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Inside Out: Elise and Bryan's Comfort Zone with Style

Inside Out: A showcase for those who transform their residences into homes via innovative intervention
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Name: Elise and Bryan
Location: Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Size: 650 sqft one bdrm (made into 2)l

Built-ins have transformed the lives of Elise, Byran and their two kids.

After living in the apartment for a while and having a couple of children, it became obvious to both Elise and Bryan that the key to longevity was getting organized and sacrificing the dining room....

Do you have an idea for a house tour? Let me know! jill@apartmenttherapy.com

For all Inside Out tours, click here!
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In so doing, Elise and Bryan have managed to create room to breathe, as well as space for the children to play.

Elise contacted me and submitted all the photos as well as backround on the family's home. As a dedicated Inside Out reader, Elise thought it was time to share! We were thrilled to hear from her and enjoy the warmth and comfort evident in the apartment, and the way it is used by the whole family.

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My Style: opposites attract: juxtaposing opposing design elements to create a personal narrativemuted tones with saturated jolts of color; modern rectilinear lines with pre-war architectural details, natural with man-made materials; pattern with solids, old with new furnishings and light fixtures.

Inspiration: countless shelter magazine spreads and interiors books, favorites being World of Interiors magazine and London Interiors (book), apartmenttherapy.com, my friends apartments, the progressive, sustainable downsizing movement.

Favorite Element: pre-war details like glass doorknobs, marble windowsills, heavy solid wood paneled and windowed doors, parquet floors.

Biggest Challenge: You may notice that we dont have a crib in our apartment. We use a bedrail on the bottom bunk to keep our baby girl safe when she naps, and we have been known to store a futon under the bed in the master bedroom, trundle style, and slide it out at night. Were still working on a permanent sleeping solution that will work for all of us.

Biggest Embarrassment: painting the living room eggshell diahrrea brown two paint-jobs ago.

What Friends Say:: Its so much more spacious than it used to be; youre great with color; Now youll never have to move

Best advice: For small spaces I recommend using Benjamin Moores Historical Color Collection, because theyre muted. With their Classic colors, I find Im itching to repaint within a week, since the color takes over the space. I can zone out surrounded by a muted palette. Also, if your walls are textured, go with a flat finish. To create the illusion of space, conceal your things behind doors and curtains.

Proudest DIY:Elise: designing spaceplanning solutions, especially hiding media center in a cabinet in the living room; making the kitchen mosaic for the price of a can of tile cement and grout.
Bryan: building the curtained armoire, triangular desk, and nighttables in the bedroom.

Biggest Indulgence the living room chair from Room & Board, upholstered in durable microfiber

Dream source: ABC Carpet & Home.

Resources:

Kitchen
Paint color: Benjamin Moore potourri green
Table: craigslist.org
Metal submarine chair: Sunset Park Chinatown metal scrap store
Orange upholstered vintage office chair: Maine flea market
Green paint-chipped chair: vintage boutique in East Village
Brown chair: Bryans brothers house
Faucet: Lowes
Mosaic tiles: Hastings Tile and Bath
Cabinets, floor, appliances and countertop: Home Depot (installed by previous owners)

Living Room
Paint color: Benjamin Moore van alen green (HC-120)
Rug: Pottery Barn
Chair: Room & Board
Nesting tables: interiorexpress.com
Built-in cabinets: Slawomir Zlawadzki
Tree pattern pillow shams: Ikea
Black/grey oval pattern pillows: Refinery, Brooklyn
Chandelier and wall sconce: The Lighting Store, 39th and Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn
Glass bookcase: Bryans brother
Black-framed mirror: Elises grandmother
Blinds: Home Depot

Bedroom
Paint color: Benjamin Moore Beacon Hill Damask (HC-2)
Glass/brass lamp: Maine antique store
Marble lamp: Elises grandmother
Lampshades: lampsusa.com
Chandelier shades: Home Depot
Chandelier: previous owners left it
Bedspread: Urbanoutfitters.com
Painting over bed: Laura Ricker
Rug: Pottery Barn
Desk: custom-built by Bryan with Ikea legs
Painting over desk: Kathy Calderwood
Cabinet over desk: Ikea
Desk chair: Covered Bridge Antiques, Delaware Water Gap, NJ
Blinds: Home Depot

Bathroom
Paint color: Benjamin Moore (HC-48)
Shower curtain: urbanoutfitters.com
Maxfield Parrish repro: Elises father
Antique silver and glass vessels: Elises grandmother
Painted wall shelf: antiques barn, Stroudsberg, PA

Kids room
Paint color: Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue (HC-144)
Bunk bed and linens: Ikea
Bookshelf: garbage room in our building
Wall sconce: Covered Bridge Antiques, Delaware Water Gap, NJ
Table and toy shelves: Custom-built by Bryan
Chairs: Ikea
Checkered Rug: interfaceflor.com
Round rug: Ikea
Blinds: Home Depot

Hallway
Paint color: Benjamin Moore African violet
medicine cabinet: Lowes
Round mirrors: salvaged

Originally Posted on March 28th, 2007

Comments (21)

I think the "enter slideshow" link above is linking to someone else's home.

posted by robyn on 2007-03-28 13:41:33
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andrea tries new york

posted by gina on 2007-03-28 13:43:28
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You are my heroes!

A family of four in 650 sq ft!

(We've got three people -- two adults, one kid -- in the same space).

I'd love to see a layout of your apartment, if you don't mind sharing.

I assume you own? (No way we could/would invest in built-ins for our rental, but yours look great.)

Really, the 1000 sq ft limit in "The Nursery" Smallest Coolest is gargantuan ;-)

posted by MamaChilanga on 2007-03-28 14:26:59
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Lovely.
Thank you for sharing!

posted by Alex in DC on 2007-03-28 14:31:23
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I'd like to ask about the cabinets around the windows in the bedroom and living room (and possibly others). Are they built-in or just very snugly fitted to the mouldings? Was this much trouble to accomplish? And I presume your heat is by radiator -- is there much reduction in heat due to the boxes?

posted by Michelle of Montreal on 2007-03-28 15:07:10
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Wow... love that play area, and your white bathroom is sublime (with the light filtering through your shower curtain...)
You have done an amazing job organising with such a small space. Lovely home!

posted by *Terramia* on 2007-03-28 15:27:55
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where is your kitchen dining room table from? i've been trying to find a decent priced one. thanks!

posted by Linda on 2007-03-28 15:29:39
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Lovely. I think this is the first time I've stopped to read the spines on a photo of someone's bookcase...

posted by Mlle Kate on 2007-03-28 15:32:46
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It was especially kind of you to put the flokati rug on the radiator cover. I'm guessing that gets alot of cat-action...

posted by barbara on 2007-03-28 18:02:16
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Really well done--and paint in your hallway is just beautiful.

posted by Cassis on 2007-03-28 18:27:40
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Hello and thank you for all the props! For reading our bookspines and appreciating our work. We appreciate your appreciation, truly.

Here are some answers for those of you with questions:

MamaChilanga, thank you! We are in the same boat, huh? We do own our place. I sent a pic to AT of our layout to post as part of the tour. Hopefully it'll be up soon. Must check out the 1000 sq. ft. playroom. ;)

Michelle of Montreal, Hello and thanks! The cabinets along the windowed walls in the bedroom and living room are custom built-ins. Our carpenter cut the moldings away to fit the cabinets. It was a challenge living in one less room at a time for the few weeks he worked. They're made from 3/4" MDF. The heat is reduced due to the boxed in radiators but our apartment heats up so much that it's actually a good thing. Opening an adjacent cabinet door would let more heat into the room if necessary. The other custom furniture is free-floating (curtained armoire, triangle desk, etc.).

Hi Linda! Thanks for checking out our apartment tour. The kitchen table is originally from http://barsandbooths.com/ and I believe you can custom design your own through their site.

Thank you!

posted by elise on 2007-03-29 13:51:19
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This one is really quite a bummer. Boo.

posted by HKJimmy on 2007-06-02 13:27:20
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It would require an apartment as delightful as this for Pee Wee Herman and Hattie Carnegie to coexist! This is one of the most well-adjusted environments I've seen lately. I'd imagine visitors might not know quite why they want to linger, but it looks welcoming, comforting and highly personal and without the top-heaviness of design cliches. Good job!

posted by Marco on 2007-07-30 12:05:17
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Great work. Any idea where to find the side tables in the bedroom?!

posted by tina18 on 2007-07-30 12:17:41
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hi ~ your place looks and feels like a great home.

i was wondering... would you be able to give us your cabinet maker's contact info? thanks.

posted by DeViscerantu on 2007-07-30 12:37:24
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I am just not a fan. The storage in the bedroom looks like kitchen cabinetry and the colors in the kitchen really don't work. I sorta hate that carpet in the living room. I like the bed in the bedroom. That chair in the corner of the living room looks out of place and awkward. The tiles are interesting.

posted by jon on 2007-07-30 14:56:27
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Thanks for sharing your home--I love that first shot of the bedroom. I want my bedroom to look just like that!

posted by Christine (the one in DC) on 2007-07-30 16:13:01
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the kitchen makes my head hurt...all that crazy tile and stuff stuff stuff galore...i can see why you would want a calming bedroom with all thats going on in the rest of the house.

posted by goodnightdean on 2007-07-30 19:26:47
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I am looking for narrow bed side tables. Where did you purchase them? Your home is elegant and inviting. Good luck with all.

posted by elisa1 on 2007-08-31 21:41:05
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Wow, an apartment featured here that ACTUALLY looks lived-in. I love it.

posted by aladywhoknows on 2008-03-20 16:56:09
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hi elisa1, thank you for the compliment! we (meaning Bryan) made the bedside tables. we used 3/4" plywood and legs from tablelegs.com.

posted by elise on 2008-04-02 12:24:36
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