BDA&D Renovation

The adult sibblings of this project wanted to renovate their mostly unused basement to a bright, comfortable apartment for family members and friends to stay when they are in town. I gutted it down to the bare concrete walls, added walls for a bathroom and a bedroom and created an open floor plan. We kept the concrete floors and polished and sealed them for a modern, industrial feel. I designed and built a custom closet for the washer and dryer that you would never know is there.

Working with drawings from the homeowners architect, I took this kitchen down to the studs and upgraded the plumbing and electrical to code. To better utilize the room, we swapped out the free-standing fridge with separate under-counter fridge and freezer units that wrap around into the space next to the living room which required me to build custom cabinets. Glossy white cabinets and subway tile installed floor-to-ceiling bounces light and make the space feel much bigger!

For this small, barely functional space, I added 24 inches to one wall to extend the kitchen design so the homeowners’ stove wasn’t floating in the living room/entry space, and by doing that, they gained a work and storage area in the transitional space around the corner. The shallow and narrow sliver of living room closet was not deep enough for a closet, so I expanded the width and removed the door to create a niche office. The desk countertop is made from the quartz that matches the kitchen counter.

After a tenant had lived here for more than a decade, the homeowners decided it was time for a fresh start. Like any old brownstone, the floors were sloped and sagging. I leveled the floors in the kitchen and bath. The bathroom had a steam pipe riser right in the way of the entrance, my plumber removed and relocated it to a niche in the wall and moved the door opening just enough to accommodate a custom wall mount vanity. I waterproofed and tiled the entire bathroom. They added three feet of counter to the kitchen work space, making it usable in the living room as well. The wall between the bedroom and office was demolished and a new wall was installed with a pocket door.