Even from outside, the apartment is clearly special—spanning the top two floors of a classic SoHo building on a charming and remarkably quiet stone-paved block. After a short elevator ride up to the fifth floor, the doors open to King, a happy rescue goldendoodle, and his owners, the creative power couple Laura Kim and Linus Adolfsson. She is co–creative director of Oscar de la Renta and cofounder of the CFDA award-winning fashion label Monse. He is a savvy salesman of rest, having popularized Hästens beds among American shoppers through the Sleep Spa, his bicoastal concept showrooms. The home that they have created together represents the perfect merging of those worlds: total relaxation in high style.
Adolfsson happened upon the apartment during the pandemic, when he relocated from Los Angeles to Manhattan. Sun-filled and spacious, it required little in the way of renovation—just a paint job and some new built-ins. “I wanted a place that reminded me of France,” notes the Swedish-born entrepreneur, referring to the two fireplaces, original window molding, and three terraces. “And I came from California, so I needed good light.”
Then came Kim. After a whirlwind courtship, the longtime Big Apple resident moved in, bringing with her some 100 boxes and ambitious ideas for alfresco entertaining. Together, the couple embarked on a radical transformation of the outdoor spaces, adapting the front terrace into an herb garden and the uppermost roof (previously Adolfsson’s open-air yoga studio) into a thriving vegetable garden, with raised beds surrounded by lush plantings. “I have tomatoes, pumpkins, chiles,” Kim says of their impressive harvest, which she credits to the help of horticulture expert Guy Henry Mueller. “No hanging out here. We go here to work!” The back terrace, however, is dedicated to play, encompassing several seating areas for dining and reclining. Adolfsson will grill while guests mix and mingle, drinks in hand. “This is our New York oasis,” he says. “For us and for others.”