PERFECT CIRCLE

Ishka Designs bridges history and heritage to forge a harmonious Brooklyn brownstone.

- CAMILLE OKHIO

Stripped-back spaces are a specialty of the New York City studio Ishka Designs. "A home should be able to come to life at its barest," declares Anishka Clarke, one-half of the design duo behind the firm. With her partner in life and work, Niya Bascom, Clarke fashions spaces that support myriad functions with sleek, streamlined forms. The duo's practice is rigorous and responsible; Clarke and Bascom eschew synthetic materials in favor of natural ones and incorporate their clients' identities while working to sidestep clichés. This can be a tough ethos to follow, but it's all done with the goal of "giving more" while using less, says Bascom.