Adam & Ellen’s Inspired Brooklyn Brownstone
Name: Adam Pash and Ellen Flaherty
Location: Fort Greene; Brooklyn, NY
Size: 900 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year; Rented
After living in Los Angeles for many years, Adam and Ellen have relocated to Brooklyn. They are thriving and carving out a unique work/life balance in their beautiful Fort Greene Brownstone apartment.
Their sense of style and free spirit are found throughout their home, which doubles as a workspace during the day. Their serene street near a park provides a calm background to cultivate the projects they have been working on. My favorite is their recent endeavor “And then I was like…” , which is a web based platform that makes the creation of GIFs incredibly simple and looks great while doing it.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: Clean but eclectic.
Inspiration: Ray Eames. People give Charles a lot of credit for his architectural vision (as they should), but I think Ray gave their spaces warmth and personality.
Favorite Element: The abstract painting we found in the trash in the hills of Silver Lake.
Biggest Challenge: Getting settled in. We moved from Los Feliz in Los Angeles early last year, and we ditched at least half of our belongings. So we’re still trying to replace a few keys items.
What Friends Say: I think visitors like the old brownstone touches, like the marble fireplaces.
Biggest Embarrassment: The kitchen and bathroom. There’s a lot that could be done to warm it up, but because we rent, it wouldn’t be worth it to renovate.
Proudest DIY: The entertainment center. Adam found an orange-stained credenza on a street corner in LA and turned it into his media center. He also updated his dad’s 1970s speakers with new technology and painted the projector screen.
Biggest Indulgence: Buying new items, such as the sofa and bed, in order to have people deliver it to our third-floor walk-up.
Best Advice: Be mindful of what you buy. When we prepared to move across the country, I realized how much junk I had collected in the 7 years I lived in L.A.
Dream Sources: My friends’ apartments. The items I love best in other peoples’ spaces end up being the weird-but-it-works thing they bought at a corner sale. Or they made it themselves. And then I make a lame, obvious comment like, “If you ever decide to get rid of it, heh heh … ”
Resources of Note:
LIVING ROOM
• Ritts rattan coffee table from Goodwill
• Curtains ikea.com
KITCHEN
• Wood countertop from Ikea, with hairpin legs from FuriousEndeavors on Etsy.
• Vintage bowl designed by Kaj Franck for Finel in the 1960s. Purchased from Artifacts in Iowa City, Iowa. Available at ebay.com.
BEDROOM
• Rug from Overstock
• Quilt from Feliz, a store on Dekalb in Fort Greene, Brooklyn
• Curtains from West Elm.
• Starburst Wall Mirror from Crate&Barrel
OFFICE
• Go-Cart Desk from CB2
• Aeron Chair from Herman Miller
• Wall art handmade with masking tape. (Based on the wheel spoke design of an Aston Martin.)
Thanks, Adam and Ellen!
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