Alex Kalita, the founder of Common Bond Design, had been renting apartments in Brooklyn for years before deciding to purchase a home in 2017. As an interiors firm owner, she wanted the opportunity to renovate and create a space that reflected her personal style, in addition to the investment aspect of real estate.
Instead of relying on specific criteria like number of bathrooms or square footage, Kalita focused on finding a home in the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, or Boerum Hill. However, she soon realized that her willingness to live in a smaller space gave her an advantage in the competitive market.
Kalita explained, “I was willing to sacrifice square footage, which I think gave us an advantage. I don’t live with anyone, and I don’t have a ton of stuff.”
After a year of searching, Kalita found a co-op apartment in Carroll Gardens that felt right. Despite its small size of about 475 square feet and a cramped bedroom, she saw the potential to optimize the space. She purchased the apartment for $540,000 in September 2018.
With the help of her mother’s designer friend, Morrie Breyer, Kalita began her renovation project. She started by uncovering hidden brick walls and removing unnecessary framing, gaining an extra four inches of living space. She painted the exposed brick and added a simple mantel for a decorative touch.
To maximize functionality in her living room, she worked with furniture maker Aaron Black to create a plywood daybed base using the cushions from her destroyed sofa. She also reconfigured a wall-mounted shelving system to serve as a desk, library, and media center. Space-saving furniture and clever design choices allowed the room to accommodate multiple purposes.
The kitchen, situated in a narrower part of the apartment, was designed with Reform cabinets with integrated finger pulls and a shallow countertop. By eliminating the need for hardware on the cabinet doors, Kalita was able to create a flush countertop, saving valuable space.
In the bedroom, Kalita demolished a closet, pulled the doorway back, and replaced the storage with a free-standing Ikea Pax wardrobe. A Shaker-inspired peg rail and hanging mirror design, created in collaboration with Aaron Black, kept the floor space open.
In the hallway, she combined two closets to create a utility room with a washer-dryer and additional storage. Despite an eight-month construction period, including a delay caused by a gas leak, the project was completed in the spring of 2019 for approximately $100,000.
Kalita expressed her satisfaction with the outcome, saying, “Because I was able to design the storage to accommodate my specific needs, it feels like the most capacious apartment I’ve ever lived in.”
Living Small is a biweekly column that explores the concept of leading a simpler, more sustainable, or more compact life. For those interested in residential real estate news updates, weekly email subscriptions are available.
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