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"Although stock trader Chris Menrad spends most of his time in his native Southern California, &amp;quot;I had always wanted a piece of New York,&amp;quot; he says. He owned a modern home in Laguna Beach and a midcentury place in Palm Springs, but yearned for a bit of Manhattan&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;prewar charm.&amp;quot; In 2001, he found just that in London Terrace Towers in Chelsea -- at its opening in 1931, the world&amp;#039;s largest apartment building, with 1,665 units (mostly studios, like the one Menrad bought).  At 550 square feet, his piece of the Big Apple was tiny. &amp;quot;I only spend about a third of the year there, so I didn&amp;#039;t need much space,&amp;quot; Menrad says. Still, he wanted it to feel spacious and welcoming. &amp;quot;It had to be someplace where I could have people over. I didn&amp;#039;t want just a crash pad.&amp;quot;  Thus the owner faced a classic dilemma of small-space living: What do you do with the bed? The answer came in an up-to-date take on a feature found in many prewar studios: the Murphy bed. Patented in 1918, these units fold up into and are concealed by a closet or wall cabinet when not in use. At night they swing down into a room foot first. Wanting a larger bed that didn&amp;#039;t extend too far, Menrad hired a contractor to make a queen-size bed that would descend sideways from the niche his studio&amp;#039;s original Murphy bed (a twin size) had occupied. Next: the condo&amp;#039;s kitchen and bath. Menrad hired architectural designer/contractor Iain Campbell, who&amp;#039;d worked on several other units in the complex, to do what the owner calls &amp;quot;a sensitive renovation that was modern but reflected back to the building&amp;#039;s era.&amp;quot; In the 6 1/2 x 10-foot kitchen, says Campbell, &amp;quot;we created a space where one person with just a step to either side could access all of the cooking spaces and appliances,&amp;quot; including the compact, state-of-the-art refrigerator, range, and dishwasher. Menrad&amp;#039;s minimal dish-storage needs allowed Campbell to replace heavy wall cabinets with sleek stainless steel shelves. The designer then updated the 5 1/2 x 7 1/2-foot bath&amp;#039;s plumbing and fixtures, and restored its original ceramic tile floor. Menrad&amp;#039;s studio now had maximum square footage to accommodate furniture. A devotee of design, he chose iconic pieces one might have found in a stylish home of London Terrace&amp;#039;s vintage, including a sofa originally designed by Le Corbusier in 1929; a 1920s Marcel Breuer coffee table; a 1935 Utrecht armchair by Gerrit Rietveld; and a 1929 Barcelona stool by Mies van der Rohe. &amp;quot;The furniture is nicely scaled,&amp;quot; says Menrad, &amp;quot;so the room feels spacious.&amp;quot; A simple palette enhances the sense of roominess: white walls, trim, and ceiling; upholstery in white, blue-gray, and gray -- a tone also picked up by a Tibetan wool area rug. Complementing it all are a Richard Serra print and an assortment of black-and-white photos featuring views of prewar Manhattan. &amp;quot;The whole studio is now a calm, monochrome experience,&amp;quot; says Chris Menrad. &amp;quot;After the jar and the jangle of the city outside, it&amp;#039;s very soothing.&amp;quot; Click here to view the resources. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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