Joseph Calabrese had a specific vision when he opted to incorporate his personal touch in his new construction apartment at Harborside Lofts

While new development condos provide their owners with the joys of a brand new space, they can cost you in personalization. Joseph Calabrese opted to incorporate his personal style in his new construction when he purchased a corner unit on the third floor of Harborside Lofts from the developers. His apartment is a 1900 square foot, three bedroom, two bath, facing the Weehawken Cove, and when his request to to secure it unfinished was denied, he went to work as soon as he got the keys.

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The apartment came with high end finishes and a chic design, but Joseph had a specific vision. Most prominently, he wanted the open floor plan to feel more continuous, so the kitchen needed to change. He ripped out the dark cabinets and replaced them with lacquered white upper cabinets. Then, to break it up a bit, he chose teak for the lower cabinetry. The countertops he swapped with a white caesar stone giving the room a white bright feeling, and embracing the loft aesthetic.

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Joseph also made some cosmetic changes throughout the apartment that really took the space to the next level. First he changed all the doors, notably getting rid of the brackets so that, when closed, the doors seem to fade into the wall. Then he changed out the baseboards and painted the blue windows frames white. No detail went unnoticed – he even moved and centralized the electrical outlets, creating a central lighting hub so he could easily control all of the home’s lighting from one location.

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Today, Joseph is happy he took the time and effort to make the apartment his own, but his advice to new construction buyers is to wait and live in the apartment for a while first. “Only by living there can you get a complete idea of what you really like and don’t like,” he says.

Its been ten years since Joseph completed the renovation and he is still happy with his personalized touches.

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Want to add some personality to your space? Try a piece of custom art from Coco Gallery featured here.