city modern house tour

Here in NYC, it's Archtober, the month where architecture and October collide. Open House New York was the first weekend of the month (last year we went to see the TWA Terminal) but I was lazy and didn't get around to any sites this year. However, I did volunteer to be a docent at a City Modern House Tour in Brooklyn (put on by Dwell and New York Magazines) the same weekend. I was stationed at the most homey, adorable townhouse in Boerum Hill. The architect is MADE and Dwell sort of has the rights to the first round of photos of the place, so we were only allowed to take phone images. Please excuse the blurry iPhone shots. This was before I upgraded to my fancy new 4...

Ground floor office/playroom/den. The house sits on a corner lot and has the miraculous opportunity for windows on two sides. Believe me, even on a rainy day, the extra light is amazing!

Cutest little boys room ever, complete with his own personal teepee. The red wall is chalkboard but the parents have yet to reveal to the child that he is allowed to write on them. He might think all walls in the house are fair game!

This skylight lets tons on light into the stairwell. When the current owners bought the property, most of the place had already been gutted. The skylight was one of the items able to be salvaged from the original house.

Cute boys bathroom. MADE was able to take a few Ikea pieces and make them semi-custom to meet the family's needs.

I loved this intricate carved headboard/screen in the master bedroom. The clients had a great collection of modern and vintage pieces. You could really tell they have been collecting for years.

Metal screen created by a local artist as a door to the master bedroom and closet. The couple work different hours and didn't need tons of privacy, so the screen provides just enough seclusion.

The wife has a great closet upstairs while the husband typically gets ready in the basement. 

The rest of the master bathroom. The vanity was a custom piece and the legs are salvaged from an old refrigerator.

Sorry for the "screen shot" but I was too lazy to go outside in the rain. The family has an outdoor space on top of their three car garage (big wow moment for everyone on the tour). They wanted something very low maintenance, so they have raised garden beds for growing vegetables and AstroTurf for a lawn. It looks super convincing!

The main floor was everyone's favorite space. The dining room flows into the kitchen which connects to the kitchen and living room and leads you right out to the back yard.

Exposed brick walls are my weakness. And they had both painted and raw so I didn't have to choose! Gorgeous!

The kitchen was totally open and functional for the family. The couple owns One Girl Cookies bakery in Brooklyn, so they were in favor of having it as the centerpiece of their living space. MADE was able to mainly use Ikea boxes for the cabinet interiors and create custom cabinet fronts from salvaged wood for a more custom look (and cost savings).  Everyone on the tour absolutely loved it.

I had such a fun time being a tour guide! I can't wait to do it again next year. Thanks to Dwell and MADE for an awesome day!