As I wrote in About page, Igo and I have been designing a place in East Williamsburg for quite a while.
We had rough start. The entire month was emotional and hectic as both of our grandmothers passed away in the same week right after we got the keys (they never met each other or stepped on each other’s home country, but they must have been grouped together in heaven and become friends.)
We are still mourning, but it has truly been a rewarding process to slowly put together a place that makes us both excited to come back to.
Before taking you to the photo tour, let me give you a little bit of an introduction.
This place is a condo, and was not in good shape after being used as a rental for nearly ten years. It had sign of neglect everywhere, and in need of many upgrades. Several stains, holes, and discolorations were on the wall. The bathroom pipes were broken. Light fixtures didn’t turn on. The boiler and the stove weren’t working properly. There were gaps between the molding and the floor. The wood looking formica plate was peeling off from the kitchen island. Since we found this apartment on Streeteasy, the transaction felt like we were discovering the truth behind the gorgeous looking real estate ad every day.
On top of that, during our visits in the process we encountered some random leftovers like a chunky rolled carpet and a huge decorative mirror. Chicken legs were frozen in a plastic bag when I opened the refrigerator. One time we saw an expensive looking drum set in the middle of the living room. I was wondering if the broker was secretly using the opportunity to develop his craft.
But! But. buuuuut!!!!
None of that mattered because we really liked its duplex layout with high ceiling and tremendous natural light inside. Most importantly, both Igo and I loved the overall feel of the space. We loved being there. These things can’t change. The cosmetic details and appliances can.
East Williamsburg is relatively diverse, and there are still some old school shops here and there and not as polished as “prime Williamsburg”. I like that “neighborhood” feel that is similar to East Village, where I’ve grown to love so much. It’s easy to go out to the night spots in Bushwick but not as dependent on L when we go to Manhattan (Hello G train!).
Yes, let’s do it. This will definitely work!
After devoting countless weekends to open houses, we decided to look no more. I originally preferred an old, possibly a bit beaten-up apartment with the huge potential of being amazing, including beautiful pre-war features (brick walls, antique wooden floor, fire place, brownstone building, mmmm) but I was convinced that Igo and I could make a wonderful home out of this contemporary condo.
OK, I’m finally introducing it along with our first thoughts…
(Bt the way, Finding the right place was a long journey and I got to learn a lot about real estate. I’ll get back to that sometime in the future.)
1. Kitchen
These photos were taken after a major clean up.
Again I love the potential but there is nothing really special about the finish or the look.
More than being beautiful, the kitchen has to be very very, veeeery functional. So the storage would be the biggest challenge here. Without the upper cabinet, where can we store all the cups, glasses, and dishes? Without any drawer, where should the cutlery go? Hm.
That being said, I like the open kitchen layout that allows us to interact easily while one of us is cooking.
2: Living Room
In this approximately 15 by 12 feet space, we need to squeeze in furniture such as sofa, dining table, coffee table, storage unit, side table(s), armchair(s), plants, and TV (from top to bottom, priority-wise). Because of this limitation, Igo had to let go of his favorite sectional. It was just too big.
Oh, and the heating unit is attached to both sides of the wall. That means we can’t push any furniture against that wall, or anything that might be damaged by heat like liquor or food.
3: Bedroom 1
This bedroom is on the main floor and going to be our office and the room for Nico, the bunny.
It’s small (approx’ 9 by 9) but we want to fit 2 individual desks so we can work together, while Nico can hop around freely. Since he is a free-roaming bunny, this room has to be throughly bunny-proofed (the floor, electric codes, edges, decorations…)
By the way, this window was advertised as “a window with juliet balcony”… Real estate ads are sometimes very tricky. I need a translator.
4: Bedroom 2
This room is right above the bedroom 1 and therefore the layout of those two is exactly the same.
This heating unit is such a pain. And obviously, the previous tenants were very indecisive DIYer especially when drilling things on the wall.
Who knew it’s too bright to sleep till 6am without any window treatment? A pair of curtain is urgently needed.
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We didn’t know our thoughts were way too ambitious at this point. After we learned more on the work and the cost that takes, we decided to sort out the priorities and try to come up with reasonable options or DIY solutions as much as possible.
Though this place, 2BR and 1 small storage/closet room, was a huge upgrade from our previous places, it still feels limited once we try to fit everything we want.
There are 2 bathrooms where we want to remodel badly, but they are ok for now. I’ll focus on those 4 rooms above, where we spend most of our time when home.
To be continued …
Room for Passion 