A Dreamy 114-Year-Old Brooklyn Rental Will Make You Rethink Small Spaces
When beauty content creator Sarah Bryant was looking for a new rental home in Brooklyn, she was sure of one thing: The apartment needed to be in a brownstone building. As a lover of old houses, she wanted her new space to have that charm.
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Sarah had been searching for a new apartment full-time for a month and finally thought she had found the one for her — she even got acquainted with what she thought would be her future coffee shop and bar. Unfortunately, though, she had to pull out of the lease.
“A week later, I found this gem on StreetEasy and had a good feeling about it,” Sarah remembers. “I showed up early to view it and hit it off with my soon-to-be new neighbors. When I got the call back from my landlord, he told me they had really sealed the deal by vouching for me.”
So, one year later, Sarah (and her two cats, Watson and Aurora) have made the two-bedroom apartment their own. However, what she appreciated about the space was that there was a balance between original charm and an opportunity to personalize it.
“Fast forward to now and I’ve replanted the spring flowers on our stoop for a second year and resigned my lease,” Sarah writes. “I’ve completed what I dubbed my ‘must have’ upgrades (a taller kitchen faucet was first on the list) and am now in the thick of aesthetic upgrades I’ve been envisioning since I toured the apartment — hello, molding!”
Resources
PAINT & COLORS
- Entry Wallpaper — Etsy
- Bedroom Wallpaper — Spoonflower “Art Deco”
- Bathroom Half Wall — Magnolia Home “Regal Leaf”
- Second Bathroom — Benjamin Moore “Harrisburgh Green”
ENTRY
- Shoe Storage — Amazon
- Small Vintage Cabinet — Bedford Galleries
- Medusa Drawing — Alex Sweet
LIVING ROOM
- Kova Sofa — Albany Park
- Vintage MCM Media Console — Bedford Galleries
- Rug — Amazon
- Coffee Table — Urban Outfitters
- Lightswitch Covers — Etsy
- Woman Painting ‘Ever Had I Always’ — Nicole Steacy
- Floor Lamp — Wayfair
DINING ROOM
- Dining Table — Bar Down the Street
- Dining Chairs — Amazon
- Vintage Lamp — Gidget’s Vintage Collective
KITCHEN
- Backsplash — Amazon
- Under-Cabinet Lighting — Amazon
- Cabinet Hardware — Amazon
- Storage Cabinet — Amazon
- Contact Paper for Countertops — Amazon
- Peel-and-Stick Tile — Amazon
- Plexiglass — Amazon
- Faucet — The Home Depot
- Hanging Fruit Basket — Amazon
- Shelf Brackets — Amazon
- Shelf — IKEA
- Custom Painted Cat Mugs and Plate — Etsy
- Tiger Hook — Anthropologie
- Runner — Ruggable
- Wine Glasses — Estelle
- Vase Plant Painting — Nicole Steacy
BEDROOM
- Dressers — Bedford Galleries
- Long Curtain Rod — Amazon
- Curtains — Amazon
- Sconce — Wayfair
- Bed — Wayfair
- Desk and Chair — Stoop Sale
BATHROOM
Thanks, Sarah!
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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