Halstead Property

Condo With An 'Unfussy' Look

By MAYA POPE-CHAPPELL
Tina Petra describes her West Chelsea condo as "simple and austere," but the home's contemporary decor has some ornate touches.

The dining-room table is outfitted with a decorative skateboard tooled with religious iconography, the bathroom has flowered Fornasetti wallpaper and the living-room drapes were dyed blue along the bottom to reflect the Hudson River.

She also has plenty of original artwork by artists like Jim Hodges, Roni Horn and Pae White.

"It was easy for me to do what I wanted," said Ms. Petra, who works as a jewelry designer. "The space is very clean and unfussy, so adding art is easy in a space like that because it doesn't compete with the architecture."

After purchasing the home in 2008 for some $2.5 million, Ms. Petra added track lighting and chandeliers.

"I put in more light because I have a lot of art and I wanted to have it lit properly," said Ms. Petra, a former curator and art adviser.

Additional changes included repositioning the door of one of the three bedrooms to create more of an entrance and expanding the master bedroom's walk-in closet by combining two adjoining closets.

Ms. Petra also upholstered the closet with red velvet and added more shelving. The changes, she said, cost about $100,000.

Ms. Petra, who is building a home in Maine and planning to purchase a small apartment in New York City, was one of the first buyers to make a deposit on a place in the Caledonia, which was built along the High Line.

Her West Chelsea home, which has views of the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline, covers about 1,836 square feet. It was first listed in January with Halstead Property for $3.1 million. The price has since dropped 6.5% to $2.9 million.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010