Once a Haberdashery, This Artist’s Home Becomes a Stage at the Drop of a Hat

A team of architects outfit an industrial Williamsburg loft with shape-shifting spaces, flexible furnishings, and texture at every turn.

May 31, 2023 - 20:17

Once a Haberdashery, This Artist’s Home Becomes a Stage at the Drop of a Hat

A team of architects outfit an industrial Williamsburg loft with shape-shifting spaces, flexible furnishings, and texture at every turn.

The kitchen cabinets are made from a pressed wood-fiber product. The countertop and backsplash are Caesarstone.

What is a home? For many, it’s a haven of privacy and peace. For New York–based artist and event producer Linden Renz, it’s a space where anything is possible.

For years, Linden had been throwing parties, performances, and events in various lofts in Bushwick, but these borrowed, makeshift spaces offered little in the way of autonomy and creative control.

Red-stained plywood is a twist on the familiar green construction plywood so often found lining New York City construction sites; the rough plaster finish on the bathroom walls is an allusion to the texture of city sidewalks.

"I knew I wanted to build a living space for myself that had utility," explains Linden. "I wanted more autonomy, more permanence, more creativity, and flexibility." So when he stumbled upon an open-concept, 1,800-square-foot loft in Williamsburg, he saw the potential for something special—a place to call home that also functioned as a modular, hybrid space for whatever Linden and his artist friends came up with next.