After touring a potential client’s penthouse loft in SoHo to discuss bringing it on the market in late 2019, Steve Gold, celebrity real estate agent and star of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing New York , eventually cut to the chase. “As I left, I ended up saying, ‘I’m happy to sell it for you, but I’ll also buy it from you,’” he recalls.
The would-be client, as it turned out, was New York City gallerist Sean Kelly , who’d lived in the top-floor property for over two decades. “My girlfriend, Luiza, and I were pregnant with our daughter, Rose, and I was living in a really cool development in Chelsea, but had been thinking about getting a bigger space,” says Gold . “I see a lot of places—all the time—and this had incredible bones and proportions, and I saw the potential.” As penthouse lofts stack up, this particular property, clocking in at around 3,400 square feet, has three exposures instead of the usual two, including a nearly 50-foot wall with south-facing windows overlooking the quaint cobblestones below.
“Sean was telling me about how he’d lived in the loft for 25 years and raised all his children here and had such wonderful memories—it just resonated with me at the time,” Gold continues. Built in 1920, the five-story cast-iron and brick building offers an idyllic mix of modern design sensibility and Old World charm, but it wasn’t until Gold began making significant interior changes that he saw the full possibilities of the space.
A Rift contemporary dining table by Andy Kerstens and vintage dining chairs settle nicely in the center of Steve Gold’s expansive and bright entertaining space. Median Mono Pendants by Apparatus are tiered above.
The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home retains much of its original detailing, some of it hidden over the last century. “I had to remove three layers of subflooring in order to get down to the rafters and then level the floor—and the same thing for the ceiling,” explains Gold. “We found beams [in the ceiling] that I left exposed over the main living space, which really open up the room, and the existing cast-iron beams and older wooden ship beams both add to the character.”
Designer Samuel Amoia.
Enlisting the help of his longtime friend and frequent collaborator, interior designer Samuel Amoia , the pair completely transformed the energy and flow of the expansive, well-lit space. “Steve has a very modernist aesthetic,” explains Amoia. “He wanted that to translate into the space without sacrificing all the great things about having a [SoHo] loft—high ceilings, exposed beams, and incredible windows.” Describing the labor-intensive renovation as “understated in a good way,” the designer reflects on the resulting aesthetic: “Where some elements are refined and tailored, there are also a lot of raw moments that balance it out.”
With new wide HeartOak flooring by Dinesen , full-slab stone, and custom Venetian plasterwork by Benjamin Lai throughout, Gold has outfitted his young family’s home with an incredible mix of materials, furnishings, and artwork for a comfortable, bespoke feel. “I have to say, when I come home at the end of every day, what I’ve created has exceeded my expectations.”
With its cool palette and generous light, the primary bedroom is a relaxing retreat for the couple. In the corner are comfy matching chairs from CB2 , perfect for a break from parenting. At the foot of the bed—also from CB2 and made up with Frette linens—is a favorite vintage bench.
