This Ballet Dancer’s Cleverly Designed 345-Square-Foot NYC Studio Still Leaves Room for Stretching

For years, Chun Wai Chan, a principal ballet dancer with New York City Ballet, had become accustomed to the New York way of life for most young people: a shortage of space, plus a roommate. But when he came across a 345-square-foot studio on the Upper West Side three years ago, the apartment posed the perfect opportunity for him to live on his own, be closer to work at Lincoln Center, and have a bit more room to himself. Thanks to an unruly accumulation of random furniture, however, the apartment initially felt equally cramped. “I knew I needed help,” says Chan.

Enter AD100 designer Josh Greene. The designer, who partnered exclusively with West Elm to furnish the apartment, appreciated the challenge of working in small quarters. “Everything has to be deliberate,” he says. The first order of business was understanding how Chan wanted his home to function. It had to be a place where the principal dancer could rest and recover between rehearsals and performances. It also needed to remain tidy and maximize every square foot, because Chan stretches or teaches students via Zoom during his off time.

Chun Wai Chan sits on a West Elm green velvet Teagan sofa, where he often lounges after rehearsal.

Greene went with warm earth tones in the living area to create a relaxing atmosphere that would help Chan rest and recover between performances.

For Chan, the process of working with a designer was unfamiliar—and daunting. “I would put things into dance metaphors for anything Chun didn’t understand,” says Greene. He explained that through the collaboration, the team was choreographing a small piece, and in order for that to happen cohesively, they would need to trust each other.

The resulting design focused on separating spaces by color (“This makes it feel bigger,” explains Greene)—each section making use of a warm array of earth tones to aid in relaxation. Moss green cabinets and a marble backsplash anchor the kitchen, illuminated by a window at the end of the corridor. The main room carries on with accents of green through a geometric rug and velvet sofa, plus soft tones of red and sand. The bed—which has a little gallery wall of art hanging above it—shows off muted yellow tones, creating a cozy vignette.

What stood out to Chan was Greene’s ability to mix materials, colors, and textures.

“Initially, I thought as long as I get a set of furniture that is all wood, it would work,” he explains. Then, Chan saw the depth that putting different styles and materials together created. “It changed the whole energy of the space.”

The Lincoln Center, home to the New York City Ballet, is featured prominently on the wall.

The West Elm Miles Wood upholstered storage bed allowed for extra storage space without compromising on aesthetics.

But Greene never sacrificed clever storage either. “A storage bed usually means something clunky,” he says, but when they found a bed that they liked, they realized it came in a storage version too. “It was just the same exact bed with drawers underneath,” says Greene.

The result surprised Chan. “I have so much space that I have empty drawers, and room to put my books, flowers, and speakers—stuff I didn’t think I would ever be able to fit,” he shares. Thanks to the savvy layout, when Chan pushes the coffee table aside, he also has plenty of room to stretch and teach.

Today, the studio does a delicate dance of form and function: As soon as Chan gets home, the first thing he does is light a candle. Then he sits at his small dining table for laptop time and stretches. “I put both legs in a split shape and just do my work,” he says, adding that the cool, smooth marble feels nice on his feet after a long day. After that, he’s sprawled out on the sofa where he can nestle under his favorite orange ball-shaped pillow. “I hug it all the time or put it under my knees,” he explains. Lastly, it's the bed. “I wake up and I don’t want to leave—it's like a vacation home.”

“I’m able to move so well within the small space,” says Chan about the apartment, pleasantly surprised with how well they were able to optimize every inch with a variety of versatile West Elm pieces.

“The living room started with the rug. It changed the whole studio,” says Chan.