bold color and art serving as through lines. “Though it’s a small space, each room feels completely different, intentionally,” the designer notes. “For years I attended dinner parties at the home of an art collector in Hong Kong and was very inspired by the way art was displayed throughout the home. I wanted to evoke the same feeling in my apartment and sought to fill my walls with gallery-worthy art.”
A Collection of Contemporary Art
To build the collection, Meri worked with Creative Art Partners to source contemporary pieces, including large-scale textile works and abstract art. Throughout the apartment, works by Lawrence Calver, Flora Hauser, Elizabeth Ibarra, Nico Hernandez, and Greg Ludlow bring another layer of color and personality to the interiors.
Curating the collection proved to be one of the project’s trickiest tasks. “Funny enough,” she says, “the biggest challenge was deciding between pieces. Since this is my own apartment, I’m the one calling the shots, and I think that’s the difficult part. I’m very indecisive in general, so having to choose between multiple pieces was quite difficult, I kept going back and forth.”
In a home this personal, perhaps there’s no need to ever truly call it finished.
