space of the week

An Airy Loft Inside a Former Church in Jersey City

A new life under Gothic vaults for designers Paul Melo and Tom Walko.

Photo: Jacob Snavely
Photo: Jacob Snavely

Paul Melo had his doubts when he heard about this condo for sale in the deconsecrated St. Boniface Church in Jersey City. “I already go to church. I’m not going to live in one,” Melo remembers thinking. This was 2016, and Melo and his partner, Tom Walko, both designers, had decided to buy a place together — “We each lived in our respective apartments for over ten years. Neither was big enough to comfortably absorb the furnishings and accumulations of the other,” says Melo — and had been searching fruitlessly all over Manhattan. They looked at more than two dozen two-bedroom apartments, from Harlem to Murray Hill to the Two Bridges area on the Lower East Side, but nothing felt like home. “I surprised Tom by suggesting we look at Jersey City,” Melo says. That was their first leap of faith.

The 1866 church had been shuttered by the Archdiocese of Newark and sat vacant for years before being turned into nine loft units in 2015. And Melo instantly saw the light when he visited the condo. “I loved the history, age, and volume,” he says. “Tom loved that it was a rare space.”

The conversion split the church’s interior volumes down the middle, and their duplex is in the upper western half. “Our condo floats above the area that was the nave and sits over what would have been part of the altar and choir,” Melo explains.

Resurrected As Condos: The façade of the 1866 St. Boniface Church, converted to condos in 2015. Melo and Walko’s residence is on the upper left. Photo: Jacob Snavely. Illustration: Jason Lee.
Resurrected As Condos: The façade of the 1866 St. Boniface Church, converted to condos in 2015. Melo and Walko’s residence is on the upper left. Photo... Resurrected As Condos: The façade of the 1866 St. Boniface Church, converted to condos in 2015. Melo and Walko’s residence is on the upper left. Photo: Jacob Snavely. Illustration: Jason Lee.

The renovation left much of the original Gothic architectural drama intact — the sorts of details usually seen from a distance if a parishioner happened to look heavenward — allowing Melo and Walko to enjoy 24-foot vaulted ceilings and grand arched doorways. And there was also lots of room for Melo’s hand-knotted carpets (he is vice-president of the luxury carpet atelier Fort Street Studio) and space for his Paul Mathieu dining table, as well as for fashion designer Walko’s collection of photography and Fornasetti plates. Along with tons and tons of books collected by both. Plus Walko loves to cook, and his previous apartments never gave him the room (“We totally removed the ‘old’ kitchen from 2015,” says Melo).

The only quirk is that their dining room, so suitable for dinner parties, is up the spiral staircase from the kitchen. Which means “I am the human dumbwaiter, because I get to bring the food up on a tray when we entertain,” Melo jokes.

“Because I am still cooking!” says Walko.

By the entrance are the religious icons Melo inherited from his late best friend, Greg Lugliani, an activist and one of the original members of act up, the aids organization. “He passed away in 2017,” Melo says, “and he collected those icons over the years. They are from all over the world.” And they look very much at home.

Melo and Walko do, too. “I think that it is a very positive and uplifting thing, because we live where people sang,” Melo says.

The Vestibule: The duplex is reached by this stairway with an original stained-glass window from Innsbruck, Austria. The light was designed by Jan Plechác & Henry Wielgus and inspired by Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre. The collection of religious icons was inherited from a friend of Paul Melo’s. The original stair railing was redone to make it look less “suburban,” explains Melo. Photo: Jacob Snavely
The Living Room (top): The pair of vintage Deco chairs, upholstered in Rondo striped worsted wool, flank the 1970s Milo Baughman chrome-based, burl-wood-topped coffee table. The Gray sofa, designed for Douglas Levine for Bright, is upholstered in mohair velvet. Walko’s collection of Fornasetti Theme & Variations plates flanks a Quadro mirror by Pierre Charpin. The IC floor lamps are by Michael Anastassiades. The space is grounded by an Aura hand-knotted wild-silk carpet designed by Janis Provisor for Fort Street Studio. Photo: Jacob Snavely
The Kitchen: The island was built around a repurposed mid-century rattan front sideboard. The white marble backsplash is from Artistic Tile, and the countertops are Caesarstone. The rare Fornasetti Bird plates are done in calligraphy style. The Knoll Saarinen round table is used for breakfast and small dinners. The kitchen’s track lighting is camouflaged by a cornice so you can only see the light emanating from below the curve of the vault. Photo: Jacob Snavely
The Dining Room and Library: The Louise copper-clad teakwood dining table was designed by Paul Mathieu. The library has a wild silk carpet designed by Janis Provisor for Fort Street Studio. The Danish rosewood cabinet and floating wall unit is from Lanoba Design. Photo: Jacob Snavely
The Master Bedroom: The plaid wild-silk carpet is by Brad Davis for Fort Street Studio. The antique-mirror four-panel screen is from 1st Dibs. The three-arm rotating wall sconce is by Serge Mouille. Photo: Jacob Snavely
The Guest Room: Small “master studies” paintings are above the bed by Juan Jr. Ramirez, with headboard fabric from Design Tex and an embroidered wool bedspread purchased on a trip to Rajasthan, India. The architectural bosses that punctuate the original ceilings have been restored and repainted in metallic gold. Photo: Jacob Snavely
The Guest Room: The opposite side has an 1890 Biedermeier secretary and a collection of Mogul paintings found on many trips to India. The gold-framed convex mirror is from Gracious Home. Photo: Jacob Snavely
Paul Melo (seated) and Tom Walko. Photo: Jacob Snavely

*A version of this article appears in the July 6, 2020, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!

More From Design Hunting

See All
An Airy Loft Inside a Former Church in Jersey City