Before & After: Big Changes for a Brooklyn Apartment
This is the story of how one Clinton Hill co-op got a complete, top-to-bottom refresh. The apartment had a problem common to lots of older homes: a small, cramped kitchen, cut off from the rest of the living areas. The homeowners, who love to entertain, envisioned a new, modern kitchen, and an open, uninterrupted living area that would take full advantage of the apartment’s incredible light and views.
It may be hard to believe it, but this is, in fact, the same space (and the same angle, for you sticklers). The most dramatic change was opening up the previously separate kitchen to the living and dining areas, but the removal of the wall of mirrors and the addition of new, lighter wide-plank flooring also make a big difference.
The new kitchen, fitted with glossy white IKEA cabinets, has a gorgeously simple modern sensibility. Butcher block counters help to add a touch of warmth.
One of the most unique elements of the new kitchen is the custom cabinets that conceal the refrigerator and dishwasher. The couple’s contractor, Kris, helped to build the cabinets; they only added about 15% to the overall cost of the cabinet materials, and help to maintain the space’s streamlined feel.
Now that the walls around the kitchen are no more, light from the corner windows fills the apartment, making the space feel big and bright. Its minimal feel is the perfect complement to the couple’s Scandinavian-modern aesthetic.
Another exciting change happened in the hallway: during the renovation it was expanded 9 inches (a little bit of space stolen from the kitchen), which made room for wall-mounted bookshelves that turn this circulation space into a home library.
The homeowners found their contractor, Kris, through Sweeten, a New York-area resource that connects homeowners with architects, designers, and contractors. You can read more about the project, see more photos and find sources on the Sweeten blog. And stay tuned for their bathroom renovation, which will be featured in an upcoming post.
More Project Before & Afters from Sweeten:
Re-edited from a post originally published August 26, 2015.