PHOTOS: Explore 4 Envy-Inducing Lofts, Penthouses and Townhomes from Dwell’s City Modern Home Tour

<i>The SkyHouse Penthouse boasts a shiny indoor slide.</i> <p>It goes without saying that NYC plays host to <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/photos-see-inside-5-nyc-fantasy-lofts-triplexes-and-townhouses-from-dwells-city-modern-home-tours/">some of the most incredible properties on the planet</a>, but they're usually hidden away from the eyes of regular folk like us. But that changed for one weekend a few weeks ago when <a href="http://www.dwell.com">Dwell</a>, <a href="http://www.nymag.com">New York Magazine</a> and some of the NYC's top architects joined forces to show off a few of the Big Apple's most magnificent homes in their annual <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/tag/city-modern">City Modern</a> tour. Plenty of jaws dragged along the floors of these opulent abodes as visitors took in astounding features like 50-foot-high ceilings, private pools, indoor slides, climbing walls, rooftop solariums, giant terraces, personal libraries, ultra luxe kitchens...need we go on? Check out our exclusive photos of these four incredible lofts, penthouses and townhomes from the tour. We're certain you'll be coveting at least one of these Manhattan stunners when you're done clicking through our gallery!

Chelsea's <a href="http://www.re4a.com">Resolution: 4 Architecture</a> is best known for <a href="http://inhabitat.com/prefab-friday-resolution-4-swingline/">their prefabs</a>, but this NYC studio has been transforming sky-high spaces all across the city.

Their 14th Street Loft seen above was designed for a family of five that wanted a spacious home with lots of natural light, tons of built-in storage, and plenty of rooms to gather together and unwind. While the loft boasts all of the usual creature comforts of a typical home, its most exciting feature is a spectacular solarium which crowns the loft and opens up to the rooftop. The space not only provides a wonderful place for the family to convene, but the raised floor of the solarium provides a partial skylight for the bedroom below!

A view to the solarium from the bedroom below!

Plenty of storage for games and toys and an entertainment system makes this space a great place for the family to convene year round.

The home features built in furniture and storage all throughout.

Living room.

Living room.

A large kitchen and dining area makes entertaining easy.

Classic arched windows frame the cityscape.

Master bedroom.

A view into the kids' bedroom.

The kids' room.

We were absolutely blown away by this stunning SoHo conversion designed by Peter Guzy of <a href="http://www.asfourguzy.com/">Asfour Guzy Architects</a>. The single home, four-story townhouse was originally a 10,000 sq ft ConEd switching station constructed in 1909. From the offset Guzy wanted to maintain the original character of the building. Brick walls, beams, and vaults were all retained during the renovation, and the architect seamlessly integrated both a home and workplace into the century-old space. The townhome also boasts an incredible library, an indoor pool, a terrace, an elevator, and countless other amenities. Natural light plays a critical role in the massive home and every room was designed to take advantage of natural light.

The main living room of the 4-story home.

The architect uses every opportunity to bring natural light into the home.

We couldn't figure out if this was a pool or an art piece - there was no entry as far as we could see!

The real indoor pool.

A small library for studying.

The kitchen.

The family room which opens up to the terrace. The stairs seen here were installed during the renovation.

View to the terrace.

Bedrooms feature many of the old details contained in the original ConEd structure, including spectacular skylights like the one seen here.

One of the children's bedrooms.

The master bedroom.

A study at the front of the home.

The Meatpacking Loft, designed by <a href="http://leonedesignstudio.com/">Leone Design Studio</a>, is the quintessential NYC luxury loft that we've all lusted over on TV. This particular 2,880 sq ft home is located in a former printing factory that was built by John Jacob Astor in the 1890s and then converted a century later into loft apartments. Not much regard was given to the building's past during the conversion, so when Leone Design Studio started designing the Meatpacking Loft, they wanted to create a modern living space that would also pay homage to the building's industrial roots. Today the loft features a sophisticated palette of pale, natural materials that contrast with the existing wood and steel structure, bringing a bit of NYC's history to present day.

Living room.

A subtle and natural color palette keeps the interior looking light and airy.

the kids' room.

Master bedroom.

Master bathroom.

A view to 14th street in the Meatpacking District.

Part funhouse, part M.C. Escher lithograph come to life, architect <a href="http://hotson.net/">David Hoston</a> and <a href="http://gvinteriors.com/">Ghislaine Viñas Interior Design</a>'s SkyHouse is an architectural masterpiece that plays with all of the senses. Occupying a previously vacant four-story penthouse at the summit of one of NYC's oldest skyscrapers, the SkyHouse was restructured by Hoston with help from GV Interiors into four levels with a faceted stairwell, glass bridges, skylights, and a 50-foot-tall "climbing wall" that turns one of the home's steel structural elements into a death-defying piece of decor. And for an equally dizzying descent, an 80-foot-long stainless steel slide was installed to sweep over the bedrooms, through interior windows, and out over the stairway before opening up to the entry gallery. We didn't get to ride the slide ourselves, but we hear that it's pretty thrilling!

The slide permeates all of the rooms in the home.

The slide opens up to the entryway and also creates a partition wall between the entry and entertainment room.

Would you climb this 50-ft beam?

The master bedroom.

A smaller bedroom with a beautiful skylight.

[gallery_extend]....<br><br><a href='https://inhabitat.com/photos-explore-4-envy-inducing-lofts-penthouses-and-townhomes-from-dwells-city-modern-home-tour/'>READ ARTICLE</a>

Kids going for a ride.

View to the top from the outside.