Sygrove Associates Design Group

As an owner in an Emery Roth building in the West Village with strong prewar Art Deco character, I found our experience with Marilyn Sygrove’s lobby redesign deeply disappointing.

The original lobby had elegant proportions and the restrained glamour associated with classic New York residential design. The redesign dramatically altered the lobby, introducing oversized and visually dominant elements that many owners felt were poorly scaled for the building.

Within the first two months after completion, dissatisfaction was significant enough to require a town hall involving the designer, architect, and contractor. Marilyn stated that she had never experienced this level of dissatisfaction with a project before and apologized. I was surprised, however, to find multiple public reviews describing similar themes: dominant design elements overwhelming smaller lobbies, insufficient attention to scale and day-to-day function, and costly installations residents later wanted altered or removed.

Concerns raised by owners centered on the placement and scale of the desk — now positioned directly in front of the entrance doors — along with the furniture, lighting, wallpaper, and overall layout. The renderings understated the scale and profile of several major elements, particularly the furniture. Owners were never shown floor plans to scale, making it difficult to understand how these pieces would actually occupy and affect the lobby.

One of the most upsetting aspects of the project was the lack of sensitivity toward the building’s original terrazzo floor — a defining feature of this nearly 100-year-old Emery Roth lobby. The first many owners heard about opening the floor for electrical service to the relocated desk was when drilling into the terrazzo had already begun. Had the floor not been opened, returning the desk to its original location would likely have been far simpler. Instead, owners are now effectively locked into a desk placement that has been one of the project’s central points of dissatisfaction.

I waited nearly a year before writing this review, hoping that Marilyn and the board would make a meaningful effort to improve the situation following the town hall. Instead, owners still have not been presented with a straightforward option to remove or sell some of the large furniture pieces.

I recognize that boards control many major project decisions. Nevertheless, based on our experience, I cannot recommend Marilyn Sygrove.

via Google

Marilyn Sygrove and her talented team were engaged to restyle the Grand Ballroom complex of renowned The Garden City Hotel on Long Island and the results of their meticulous and thoughtful design process rendered a stunning result. From start to finish I worked directly with Marilyn and her lead designers who made numerous visits to the hotel to understand our objectives and provide multiple style directions for us to choose from. Marilyn's ability to grasp our diverse requirements for function and form, along with designing custom furniture and fixtures to further compliment the renovation made for a most satisfying experience. The response from our client base has been exuberantly positive. As the premiere luxury hotel of Long Island NY for 150 years The Garden City Hotel's jewel box has long been it's Grand Ballroom, which has always been the aspirational venue for every important gala, business conference and private family social celebration in the region. By far it's best iteration has been created by The Sygrove Design Group.

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Marilyn Sygrove and her team assisted us with a hallway design project in a luxury residential building in NYC. Marilyn and her team handled the project with ease, thinking of every detail and finish! The end product came out spectacular. Marilyn was able to navigate feedback, and put together a team who finished the hallway project on time and with minimal disruption to the residents. We hope to work with Marilyn and her team again soon, and would highly recommend Sygrove moving forward!

via Google

Sygrove Associates were hired to design and manage the renovation of our Hallway's and Lobby in our co-op. Our co-op is 25 Floors and was in need of a large renovation. Marilyn and her team also had the daunting task of executing this all through the uncertainties of COVID. Marilyn's experience and knowledge with all the vendors in the residential industry allowed us to have the best team in place for every aspect of the renovation. Each vendor Sygrove presented were highly skilled and professional. The entire team hired to execute the renovations, met all health and safety standards during COVID and kept our building clean, safe and operational throughout the process.

Marilyn and her team were involved throughout the entire process and were always available to the project team and the board. The new design of the lobby and hallways were not only aesthetically pleasing, but the quality of all materials and fixtures created an incredibly high-end look and feel. Marilyn went an extra step to incorporate a design feature in our lobby unique for our building representing a particular feature from our entrance garden area. There was not one stone left unturned to create a very customized design for our building.

We are very proud of our new lobby and hallways, and it stems from the high-end design, quality of workmanship, and the genuine and sincere commitment of Sygrove Associates. A very well thought out team was created which made this all possible, starting with the best decision first - to hire Marilyn and her team. Thank you for making our home beautiful, classy and unique.

via Google

Working with Marilyn Sygrove and her team was an outstanding experience! We needed to renovate the hallways of our David Rockwell designed building in downtown Manhattan. Marilyn listened to what we wanted to achieve, then presented us with creative and thoughtful design solutions. Her team was very knowledgeable, organized, responsive and on-time throughout the process. Marilyn gave our hallways a fresher, updated look, that blends perfectly with the design of our building. The results are beautiful! I look forward to working with Marilyn and her team on more design projects in the future.

via Google