My House: A Queens Couple Bring the Nightlife Home to Their Color-Changing Loft

By day, the 2,500-square-foot loft that Chau and Desna share in Queen’s laid-back Ridgewood neighborhood has the verdant airiness of a chic hotel. The kitchen and living room are suffused with light thanks to a floor-to-ceiling expanse of windows on the southern facade, and a monumental living wall adds a lush, resort-inspired feel.

By night, however, the space turns up the sex appeal. A row of colored strip lights transforms the entrance hall into a catwalk, a neon sign flashes on, and projected visuals play above a purring electric fireplace. By the looks of it, the home could be Brooklyn’s buzzy new nightclub—curious passersby are often trying to find a way in. "We see people running back and forth, back and forth, looking for an entrance," says Chau.

It’s a fitting home for the couple, who are seasoned in traveling and exploring the city’s nightlife. They embarked on renovating the building, a 1938 knitting factory, around the same time that Desna left the real estate business to focus on her burgeoning music career. As a DJ and producer, she makes what she calls "frequency music," which shares a name with the record label she started. Her propulsive techno tracks are crafted around solfeggio frequencies—tones that reportedly have healing effects for the body and mind.