Banquette seating has long been associated with kitchen corners and breakfast nooks, but designers are using the feature in more varied and elevated ways throughout the home.
Fifteen years ago, it looked as though the Manhattan skyline was on the verge of being overwhelmed by glass and metal towers, austere monuments to Modernism that often lacked the warmth and character of the city's historic architecture. However, recent developments suggest a resurgence of traditional design principles in both public and private construction.
A decade ago, the glass curtain wall seemed to be the default language of new construction in New York. It still has its place, especially in office towers where transparency, skyline views, and bringing natural light to deeper open floor plates remain highly marketable. But in residential architecture, the all-glass look has lost some of its shine. Buyers and renters increasingly want homes that feel warmer, more private, and more rooted in their neighborhoods, not apartments that put daily life on display or rely on shades for a sense of enclosure. Concerns about heat gain, insulation, glare, and long-term comfort have only added to the appeal of more substantial masonry façades.
On the week ending June 13, 2026, 218 residential apartment sales were recorded in Manhattan, holding steady week over week. Four of the five highest-priced sales were for homes with views of Central Park West, and located no less than one block from "New York's backyard."
Luxury kitchens have and are becoming noticeably warmer over recent years, and where we've been seeing 'drenching' taking over kitchen design, where all materials are the same, this concept is now gradually being replaced with layers of tones and texture to create depth and elegance. This change is evident in many contemporary wood kitchen ideas, where character and contrast are now considered more important than a closest match.
New York City is forever moving toward the future. But for the architects, designers and developers sculpting the city’s newest residential and commercial properties, there’s a growing inclination to look backward as a way to anchor the buildings of today and tomorrow to New York’s forgotten past.
Step inside Residences 6A and 6B at The Willow, and you immediately sense a dialogue between architecture and interiors – a conversation orchestrated by Claudia Allegra Interiors that turns materiality into mood and detail into narrative. Nestled in Manhattan’s historic Gramercy neighborhood, these two residences showcase how thoughtful design can bridge the city’s classic architectural language with a modern, lived-in elegance.
Wellness has evolved from an amenity list into a planning principle. Increasingly, residential developments, especially at the luxury end of the market, are being designed to support a wellness-driven lifestyle.
In 1984, the New York City restaurateur and Shake Shack founder, Danny Meyer was in his mid-20s, flitting between jobs. “I was trying to figure out my life.”
He landed a short-term gig as an assistant lunchtime manager at a small restaurant called Pesca in Gramercy Park; in the coming weeks he would also meet his future wife, Audrey Heffernan, an actress. “On our breaks, staff members would sit on the stoop of Gramercy Park and soak it up.” Back then, Mr. Meyer could scarcely have imagined he would end up living directly on Gramercy Park for 28 years, raising four children there, and holding one of only 400-odd keys to its famously locked gates.
“People would say, ‘how can you bring up kids in Manhattan?’ But having the park as your front yard created an intimate centerpiece for all the buildings around it,” he said. “It bonded the fabric of the community in a way that extended beyond the park’s boundaries. You’d bump into neighbors at the dry cleaner or the pet store. It felt like a village.”
But for some longtime residents, that feeling is changing. For decades, an elegantly sedentary, white-glove neighborhood with limited turnover, has witnessed a boom of ultra luxury residential towers, setting record prices.
According to PropertyShark, in January 2026 the median sales price per square foot was $1,748, up 8.4 percent year-over-year, with a 7.7 percent sales volume increase from last year. Rents have also exploded; in January 2019 the median rent was $3,800, since then it has grown 53 percent to $5,833, according to Realtor.com. By comparison, during the same period, Manhattan rents grew by 20 percent.
Bordered by East 23rd Street to the north, East 15th to the south, Park Avenue and First Avenue, the Gramercy Park neighborhood has a unique cachet that owes much to its founder.
In the 1830s, the politician and developer Samuel B. Ruggles was inspired by the private residential garden squares of London’s West End. Armed with a small fortune and a large vision, he bought a 22-acre area of swampy farmland with the ignominious moniker, “krom moerasje,” Dutch for “crooked little swamp.”
The central two acres were drained and re-earthed, the beds prettily planted and bound with a wrought-iron fence — crucially, Mr. Ruggles decided the park would be accessible only to the residents of the 39 townhouses immediately around it, some of which have since become condos, cooperatives and, in the case of one building, the National Arts Club.
Mr. Ruggles’ hunch paid off. The area became one of Manhattan’s most affluent; a hub for discerning celebrities. Residents have included the inventor Thomas Edison, the Steinway family, the author John Steinbeck, and more recently, the actors Uma Thurman, Julia Roberts and Jimmy Fallon. It was no coincidence that the producers of “And Just Like That” chose Gramercy Park for Carrie Bradshaw’s final destination.
Gramercy is still historic, with around 47 percent of homes dating to before the 1940s. The ancient planetrees and horse chestnuts, which form a leafy canopy over its avenues, also remain. But the look of the neighborhood is subtly evolving, from traditional brownstones and converted factories to a more contemporary aesthetic. And while Gramercy Park used to be the kind of exclusive that only luck and timing could account for, now, money will get you in.
Gramercy Park has experienced a metamorphosis in the last seven years,” said Elena Sarkissian, a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman, who last March sold a two-bed apartment at 200 East 20th for an unprecedented $3,352 per square foot, or $4.75 million.
The 20-story bronze building with a sensuous, curved glass facade opened in January 2024. Of 52 homes, there are just four left. Solidcore, the cult “Pilates on steroids” fitness brand, is soon to open on the ground floor.
On Third Avenue is The Willow, a handsome brick condop of 69 apartments developed by Naftali Group and designed by COOKFOX x Rockwell Group. Prices range from $2 million for a two-bed to $4.295 million for a three-bed; with over 65 percent sold...
New York City apartments chock full of charm and character have made a strong comeback. While their appeal never truly disappeared, new development teams are increasingly infusing elements such as beamed ceilings, multi-pane windows, and exposed brick to make units feel warmer and more layered, moving away from the no-frills white box aesthetic. Uptown apartments with fireplaces, crown molding, and formal layouts have long attracted a broad market of buyers, while the more industrial Downtown aesthetic has typically appealed to a narrower group, including artists, creative types, and younger buyers comfortable with a rawer look.
Anywhere else is hollow for the incoming residents at the Naftali Group’s Willow. The developer’s latest ground-up residential project is a 19-story, 69-unit luxury condominium at 201 East 23rd Street in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park neighborhood. The building is named the Willow, a nod to the area’s history, as in the late 1800s one of the first tree species planted in Gramercy Park was The Willow.
The week of December 29, 2025 - January 4, 2026 was the slowest week for Manhattan residential real estate activity of the 2025 calendar year, likely due to the New Year's Eve and New Year's Day holidays falling in the middle of the business week. But while the number of contracts signed dipped slightly week-over-week, two uber-luxury deals asking over $20 million were instrumental in driving the aggregate dollar amount up during this time, and 2025 ultimately logged the highest total number of December contracts since 2021.
It is roughly two full weeks into winter in the Northern Hemisphere, but the season is already off to a chilly start in New York City. Real-feel temperatures hovered around 0 degrees Fahrenheit the week before the winter solstice. While New Yorkers just missed out on a white Christmas, Central Park saw 4.3 inches of snow a short time after, making it the first time the park has observed greater snowfall than 4 inches since January 2022 (per the National Weather Service). In the days that followed, temperatures plummeted below freezing with wind chills into the teens.
The Willow, Naftali Group’s newest luxury boutique tower in Manhattan’s historic Gramercy neighborhood, is designed by COOKFOX Architects with interiors and amenities by Rockwell Group. The 19-story building will offer 69 residences, including penthouses with expansive private loggias and terraces. Its amenities reinterpret classic Downtown design for contemporary living and include a private cinema, the speakeasy-style Mermaid Room, a landscaped courtyard, and The Glamercy Room, a music lounge with a recording studio. A signature element of the Mermaid Room is a salvaged mermaid medallion discovered on-site and preserved by the project team, whose mysterious origins inspired the room’s name and nautical character.
Installing radiant floor heating in a New York City apartment can be a challenging process. Industry leader Warmly Yours notes that in addition to installing the system, the existing flooring needs to be replaced with materials that are better suited to conducting heat. Additionally, the installation will raise the height of the floor by about an inch, meaning existing doors may not clear it anymore.
From the rise of intimate, community-driven destinations to a renewed influx of international buyers, 2026 is shaping up to be a year defined by how thoughtfully residential environments support daily living. These shifts are influencing where buyers invest, what they expect, and how developers respond.
A curious and increasingly visible trend is taking shape across New York: In a city where every square foot is treated like a precious commodity, a centuries-old architectural idea is quietly reshaping the skyline: the loggia.
Fireplace design has quietly but meaningfully shifted in recent years, becoming an architectural element defined by materiality, proportion, and craftsmanship rather than ornament or nostalgia. Designers across luxury residential projects are approaching the hearth with a level of precision that treats it as part of the architectural language of a room—not an accessory added at the end.
In the weeks following September 11, 2001, a time when much of the city was closing itself off through increased security measure, Open House New York (OHNY) was established as a counterpoint to provide a deeper look at the people, projects, infrastructure, and systems that define New York City and its future. OHNY offers year-round programming like tours, lectures, screenings, and parties, and the highlight is OHNY Weekend. It started with 84 sites in all five boroughs, and has since expanded to over 300 destinations including residential buildings, manufacturing workshops, infrastructure facilities, and performance spaces.
New York's most upscale residential buildings flaunt the use of high-quality materials: statuary marble floors and countertops, bronze door handles and frames, and onyx details. But the rarest and perhaps most highly coveted amenity of all is made from a commonplace nickel alloy: a key to Gramercy Park, the only private park in Manhattan. The first keys to Gramercy Park were made of solid gold, and today’s keys are treated as reverently as if it was still the practice.
As the city slips into fall, New York’s rooftops are stepping into the spotlight. Once simply prized for their views, these elevated spaces are now designed as fully realized extensions of the home — places to sip morning coffee, unwind after work, or host a dinner under the stars. From landscaped gardens and shaded pergolas to bocce courts, outdoor kitchens, and fire pits, rooftop living is evolving into one of the most coveted amenities in residential design.
Facade installation is ongoing at Naftali Group’s 19-story residential tower The Willow in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan. Designed by COOKFOX Architects, the tower’s facade features red brick and industrial styled punch windows cladding a massing that includes numerous setback terraces and partially enclosed loggias. Facade details include segmental arches formed by soldier coarse brick, commonly found in industrial buildings.
On Friday, September 26, the New York Film Festival kicks off at Lincoln Center. The festivities will open with Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt and close with Is This Thing On? (directed by star Bradley Cooper), and there are many star-studded projects being screened in between. The New York Film Festival comes on the heels of the Telluride Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Venice Film Festival, all of which were likely precursors to this year's Oscar nominees.
Despite an abundance of world-famous performance venues, prestigious music schools and conservatories, and highly acclaimed instructors, the perfect practice space for musicians isn't easy to come by in New York City. Close quarters and thin walls of many apartments mean the neighbors aren't likely to be appreciative of the most masterfully played musical instruments early in the morning or late at night. Some residential buildings even have rules saying musical instruments cannot be played during certain hours.
An elegant take on Gramercy living, The Willow blends timeless architecture with forward-thinking design, offering 69 one- to four-bedroom residences in one of Manhattan’s most coveted neighborhoods. Located just two blocks northeast of Gramercy Park, the 19-story tower by Naftali Group and COOKFOX Architects pays tribute to the area’s historic charm with a red brick façade, arched bays, and asymmetrical setbacks that create expansive terraces for upper-floor homes.
Façade installation is progressing on The Willow, a 19-story residential building at 201 East 23rd Street in Gramercy, Manhattan. Designed by COOKFOX Architects and developed by Naftali Group, the 210-foot-tall structure will yield 69 units in one- to three-bedroom layouts. The development will also include a four-bedroom penthouse on the upper levels and ground-floor retail space. The property is located at the corner of East 23rd Street and Third Avenue. Rockwell Group designed the interiors and amenities, while COOKFOX also designed the facade and layout of the residences.
今年迄今为止，纽约市最畅销的50栋楼盘中，新开发的公寓占据了主导地位，这并不令人意外。这些楼盘往往拥有更多库存，价格也普遍高于二手房，因为它们的设计充分考虑了当今买家的需求：一流的装修、完善的配套设施以
纽约市的许多家庭发现，这个季节最令人兴奋的部分不是发生在遥远的度假胜地或拥挤的夏令营——而是在家里展开。
世界各地的豪华住宅度假村都积极推崇沉浸式、以家庭为
虽然2025年6月曼哈顿的房屋签约量开局强劲，但过去几周交易量有所下降。本月政治和经济动荡频发，CityRealty的数据显示，如果形势继续保持这种势头，2025年6月的房屋签约量可能会跌至两个月以来的最低
由 COOKFOX Architects 设计手工砌筑的外墙，Rockwell Group 精心打造华丽的内饰和便利空间，The Willow 必将引起轰动。
在曼哈顿高端房地产市场，联排别墅尤其受到特定阶层的豪宅买家的青睐。他们渴望独享私密，即使是设施最齐全的顶层公寓也无法提供这种私密性，而高利率和同样高昂的持有成本等问题也无法阻挡他们。2025年6月的第二
十五年前，曼哈顿的天际线似乎即将被玻璃和金属塔楼淹没，这些现代主义的朴素纪念碑往往缺乏这座城市历史建筑的温暖和特色。然而，最近的发展表明，传统设计原则在公共和私人建筑领域正在复兴。
总部位于纽约的私人控股全球房地产开发和投资公司纳夫塔利集团 (Naftali Group) 的“柳树楼”(The Willow) 已封顶，这标志着其位于格拉梅西 (Gramercy) 街区的豪华住宅项目迎来了新的里程碑。“柳树楼”高 19 层，位于东 23
在田纳西州纳什维尔，在家里拥有一间录音室并不罕见——即使它不如泰勒·斯威夫特那么高级。据报道，她将自己六英亩住宅中一间2000平方英尺的客房改造成了一个壮观的录音空间。对于资金不太充裕的艺术家来说，带有专
位于格拉梅西区东23街201号的精品住宅开发项目The Willow已正式上市，起售价为9,559,000港币。
纽约的夏天是一个充满反差的季节：阳光洒满的大道，喧嚣的城市生活，以及在喧嚣都市中渴望片刻宁静的集体渴望。虽然像中央公园和展望公园这样的公园是备受欢迎的休憩场所，但这座城市最宁静的世外桃源却隐藏在平凡的
随着白天越来越长，天气越来越暖，纽约市的公园也变得越来越拥挤，一方面是因为游客数量激增，另一方面是因为音乐会、电影放映和户外健身课程等公共活动增多。但对一些纽约市居民来说，只需乘坐电梯就能找到一片户外
位于曼哈顿格拉梅西东23街201号的19层住宅楼The Willow正在施工中。该楼盘由COOKFOX Architects设计，Naftali Group开发，高210英尺（约64米），将提供69套一至三居室户型的公寓。此外，楼上还将包含一套四
Naftali 集团旗下的 The Willow 公寓在格拉梅西正式开售：以现代风格致敬经典纽约生活
COOKFOX Architects 和 Rockwell Group 为 The Willow 带来了永恒的设计和精心挑选的设施，这是一座位于格拉梅西公园中心的精品公寓，重新定义了奢华。
位于格拉梅西中心地带第三大道和东23街交汇处的全新精品公寓项目The Willow现已开售。首批公开发售的单卧公寓起价为130万美元，两卧公寓起价为220万美元，三卧公寓起价为420万美元。该项目共有69套住宅，包括四套半
Naftali 集团隆重推出 The Willow 精品公寓，为格拉梅西 (Gramercy) 中心地带带来隽永奢华的体验。The Willow 位于东 23 街 201 号，距离历史悠久的格拉梅西公园仅几步之遥，由备受赞誉的 COOKFOX Architects 建筑事务
位于格拉梅西的全新住宅楼“柳树”（The Willow）现已正式开售，为追求纽约奢华生活的购房者带来难得的购房良机。这座精品楼盘由著名的纳夫塔利集团（Naftali Group）倾力打造，将经典建筑与现代便利设施完美融
纽约的格拉梅西街区一直以来都静谧而宏伟，褐石建筑林立，绿树成荫，建筑本身也散发着迷人的魅力。如今，一个新名字加入了人们的讨论：The Willow。
纽约2025年4月7日电 /美通社/ -- 继2024年底推出四栋新楼盘，包括破纪录的One Williamsburg Wharf、The Henry、255 East 77th Street和Viceroy Fort Lauderdale之后，总部位于纽约的全球领先私人房地产开发和投资公
位于曼哈顿格拉梅西区东23街201号的19层住宅楼The Willow的最新效果图已公布。该楼由COOKFOX Architects设计，Naftali Group开发，封顶后高210英尺（约64米），将包含69套住宅以及底层零售空间。该地块
