Houzz Tour: Artistic Balance for a Brooklyn Studio

"We wanted to show people how they could live in a small space without having to feeling like they were living in miniature," says designer Lyndsay Caleo of Brooklyn Home Company. Caleo and her colleague Fitzhugh Karol, both designers with backgrounds in art and furniture design, took an artistic approach to setting up this 400-square-foot studio apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Balancing crisp white and warm wood, affordable basics and custom handmade pieces, and smooth and rough textures, the space offers great lessons on how to live in a small space, mix old and new, and give a home unique character and personality.

Studio at a Glance
Who lives here: At the time of the renovations, no one
Location: New York City
Size: 400 square feet, including closets and bathroom

Photography by Emily Gilbert Photography

"Sometimes the space just tells you where things need to be," Karol says. An Ikea Liatrop Sofa Table is the first thing one sees upon entering the studio, and it provides a great landing strip for keys and mail. The pair wanted to create a defined entry area with a console table and a bedroom nook that was not closed off from the light provided by the three windows.

They contrasted the crisp white walls with rough-textured pieces. The beams on the ceiling are leftover reclaimed pieces from another one of their projects; the floors are reclaimed maple that came from a factory in Virginia.


Walking through the building's foyer during its gut renovation, the two were struck by the lath uncovered during demolition. "It looked so beautiful with all of the old plaster stuck on it ... we took this cue from the foyer and created this bedroom nook out of it," Karol says.

"The lath panels were a great way to incorporate texture," Caleo adds. While they were not able to use reclaimed lath from downstairs (think messy old plaster dust and allergies), they gave the new unsanded pieces a weathered patina by coating them in a mix of water-thinned white primer and a little gray paint. The lath defines the bedroom nook, lets the light filter through and serves as a unique sculptural element that references the building's history.

Metal Accordion Side Table: Urban Outfitters; Phrena Pendant Light: Artecnica; Mariposa Table Lamps: Z Gallerie


How they added the lath:
The base is a bed from Ikea with large storage drawers underneath.They attached vertical 2-by-4s to the bed frame with large screws, being careful not to screw into the drawer mechanism. They created lath panels with 1-by-2 rails and wood lath cross pieces from a building supply store. They attached the panels to the vertical 2-by-4s.


"There so many great affordable furniture options that are clean, timeless classics," Caleo says.

Ektrop Sofa: Ikea; Atoll Mirror: Ballard Designs; coffee table, rug: Wisteria


"It's easy to start off with a base of timeless classics and then mix in the handmade," Caleo says. A sweet decoupage plate from John Derian sits atop the books; the three paintings are by their friend, artist Sasha Weigel, who came over and painted them onsite.


Karol is a sculptor and furniture designer, and this unique kitchen island blends the two. People upstate collect fallen logs for him, which he cuts up with a chainsaw and lets dry. He sculpted this white piece with a chainsaw first, then went in with grinders and a sander to finish off its stacked spool shape. Next he applied white lacquer, which soaked into the wood, and assembled the island from the spool and two pieces of live-edge cherrywood. "We love to combine something rough with a high finish," Karol says.

Spin Barstools: Crate & Barrel


The kitchen has just one wall of appliances and cabinets, meaning it's no larger than a typical small apartment galley kitchen, but its placement within the open plan makes it feel much more expansive, and it's flooded with natural light. The island defines a beautiful transition from living room to kitchen and can also serve as a workspace.

"We invested in the more permanent pieces, like appliances, custom cabinetry and hardware," Karol says. The pieces that will be there to stay were worth the splurge — if your kitchen is open to the rest of the space, it needs to be pleasing to look at. Besides, when you only have a few square feet of countertop and backsplash to purchase, an upgrade to honed Carrara marble doesn't add up to much extra money.


A pedestal sink and clear glass shower keep the bathroom as open and airy as possible. White marine lights and honed Carrara marble give it a luxurious feel.

The pair has given new life to the once-dilapidated row house. The building is divided into several apartments; see the duplex apartment they designed and staged in the same building.

URL: Houzz Tour: Artistic Balance for a Brooklyn Studio http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-21937.html