The Secret To This East Village Apartment's Creative Energy? Grit, And Never Feeling "Too Overly Polished Or Pristine"
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New York designer Joshua Evan Goldfarb and his firm, Evan Edward, have revisited an East Village loft they first designed more than 15 years ago. The redesign retains the apartment’s exposed brick, timber and signs of age while using warm colors, vintage and contemporary furnishings, and furniture placement to make the open space feel intimate.

New York design firm Evan Edward has redesigned an East Village loft it first worked on more than 15 years ago, retaining exposed brick, timber and other signs of age while making the open-plan apartment feel warmer and more intimate. In an interview with Livingetc, co-founder and designer Joshua Evan Goldfarb said the work aimed to preserve the home’s connection to the neighborhood rather than make it look overly polished.

Goldfarb told Livingetc that returning to the apartment gave the team a chance to see it with fresh eyes while protecting the qualities that had made it distinctive. The approach keeps original materials visible, including exposed brick and timber, and brings in vintage pieces alongside contemporary furnishings. Patina is treated as part of the interior’s character, not something to conceal.

The design draws on 1970s interiors through low-slung furniture, rich woods, smoked and brushed metals, and deep Bordeaux tones. Goldfarb said the aim was not to recreate a single period. Instead, the pieces are layered so the space feels collected over time. Darker colors, varied textures and a purple or patterned living-room sofa add visual weight, while the overall palette is meant to feel warm and enveloping.

The loft’s size presented a practical challenge: creating intimacy without dividing the open plan or losing its architectural character. Rather than add walls, the designers used furniture placement, rugs, lighting and changes in materials to suggest separate zones. The report also describes a dining-area pendant by Angelo Lelii, an Adrian Pearsall plinth sofa and tables by Andrianna Shamaris. Goldfarb said the furniture and materials work as a whole rather than relying on one object as the focus.

At a glance
reportWhen: The redesign was described in a Livinge…
The developmentA design firm has reworked an East Village loft it first designed more than 15 years ago, preserving its historic materials while making the large open interior warmer and more livable.

A Retreat Without Erasing the Loft

The project offers a specific example of how an older, open-plan Manhattan home can be made more comfortable without removing the features that connect it to its past. Its central design choice is to work with irregularities and patina rather than impose a uniform, pristine finish. For residents, that can mean preserving distinctive materials while using furniture and lighting to make a large room feel usable at a smaller scale.

The contrast is also part of the apartment’s purpose: Goldfarb described the interior as darker, warmer and quieter than the busy streets outside. That is a design intention reported by the firm, not a measured claim about sound or performance. Still, the project makes clear how the designers sought to balance neighborhood character with the need for a calm home, without treating those goals as opposites.

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A Second Look at the Original Loft

The firm first designed the apartment more than 15 years before returning to it. Goldfarb said the loft’s history and existing architecture served as the starting point for the later work. That timeline makes the project a redesign of a familiar space, rather than a new apartment conceived from scratch.

Evan Edward was co-founded in 2019 by Goldfarb and Michael Edward Moirano, according to the source material. The firm works in New York and Miami. The Livingetc report presents this apartment as an example of its focus on authenticity, comfort and curation; those characterizations are the publication’s description of the firm, not independently verified measures of its reputation.

“The history of the loft itself was really our starting point.”

— Joshua Evan Goldfarb, Evan Edward co-founder and designer

Details the Report Does Not Specify

The Livingetc report does not give the apartment’s address, dimensions, renovation budget or construction schedule. It also does not specify which elements were newly installed and which were retained from the earlier design. The account focuses on the designers’ choices and intentions, and does not include comments from the apartment’s residents or independent assessments of how the redesign performs in daily use.

Goldfarb’s descriptions of the home as quieter and more enveloping are design aims and impressions; the report provides no measurements of noise, comfort or other outcomes. It is also unclear whether the project is complete or when the redesign took place.

No Further Project Milestone Listed

The source report does not announce a public opening, later phase or other upcoming milestone for the apartment. The project is presented as a completed design story, but the publication does not provide a completion date. Any further details about the home’s use or future changes have not been reported.

Key Questions

What happened to the East Village apartment?

Evan Edward revisited and redesigned a loft it had first designed more than 15 years earlier, preserving its original materials while adjusting the interior for warmth and intimacy.

Who led the redesign?

Joshua Evan Goldfarb, co-founder of Evan Edward, discussed the project and its design decisions with Livingetc.

How did the designers make the open loft feel more intimate?

According to Goldfarb, the team used furniture placement, rugs, lighting and shifts in materials to define areas instead of adding unnecessary walls.

What inspired the apartment’s interior?

The design draws on the loft’s brick, timber and architectural history, the East Village’s character and references to 1970s interiors. Goldfarb said the result was intended to layer eras rather than imitate a period style.

What details about the renovation remain unknown?

The report does not state the apartment’s address, size, budget, construction timeline or the residents’ views. It also does not give a completion date or measured evidence for the intended sense of quiet.

Source: rss

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