Point of view: Why you want the apartment without the vista

By Leigh Kamping-Carder | December 12, 2014 - 3:59PM

Whether your heart longs to gaze at Central Park foliage or a field of skyscrapers, a spellbinding view is up there on the list of coveted apartment assets. Unfortunately, those vistas don’t come cheap, so some buyers are compromising on places that look out onto brick walls and airshafts, the New York Observer reports.

It’s not a bad strategy, considering the relative affordability. Indeed, one restaurateur cited by the Observer bought a co-op on a low floor at the rear of a Tribeca loft building, saving 50 percent off the price of similar places on higher floors. And water views in particular can cost 10 to 20 percent more, as we’ve reported. Keep in mind, also, that taking a less desirable unit in the building where you want to live gets your foot in the door for less, and rear-facing apartments are often quieter.

Lastly, simple decorating tricks can obscure an underwhelming view. Conceal it with French doors or use quirky wallpaper and rich drapes as a distraction, New York interior designer Kati Curtis tells the Observer. Also, try a colorful throw rug, blush-colored paint or blonde wood for the furniture.

Or, why not embrace your lackluster view? It may never wind up on a postcard, but that glimpse of your neighbor’s rickety old fire escape is more New York than a panorama of the Brooklyn Bridge will ever be.

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