Maison 78 — DXA Studio

DXA Studio was chosen to design the interiors of Maison 78, a new luxury rental on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The scope includes the residential units, the lobby, and a multi-level amenity program. The charge was simple and demanding: deliver contemporary interiors with the craft, proportion, and quiet confidence of the neighborhood’s great townhouses. Every element had to work in concert to create a setting equal to the area’s architectural lineage while meeting the expectations of today’s renters.

The project required solving a series of inherited constraints. DXA joined after the building’s structure and vertical systems were set, a decision that maximized rentable area but left irregular conditions across the amenity floors. We responded with rigorous precedent study, iterative test fits, and rendered options to restore order to the plan and reinforce the townhouse sequence. Careful detailing and a long coordination process integrated millwork, stone, and lighting with building services so that ducts, columns, and risers recede and the intended hierarchy of spaces reads cleanly. Lighting strategy is central, accenting key moments, balancing contrast, and tying material textures to the overall mood.

DXA's approach draws on the townhouse as both precedent and spatial diagram. Large floor plates are organized as a sequence of connected rooms, one leading to the next, shifting from public to more intimate settings. This procession produces parlor-like spaces that feel generous yet composed, encouraging residents to linger, gather, and return. A clear contrast is established between amenity and residential environments: the amenities adopt a calm, moody atmosphere suited to socializing and focus, while the apartments open to a lighter, brighter palette that amplifies daylight and views.

Maison 78 contributes to the Upper East Side tradition of composed, finely crafted interiors while addressing how people live now. The building brings 140 residences to the neighborhood and pairs them with a set of amenities designed to function throughout the day so that community life has real places to land. By aiming for rental living at a condominium level of finish and planning, the project raises expectations for the area and supports the surrounding streetscape with new activity, eyes on the block, and daily use. The result is a coherent interior world: familiar in its references, contemporary in its execution, and intentionally made to be lived in.

Traditional details are implemented through a contemporary lens. Amenity floors layer paneled parlors and wainscoting with wide arched bronze portals that mark transitions between grand rooms. Soft velvets and sculpted rugs sit against stone wainscot, marble fireplaces, and ribbed glass to create depth and warmth. Custom GFRG light coves recall early 20th-century plaster workmanship, elevating illumination from background utility to crafted object. In the residences, materials and profiles are simplified and tuned for clarity, durability, and a subtle sense of ease.