Bryan and Sarah’s Vintage Modern Home and Studio

updated Feb 20, 2019
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(Image credit: Andrea Sparacio)

Name: Bryan & Sarah Farevaag
Location: Brooklyn, New York (Prospect Park South)
Size: 900 square feet
Years lived in: 3.5; rented

Bryan and Sarah Farevaag are creative powerhouses who live and breathe good design; Bryan is Deputy Art Director of Digital at O Magazine, and Sarah is an Interior Designer. Newly married, these Canadian transplants designed & silk-screened their invitations from their home design studio and showcased their wedding photos in a beautiful arrangement of white frames – which make excellent use of the narrow hallway between the bedroom and bathroom.

(Image credit: Andrea Sparacio)

Every inch of this impeccably designed one-bedroom apartment is cohesive and thoughtfully placed. The oversized moon poster is a knockout statement piece, and the gray color palette never feels cold, especially with a sun-drenched living room, kitchen and bedroom. Two friendly dogs Sulle & Bella – whom they lovingly refer to as their “Monsters” – excitedly greet you at the door, and big warm smiles from the creative home dwellers greet you as well. The overall décor is minimalistic and modern, and the gorgeous galley kitchen stands out in black and white – home to many dinner parties, espressos, and a playful dartboard with scoreboard. Though Sulle & Bella are well-trained and enjoy hanging out in the bathtub, when they need to be kept out of the kitchen the couple have built a sliding door that blends in behind the dining table to partition the room off.

(Image credit: Andrea Sparacio)

Apartment Therapy Survey:

My Style: Mid Century Modern.

Inspiration: Our inspiration draws heavily from time spent in NYC, Norway and our childhoods in western Canada. Childhood dreams (the Moon) and restrictions (Black Walls) are continually shaping our living space. We are constantly inspired by the by the unique spaces that we stumble upon and love trying to integrate key features into our home.

Favorite Element: The Antlers and the Moon.

Biggest Challenge: Fitting a design studio into our one bedroom apartment and making it work within our aesthetic.

What Friends Say: A great place to have dinner. We love hosting friends and the holidays are often celebrated around the desk that we convert into a twelve-person dining table. The nights are filled with a lot of Polaroid’s and wonderful memories over food and wine.

Biggest Embarrassment: (Sarah): My windows have needed their exteriors cleaned for 5 years now! (Bryan): I often wonder if people think were drunk when we painted the light grey walls

Proudest DIY: It would be a tie between either our upholstered bed or the set of barn doors. Bed: we hated how you could see under the footboard and how our pillows would fall behind our headboard. So we upholstered panels with felt and created our own head and footboards. Barn Doors: When cooking the kitchen would over heat quickly and the Living Room was impossible to cool during the summer. While Bryan’s Dad was visiting, one summer from Canada, we built and installed barn doors that help us control the apartments temperature seasonally.

Biggest Indulgence: We have not really indulgenced on one crazy item. There is a long list of dreams, but with being in a rental we have tried to make the apartment work with pieces that can easily be moved to the next. Of course if and when we own a permanent home our first purchases will be a custom in record stand and sofa.

Best Advice:Search for key pieces on Craigslist or Ebay especially in NYC. It is crazy how many pieces need to be sold for a great bargain because they will not fit in the next stairwell or apartment…

Dream Sources: 1st Dibs, Horne, Ochre, Matter Matters, and Modern Anthology.

(Image credit: Andrea Sparacio)

Resources of Note:

PAINT & COLORS

  • All Gray Walls: Benjamin Moore, Coventry Gray, #HC-169 (with 50% white)
  • All Dark Gray/Almost Black Walls: Benjamin Moore, Black Panther, #2125-10
  • All Millwork and Ceiling: Benjamin Moore, Super White
  • ENTRY

    • Ladder: Room and Board, Gallery Shelf in Natural Steel
    • Metal Bins: Vintage, Vintage
    • Boots: Hunter
    • Plant Stand: Ikea

    LIVING ROOM

  • AV Stand: Room and Board, Grove Media Unit
  • Sofa: Room and Board, Townsend
  • Upholstered Chair: Vintage, Kroehler
  • Walnut Chair: Herman Miller, Eames, Molded Plywood Walnut Dinner Chair
  • Rug: West Elm, Souk Rug
  • Lamp on End Table Next to Sofa: Robert Sonneman, Tik Lamp
  • Floor Lamp: CB2, discontinued model
  • End Table Next to Sofa: Room and Board, Portica Table, Cut down by us
  • Coffee Table: Room and Board, Discontinued Table
  • Glass Case: Modern Anthology
  • Plant Stand: Ikea
  • Candlesticks: Sit-Read, Vintage
  • Antlers: Modern Anthology
  • Flat File: Vintage
  • Desk: Room and Board, Corbett Table in Walnut
  • Two (2) Desk Chairs: Herman Miller, Vintage Aluminum Eames Chairs
  • Moon Print: Vintage
  • Coffee Table: Room and Board, Discontinued Table
  • Desk Lamps: Canal Lighting, Custom painted (by us)
  • Bookcases: Room and Board, Discontinued
  • Desk: Room and Board, Basis Desk in Walnut, with Room and Board, Sequel Filing Cabinet in Walnut
  • Desk Chair: Herman Miller, Fiberglass Shell Chair, vintage with new walnut bases
  • Desk Lamp: Tolomeo Micro Lamp
  • DINING ROOM/KITCHEN

  • Table: Room and Board, Portica Table with White Quartz
  • Dining Chairs: Herman Miller, Fiberglass Shell Chair, vintage with new walnut bases
  • Chandelier: Vintage
  • Original Hand Drawn Sanborn Brooklyn Map: Vintage, Brooklyn Flea Market
  • Wine Rack: Vintage with Ikea Numerar countertop
  • Ampersand: House Industries, limited edition
  • Dart Board: Old Time Games
  • BEDROOM

  • Bed: Room and Board, Piper Bed, with custom upholstered Filz Felt panels by us
  • Dressers: Vintage
  • Nightstand: Room and Board, Grove Nightstands
  • Bedside Lamps: Tolomeo Micro Lamp
  • Lamp on High Dresser: Caravan Pacific, Alberta Lamp
  • Shell Chair: Herman Miller, Fiberglass Shell Chair, vintage with new walnut bases
  • Lamp on Low Dresser: ZGallerie, discontinued
  • Armchair and Ottoman: Crate and Barrel, model discontinued
  • Mirror: Ikea, Hovet mirror
  • Red Blanket: Hudson Bay Company

  • BATHROOM

  • Cabinet: Ikea, Billy Bookcase
  • Brooklyn Map: Vintage, Brooklyn Flea Market
  • (Image credit: Andrea Sparacio)

    Thanks, Bryan & Sarah!

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