Lovely home! I love looking at a neutral colour palette but I don't think I could stick with it myself. Wow - sure is pricey.

I usually don't like light floors, but I like how they go with this design. I wouldn't purchase because the price is ridiculous (for me as a Chicagoan). Also, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths in under 1,000 sq feet is strange to me

I live in Brooklyn- sadly this is really not a crazy price. If I had the money I would love a place like this! It looks light and bright from these photos- a rare quality in those old townhouses.

Having done a little staging work, I think they did a great job. It's interesting but still neutral and impersonal enough not to distract buyers from the actual house.

Isn't nearly a million dollars for a place this small in Brooklyn a bit high? Staging isn't everything.

Never understand why people choose stoold without backs. They look unfinished and uncomfortable.

I think I have those dining chairs (the straight back, not the spindle), but mine are maple. Any idea on how made them?

Can anyone tell me where to get the lighting fixture over the kitchen counter? I've been looking for something just like it.

Whoops...meant stools

I love the floors, but everything else is kind of blah. Also have to say that as a midwestener, that price seems insane. For that here you could buy twice the square footage plus a very nice plane to fly to NY when you wanted to go there.

I love the molding and the palette. Brooklyn is not kidding with them real estate prices.

I love the white sofa. The staging leaves the feeling of relaxation.

oooo....barstools are not good. i'm just sayin...

Staging makes such a difference to the 'story' of a home. Xtina, it's not blah, it's neutral, and it's very intentional. If there is too much color in a staged home the prospective buyer has a harder time seeing their own things in place.

LauraE...actually backless stool/chairs are better for your spine. They make you sit in a more upright position, stacking your vertebra over your pelvis. I switched to backless after learning that from my chiropractor and it does indeed help my back problems.

And I agree that the price seems insane...but that's NYC for you! Where I live that amoutn of money would buy you 3000+sq/ft on about 10 acres!

Usually, I try to find the positive, but I'm having a hard time. My first impression is C-O-L-D. I sold brownstones a long time ago and this design seems to strip every bit of warmth charm from the space. I like neutral - this goes beyond that. If I had money to burn, I'd buy the space and re-do it if it was in the right location.

I went to the developer's site and Corcoran's to look at the other units at this address and they are GORGEOUS! They are completely unlike this unit - they are light, sunfilled, welcoming - the antithesis of this stark black and white super-stagey look. So, as I used to tell buyers, look at the bones of the space and beyond the decor (whether you like it or not) since that is what you are really buying -- and of course remember the worn out addage: location, location, location.

that black crown is horrendous! really stops ur eye & makes the ceiling seem much lower... & the barstools dont really go w anything else in the space- looks like they're trying a little too hard to me...

LOVE her blog! Gorgeous staging! Those wooden stools are amazing!

I really love the place but with such a lack of storage in the kitchen get rid of those stools and put in shelves or cabinets on that side. The staging is great, neutral but clearly geared toward contemporary buyers.

I will never own a house because I earn a modest living, so I was wondering what salary would someone have to earn to afford a $949,000 home? How much would you have to put down as a down payment?

ChristopherNYC - that light fixture looks like this DIY one on Lindsey Adelman's website -
http://www.lindseyadelman.com/makeit.php?item=4

I've seen articles stating that the type of shoes (Louboutins, anyone?) affect the saleability as well as the final price of a place. Something about beautiful shoes drives women to salivate over an apartment and spend big bucks - being an aspirational purchase or some thing like that. So, no, i will not be getting rid of my shoes anytime soon!

above:

should read "the type of shoes staged in the closets. . . affect saleability"

Agreed with ellenx, the crown is a visual distraction (and not in a good way).

I like it. The floors are beautiful! I also like the calm palette and the natural wood pieces. The black trim at the ceiling is distracting though.

To slackerjo... out here, that would be 10% deposit and roughly $3,000 a month mortgage (on a 30 yr mortgage), so salary would need to be $90,000 a year to qualify (mortgage is allowed to be max 40% of monthly salary).

Another reason for stools without backs is so that they have less impact on the space, you can easily tuck them under the counter or bar.

I have two high back counter stools in white leather. When I moved and got a much larger kitchen island, I opted to add 2 no back white leather stools. 4 backs sticking up over the island would've looked very cluttered. The no back stools are very comfortable, I made sure I ordered some that had high reviews in stability and a generous size seat.

Backless stools ar much better - less visual clutter and actually quite comfortable if you find the right one.
slackerjo - the short answer is as much as possible!! (re:downpayment).

wait - a $900K house only takes a $90K salary in the US? are you guys serious? that would be after tax, i assume?

either way - brooklyn prices are very similar to toronto prices. absolutely insane. you couldn't give those places away 20 years ago half the time.

is it just me, or does anybody else really think gentrification is creating a new caste system? property haves and have-nots?

as for the design/staging, it is gorgeous and very fashionable. and yes, there are enough lawyers / doctors / PR executives who would rather just move into a "done" place like this, and have cocktail parties.

you don't have to be a lawyer/doctor/PR executive. but you do have to have an education/experience/skills/talent that is valued in the market, and work ethic.

Corcoran is great at hyping up per sq. footage price. They are sharks. It kind of sucks because if the brooklyn market ever takes a serious hit can you imagine the loss. Can you imagine owing 949K on a tiny apartment? in 1978 my dad bought a condo one BR on LI for about 20K, then in the early 80's its went up to $90K a bunch of people bought in and then it dropped to $50k. Just about everyone who bought at the inflated price just walk out on their mortgages. Tons of foreclosures, became impossible to sell and dropped slowly to under 30K. We actually did very well with the apartment in the long run but that's a different story. Mainly it's not good not inflate the price.

Holy SHAT. Almost a million bucks for a townhouse thats the same size as mine (that was $128 000)??! Granted mine needs some updating, but geez. That's freaking insanity. I don't care WHERE it is.

Its not a matter of being a fool - its what the market dictates for many people.

@Monkeylizard - the figures I gave were what it would work out to in Hong Kong. And I guess yes, after tax..although tax is so pifflingly little it doesn't really factor.

Note to author: this is not a townhouse. This is just the 2nd floor walkup apartment of a 4-floor townhouse. Also, I live next door to this house and I do understand why there's no picture of the exteriors!