A spacious loft overlooking Manhattan

After a year of renovations, Sofie and Frank Christensen Egelund, the owners of the Danish design company Vipp, are pleased to unveil Vipp Studio NYC, a showroom that doubles as the Manhattan home where they live with their two children and their golden retriever.

The 3,800-square-foot TriBeCa loft has been transformed by the Egelunds and Raëd Abillama Architects into an ideal setting for Vipp’s signature moody modular pieces, which are softened by the gentle interpolation of richly varied materials and gradations of color. Open only by appointment, Vipp Studio NYC presents a rare opportunity to experience Vipp’s trademark warm Minimalism alongside the quietly playful sensibilities of the forces behind it.

A 7-foot-long black steel tunnel provides a soothing transition along a ramped entrance between the elevator and the residence, which receives natural from three sides through 10-foot windows. Awaiting inside the airy space, which has 12-foot ceilings, are plank oak floors by Dinesen, a tondo mirror by Ash, and a Børge Mogensen sofa with Raf Simons fabric. The kitchen features wall-to-wall grey clay-colored extruded aluminum millwork by the Beirut-based Elie Chaker and a sui generis wine-glass storage system conceived in oak by Abillama and the Egelunds.

The modular kitchen occupies the heart of the studio and unfolds in a large island with cooking hood and a version with bar seating accompanied by a backdrop of tall modules and an open rack system. The dark kitchen is contrasted by muted walls painted in a trio of warm grey tones from Farrow and Ball. The kitchen features wall-to-wall clay-colored extruded aluminum millwork by the Beirut-based Elie Chaker and a sui generis wine-glass storage system conceived in oak by Abillama and the Egelunds.

Installed throughout the studio, alongside an expansive array of Vipp pieces, are selections from the couple’s collection of Scandinavian art and chairs, honoring the family’s aesthetic heritage (which goes back to the founding of the firm in the 1930s in Denmark) and providing dashes of humor and discovery amid the elegant, serene environs. (One highlight, sitting mischievously alongside a Vipp table and a Flos lamp: a Christian Lemmerz aluminum sculpture whose Danish title, Jegfjæs-med-fløde, translates to Self-Portrait with Whipped Cream.) A custom version of the newly released Vipp Cabin Table, made of solid travertine with fluted legs, is as much an alluring sculpture as an inviting meeting space. Vipp spotlights gracefully illuminate the curving shower the Egelunds have conceived of sumptuous, scalloped Ceppo stone. Presenting how two meticulous designers enjoy their beloved finds and creations, Vipp Studio NYC amounts to a new concept for a showroom—as a model for living, and as a vital site for inspiration.

Quick Facts
– Open by appointment.
– Site: 1883 historic building in Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood.
– Details: 3,800 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, dining and living areas, eat-in kitchen.
– Construction: One year, October 2019 through September 2020.
– Renovation: Raëd Abillama Architects.
– Interior: Sofie and Frank Christensen Egelund.