Instead of Moving, This Family of 5 Keeps Reinventing the Same Rental Apartment
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Our homes can evolve with us, as we change and families grow. Brandon and Ella Hall‘s 900-square-foot rental apartment in Brooklyn is proof. The couple have lived in the space for nine years total, and in that time they’ve added two dogs (Lily and Liam) and three kids (Holden, Remi, and Roman) … and they have another baby on the way!
Ella’s no stranger to customizing when what you need isn’t available. She’s the CEO and co-founder of Stitchroom, a Brooklyn-based upholstery and furniture studio offering custom sofas, banquette seating, bench seating, ottomans, headboards, drapery, and more. They also sell pillows made from remnant fabrics. They specialize in creating beautiful furnishings that fit spaces exactly — and that’s precisely what Ella’s done in her family’s rental home, too.
When Brandon and Ella moved into the two-bedroom loft, located in an old factory building from the 1800s, it was the architecture and history that first attracted them to the space.
“I loved how unique the floorplan was, the high ceilings, exposed beams , brick walls, non- cookie cutter-esque. I loved how much opportunity there was to transform it for my lifestyle,” she writes.
But as they’ve added kids into the space, they’ve turned the primary bedroom into the kids’ room, and added DIY walls and a door to the other bedroom to create a teeny nursery that’s insulated away from the sounds of the rest of the home.
To fit three kids in one room, they DIYed a triple-bunk bed (that went viral!). And Ella has fit storage space into nearly every available inch of all the rooms, using vertical space as much as possible.
Along with DIY beds, walls, and storage, she also made a faux fireplace out of an awkwardly placed column, hacked IKEA cabinets to create one serious powerhouse of a living room credenza, and she used Stitchroom to handcraft a sectional sofa and ottoman combo that is big enough for a family of five but also durable enough to withstand three kids five and under.
“I originally started sharing the space because I wanted other young families to see that you don’t need a lot of square footage to create a home that feels spacious, thoughtful, and welcoming,” she writes.
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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