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Small Cool 2009: Sonia & Jesko's Brooklyn Compact
Little Division #12

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Who Lives Here: Sonia & Jesko, 2 cats
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Size: 650 square feet

What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home? It's compact but feels spacious and cozy at the same time. We wanted a really open kitchen and decided to place the kitchen elements (stove, sink, cabinets etc) around the perimeter of the kitchen with the dining table in the center of the room. It's great — people end up hanging out in the kitchen all the time.

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What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your small home? Since the 2 main rooms (kitchen & living room) in the apartment were separated by a wall when we first got the apartment, each room felt very boxed in. In order to open up the space and create more light in the rooms, we had to knock down the wall but we didn't want the kitchen to be seen when you sit in the living area. Our solution was to build a custom wall/shelf that delineated the 2 spaces. On the kitchen side, it serves as storage with shelves on the bottom and a chalk board above. On the living room side, we built book shelves all the way up to the ceiling.

Give Sonia & Jesko a THUMBS UP if you think this home belongs in the finals!
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Small Cool 2009, Brooklyn, Little

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Comments (44)

I love the shelving unit that divides the two rooms!

posted by minnesara on April 7th 2009 at 11:11am
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i love the kitchen! so lucky that you got to double up the cabinets.

posted by kdkaboom on April 7th 2009 at 11:11am
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Really nice!
Love the stool in the kitchen. You've got some great pieces - Word of the Month Alert: The place is beautifully "curated".

posted by theserovingeyes on April 7th 2009 at 11:15am
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love love love

posted by nov9 on April 7th 2009 at 11:16am
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Very nice...definitely a contender!

posted by suzy8track on April 7th 2009 at 11:24am
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where is the beautiful kitchen from?!

posted by Raisa on April 7th 2009 at 11:28am
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Really nice, your kitchen is beautiful.

posted by kocka on April 7th 2009 at 11:36am
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This one is a winner! Beautiful use of shelving to divide rooms but leave an "open area"

posted by schroek on April 7th 2009 at 11:38am
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Who said you could only paint small places white? Actually nobody said that...but this compact apt looks tres chic in grey.

posted by JohnJonesNYC on April 7th 2009 at 12:22pm
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Oh, is that the Hutton sofa from Room and Board? I've been thinking about buying it, how do you like it? Lovely place!

posted by annieo217 on April 7th 2009 at 12:24pm
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Gorgeous!

posted by frenchbread on April 7th 2009 at 12:36pm
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i love this, amazing kitchen! and i am also thinking about getting the Hutton sofa from room and board- please let us know how you like it!

posted by maybemanda on April 7th 2009 at 12:46pm
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Add me to the list of people who want to know how you like the Hutton - I've been coveting it too!

posted by Matilde on April 7th 2009 at 12:56pm
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What is the name of the paint in the living room/divider? I always fall in love with it when I see it. Please share. :)

posted by Kimber on April 7th 2009 at 1:01pm
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It's very chic - I love the open kitchen and room divider/chalk board!

posted by pstar on April 7th 2009 at 1:25pm
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So beautiful. One of my favourites so far. Where are your kitchen cabinets from?

posted by azaleasmoke on April 7th 2009 at 2:12pm
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thanks for the kind comments...I love the Hutton - we practically live on it. It's deep enough that we can both lay on it! the only drawback is that the buttons on the cushions pop out every so often. Good thing is Room & Board has great customer service and will send someone to sew it back on right away.

posted by fuinebear on April 7th 2009 at 2:16pm
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our kitchen cabinets are actually from ikea. we decided to go the hard way to sand all the cabinet doors and refinished them with a stain we like. glad y'all like it!

posted by fuinebear on April 7th 2009 at 2:18pm
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I like I like gentrification again?

posted by accessoryshy on April 7th 2009 at 2:51pm
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!! I thought it looked like the Ikea shape !! which doors exactly did you sand down? and what stain did you use? they look walnut!

posted by Raisa on April 7th 2009 at 3:16pm
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Wow great job with the cabinets then. So awesome that you took the time to get exactly what you wanted on a budget. That takes some serious patience . . .
Your comment about the room and board costumer service makes me wich EVEN MORE that there were any of those bigger store (C&B, CB2, R&B, WestElm) anywhere near me . . . sigh . . . so jealous

posted by azaleasmoke on April 7th 2009 at 3:20pm
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wow, what a great place. I would love to live there! Great kitchen elements and beautiful pieces of furniture and lamps. Love it.

posted by Where You Hang Your Hat on April 7th 2009 at 3:45pm
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They were the Nexus doors. 2 years ago they only had the yellow/brown shade which we didn't like. I think they have a nicer brown now...a dark and a lighter version. Forgot what we used as a stain but it was a mixture of jacobean and ??

posted by fuinebear on April 7th 2009 at 3:51pm
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Mast Brothers Chocolate?

how Brooklyn of you!

:)
northamericanresource.blogspot.com

posted by jll111 on April 7th 2009 at 4:58pm
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i love it.

posted by ldv on April 7th 2009 at 5:09pm
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Great colors!

posted by Deidre88 on April 7th 2009 at 5:33pm
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It's the best apt; not to overdone! Love the color pallet and the industrial touches without being too cold. Love the Norell chair! Smartly done! When are we invited!!! Want to get drunk and lay down on the sofa!

posted by tomandeddie on April 7th 2009 at 8:39pm
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I like this apartment from what I have seen so far. Nice texture, color, lighting and scale. Would love to see the bedroom though.

posted by Trumystique on April 7th 2009 at 9:36pm
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Love it! I'd like to see more photos too.

posted by Madame Is on April 8th 2009 at 3:36am
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oh man im drooling all over my laptop
what a beautiful space! especially love the kitchen

posted by Fuzzyummy on April 8th 2009 at 11:50am
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Love your place. Those kitchen cabinets are gorgeous. Congrats!

posted by hessilou on April 8th 2009 at 4:12pm
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Love the kitchen!!!

posted by rhianna on April 9th 2009 at 9:39am
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Beautiful textures - brick, blackboard, those kitchen cupboards...

posted by lucica on April 14th 2009 at 6:03am
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Nice! Who built the room divider? You two or a carpenter?
I want one too. I'm also in Brooklyn.

posted by el Bo duchamp on April 14th 2009 at 6:53am
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thanks, my boyfriend built the divider all by himself!

posted by fuinebear on April 14th 2009 at 11:29am
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Cozy!

posted by buckteethandalazyeye on April 15th 2009 at 10:50am
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One of the best kitchens ever!

posted by Gaby_S on April 25th 2009 at 9:06pm
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functional, smart nicely edited.

posted by sprucedecor on April 28th 2009 at 3:32pm
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Tre Chic! What an amazing space!

posted by kwoolworth on April 29th 2009 at 10:28am
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i love the fact that this apartment is real and honest. the owners picked and incorporated original and vintage pieces that suited their taste rather than relying on obvious haute-designer pieces that you can readily buy at any upscale boutiques (ehem, like their opponents). good luck, you guys!

posted by kurisu on April 29th 2009 at 10:37am
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Great Work!

posted by crobs on April 29th 2009 at 10:45am
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Very cool, I love it.

posted by NigelMcKenna1 on April 29th 2009 at 1:53pm
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yay that´s a home

posted by geulenka on April 30th 2009 at 3:22am
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;-)

posted by carlgo on April 30th 2009 at 9:13am
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