Serene — and Six Flights Up — in the East Village

Magdalena and Jonathan Keck had a few nonnegotiable requisites when looking for an apartment. They wanted to live on the top floor with outdoor space in a prewar below 23rd Street. They found it in this East Village apartment, which is just under 1,000 square feet and six flights up. She is an interior designer, and he is a graphic designer, so they knew what they had to do. They gutted it — it’s serene and modern — and planted a roof garden upstairs. “Growing up close to nature in the Masuria region of Poland, my natural desire and vision have always been to have a feeling of wilderness,” she says. “Having that in the middle of Manhattan is extra special.”