Although the design and real-life duo Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent thought they’d settled down in their dream home, a nearly 9,000-square-foot Spanish colonial in Los Angeles, back in 2018, they were mistaken! Family affairs made Nate Berkus and his family build a home in LA, but just two years later, they’ve sold the house, edited down their belongings, and moved back to New York, the city where the couple started dating and first made a home together.

Luckily, transforming any space into a home something both Nate Berkus and Jeremiah are very acquainted with. When the couple spotted this 3,400-square-foot 1899 townhouse, they immediately agreed they could make it their own. It had just undergone a complete gut renovation, so everything from the wiring and plumbing to the newly tiled bathrooms was in pristine condition. But the home design had been so stripped down that it also felt somewhat “sterile”. They started by designing a showstopping double-height bookcase in white oak that would not only warm up the living room but also provide a much-needed place for their books, framed family photos, and pottery.

In fact, one could say the bookshelf is a distillation of Nate Berkus’ twofold approach to the whole contemporary design: adding texture, detail, and architectural touches, while also taking on the dilemma of space management. Because, when compared with a palatial Southern California estate, an 18-foot-wide townhouse can be a bit smaller.

Upstairs, the master suite didn’t offer quite enough closet space. In lieu of ripping up the bathroom, they stole footage from the bedroom area to accommodate more storage. And while the resulting sleeping chamber may seem small, it embodies tranquillity at its cosiest, with chalky plaster walls, looped ivory carpeting, and a sculptural fluted plaster cabinet they designed to hide the TV.