A Love Story in Design
Like many modern romances, Julia Syriani and Nasser Nakib first met on a dance floor, at 4 a.m. in a Beirut bar. A mutual friend had tried to set them up, but with music blaring and the night nearly over, they went their separate ways.
Five years later, the same friend tried again, texting Nasser to meet a “perfect” woman. He declined but agreed to exchange numbers. It wasn’t until they began texting the next day, just as Nasser was flying to New York, that a spark truly lit. Within a month, they were swept up in a whirlwind romance.
Design turned out to be their shared passion. Nasser, an architect, runs his own architectural firm in New York City. Julia, with a background in hospitality, gradually became his creative partner. “Bit by bit, she squeezed herself into my world,” Nasser says. “She’s got great taste, a sharp eye, and she does the research I hate.”
Early in their relationship, Nasser bought a 220-square-metre penthouse loft located in Lower Manhattan, an object he had admired since his days as a young, penniless architect wandering New York in the 1980s. Originally purchased as an investment and a home for his three adult sons, the space soon became a shared passion project.
The loft, though full of potential, needed a complete overhaul. “Everything was wrong,” Nasser recalls. They stripped it down to its bones, uncovering original brick walls, beams, and even three layers of paint from 1895 hidden under Sheetrock. “There’s no reason to hide all that and paint it,” he says. Skylights were added to the 4.2-metre ceilings, flooding the space with natural light. Then came the floor selection: Solid, wide-plank European Oak flooring in its natural finish, which Nasser thought would be the best base for the furniture to rest on.
Decorating the loft was an adventure in itself. The couple travelled frequently, London, Paris, Italy, collecting antiques with stories. A former desk from London became a bathroom vanity. A flea market in Paris yielded the wooden fireplace mantel. A Belgian church cabinet now sits in the living room. In the kitchen, an authentic Robert “Mouseman” Thompson plate rack displays a collection of Fornasetti architectural plates that Nasser bought from the iconic Barneys department store three decades ago. Contemporary art by friends like Nada Raad, Marylynn Massoud adds another personal layer.
“The best thing about it is everything has a story,” Nasser says. “We have videos, photos, memories, some with friends, some just the two of us. Always lots of coffee. And lots of wine.”
Functionality played a key role in the renovation. Nasser swears by the USM Haller modular system, which he’s used since early in his career. “The first time I opened a USM drawer, I thought, ‘Wow, cabinets can be this precise?’” Over time, he’s customised pieces, from tissue box covers to wheeled laundry hampers, and, as Nasser projects, “much more exciting designs are in the works.”
When he shipped his book collection from Beirut during wartime, a custom shelving system became a must, so Nasser had to design the system to hold Atlas Folios. Julia embraced the system too, using a tall kitchen cabinet to store cookbooks and various supplies. A Mid-Grey USM Haller bench near the entryway hides cleaning supplies, and ruby red hallway cabinets store linens, light bulbs, and household essentials. The system even extends to the basement gym and music studio.
Giant copper cone lights line the mirrored hallway leading to three bedrooms designed to feel like mini apartments behind a green slate wall. Each son had his preferred colour selection of USM Haller bedside tables.
Julia and Nasser lived through the full renovation process, watching the space transform around them. Today, the loft reflects not only their aesthetic but their journey.
“We know every inch of it,” Julia says. “We know the story behind it, how we wanted it to feel, how we wanted to live. That’s why we spend most of our time here. We love how we live.”
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