Co-Living: Life and Art

Conceived as a shared living space for two artistic families in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park area,
Co-Living: Life and Art supports unplanned collisions and spontaneous art sharing between
residents. Pratt students Fangming Cai and Yang Pei selected various ceramic tiles by ABK
and AVA Ceramica for the main flooring, walls, and ceilings throughout the home, as well as the
kitchen cabinets and countertops. The intentional use of different colors and finishes from zone
to zone helps to establish boundaries between private and shared spaces, and also reflects the
amount of natural light in each room; Darker-colored tiles were used prominently in the private
spaces where natural light is more abundant, and lighter-colored tiles help to brighten the
central shared spaces, which are more reliant on artificial light. Overall, the neutral color palette
and occasional bursts of patterned tile create a cozy, yet stimulating work/life environment.