Circa22 is based right here in the Upper East Side — designing prewar co-ops, classic six layouts, and high-rise apartments for neighbors and clients throughout Manhattan.
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood of prewar co-ops with generous ceiling heights, gracious layouts, and details — herringbone floors, plaster crown moldings, wood-burning fireplaces — that most new construction can't replicate. It's also home to some of Manhattan's most established buildings, where board approvals and a building's original architecture both shape what a renovation can become.
Being based here means we know these buildings from the inside — how a classic six actually flows, where prewar kitchens tend to be closed off and dated, and how to bring in a modern, livable layout without fighting the apartment's bones. It also means we're a short walk away for a walk-through, a fabric sample, or a site visit during installation.
Upper East Side projects come with their own logistics — co-op board applications, building-specific renovation policies, freight elevator schedules, and (often) a doorman staff that becomes part of the day-to-day rhythm of the project. We plan for all of it from the first walk-through, so the design work never gets held up by paperwork or building rules we didn't anticipate.
Whether it's a prewar kitchen renovation, a full apartment reimagined for the way you actually live, or an e-design engagement for a smaller refresh, our approach stays the same: listen first, respect the architecture, then build something quietly better than what was there.
For an Upper East Side apartment with a dramatic arched window onto the Manhattan skyline, we designed a warm, curved interior that let the view lead — proof that a strong architectural feature and an everyday, livable home aren't a trade-off.
We've also renovated a closed-off prewar Upper East Side kitchen into a warm, modern cook's kitchen with a marble waterfall island — the kind of project that comes up again and again in this neighborhood's building stock.
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