You’d Never Know This Layered Manhattan Apartment Is a Rental

Matt McKay has a thing for London Terrace, the iconic Manhattan building complex that occupies an entire block of Ninth Avenue. The interior designer, who was named an AD New American Voice in 2023, has lived in four different apartments in the development. Each time he grows out of a unit, he upgrades to a bigger one. “What I love about it is the prewar details with the Chelsea location,” he explains. “I look at the apartments as test kitchens. You can change things up and move things around—it’s just really a fun canvas to play with.”

The management company doesn’t seem to mind that Matt customizes his rentals, perhaps because he’s so good at it. “They showed my previous apartment and the new tenant was like, ‘Don’t touch anything. I want the wallpaper, I want the painted doors,’” Matt remembers. “He was really excited about the condition that the aparStment was going to be delivered in, so I was lucky. I got my security deposit back and got to move into this place.”

“The photograph to the left of the fireplace is very special to me,” reveals Matt. “It’s by Canadian artist Ed Burtynsky. I used a photo from the same series as the color inspiration for my application to Parsons to study interior design. It’s special to now have his work on my wall, 14 years after having graduated and working in interior design as I had dreamed!”

Matt leans against his doorframe, which he painted Midnight Blue by Benjamin Moore.