Uncluttered Chic in Small Spaces

See an apartment seemingly floating on a cloud; souvenirs add character to a New York apartment; a student uses layering to add space to his Chicago pad; and an interior design graduate put his schooling to work to give his space universal appeal.

Floating on a Cloud
When Karen Skurka found this East Broadway apartment, her original plan was to fix it up and rent it out after a couple of years. But the longer she lived there, the more she fell in love with the neighborhood, the building and the possibilities of the space. She hired the design team known as The Apartment to help her keep the modern international style of the building, while maximizing the light feeling of the space.

Everything in the apartment floats, with walls that don't quite touch the floor and furniture that either sits on pegs or is mounted to the wall. The bedroom wall units hold all of Skurka's clothes and her extensive shoe collection, although most of the shoes are checked in the storage space at the front door to keep the white floors pristine.