BUILDER: Rosen Global Partners, New York, N.Y.
ARCHITECT: Arquitectonica, Miami, Fla.

Nelson Chen has always liked living on the edge, of sea and sky that is. “I have always lived in high rises,” says Chen of his life-long affinity for buildings that seem to reach to the heavens. “I love the sense of open space.” His familial roots tie him to Englewood Cliffs, and his successful real estate agency to Edgewater, so it is no surprise to family, friends and colleagues that Chen proudly calls himself a “Bergen County baby” and who has every intention of forever calling this special neck of the woods home.

“Traditional tried and true,” says Chen of the design scheme of his previous apartments, “but a few years ago I was sensing a need to step out of the box.” So when an opportunity came along for Chen to purchase and decorate a newly constructed townhouse nestled in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge on the banks of the Hudson River in Edgewater, he snapped at the chance to stamp out his own brand of metro-modern style.

At 3,500 square feet, with a footprint stretching four levels, and complete with a wrap-around rooftop deck with unparalleled views of Manhattan, the three bedroom, three bath home dressed in a modern monochromatic color palette of soft grays, rich browns and creamy whites is nothing short of “wow.” Precision, patience and perseverance were his design muses as he researched and handpicked every item for his home – from the custom soft-gray wall colors to furniture pieces like a synthetic stone-topped dining table to the one-of-a-kind lighting fixtures.

“I knew that I wanted to create a look: a sort of Soho loft meets urban chic,” says Chen of the interior design plan that took him 18 months to complete. The result: a stunning union of sea, sky and space.