TRIBECA — From restored warehouses to gut-renovated condos, no two TriBeCa lofts are alike.
A glimpse of the pricey neighborhood's real estate diversity will be on display next month, as the 12th annual Inside Tribeca Loft Tour invites the public to peek inside 11 private apartments.
"New Yorkers are real-estate obsessed, and this caters to that obsession," said Jenny McAllister-Nevins, co-organizer of the tour, which benefits the Friends of Duane Park.
"There is no better way to see how people [in TriBeCa] live than to actually go inside their doors."
This year, the most unusual loft on the tour is a sprawling 3,000-square-foot space on Warren Street that features a modern boxes-within-boxes design, in which each room is suspended within others like an architectural sculpture.
Tina Bech Lipman, a freelance makeup artist, moved into the loft with her two children in the spring of 2010 and immediately set about adding homey touches to the stark white, glass-and-metal design.
Colorful artwork, including many pieces by local women painters, hangs on the walls, while a couch in the sunken living room overflows with a cascade of bright Ethiopian pillows. Comfortable furniture from Lipman's native Denmark softens the space's bold lines.
Lipman, who is renting the space, said her 11-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter cinched her decision to move in, although they have since tired of the dozens of blond-wood steps that connect the many levels.
"They were like, 'Oh my god,'" Lipman said of their reaction the first time they saw the apartment. "Now they say they don't want stairs [in the family's next home]."
Also on the loft tour is a former warehouse on Desbrosses Street, where the owners spent years restoring the original wood floors and ceiling beams before moving in, in 2005.
"It was a long process," said David Weiswasser, 38, a talent and music buyer who lives in the 2,400-square-foot loft with his wife, 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.
"As a native New Yorker, having a loft like this was a dream," he added. "It was important for me to maintain the history and character."
The dark-wood floors and tall ceilings now serve as a backdrop for Weiswasser's art collection, which includes many colorful street-art pieces.
To illustrate how much work the loft needed to become a home, Weiswasser mentioned that the previous occupant, an artist, had slept in a tent he pitched in the middle of what is now the living room.
Other lofts on the tour include an airy Washington Street space designed with feng shui in mind; an apartment with an art collection that includes pieces by Keith Haring, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol; and a living space overlooking Duane Park that serves as a gallery, studio and home for its artist owner.
Tickets to the loft tour cost $50 in advance or $55 the day of the event, and help support the maintenance of Duane Park, the second-oldest park in the city. Just 400 tickets are available each year, and they often sell out.
The Inside Tribeca Loft Tour will take place Oct. 16 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., starting at Hudson and Duane streets. Tickets are available online.
