00:02When designing a small space, my mantra is to love your space no matter the square footage.
00:08I always want to make it a place that we will love now and for years to come. For me,
00:14it's all about designing one space or room at a time and make sure to encapsulate the feel
00:20that I want in the room first before moving on to the next. My name is Oyin Entry and I
00:26am a
00:26British-Nigerian industrial engineer and entrepreneur currently living in Brooklyn,
00:30New York. I live in this condo with my husband Jeff, who is a product designer.
00:35We designed this condo together. The design idea was to bridge the borders of me and
00:44Jeff's West African homeland with a touch of Japanese and Scandi style. We call it Afro-Japan-D.
00:51Evoking a sense of serenity was a key desire of ours as a form of escape in city dwelling.
00:57We achieved this using earth-tone paint colors and furniture inspired by our West African heritage.
01:12Stuyvesant Heights is a historic neighborhood located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn,
01:17New York City. It is known for its well-preserved brownstone and limestone homes and landmarks that
01:23date back to the 19th century. Our building was built in 2021 and is a reconstruction of the
01:30previous townhome that stood there since 1899. Our condo unit is 640 square feet, one bedroom,
01:38one bathroom with a rooftop terrace. Me and Jeff designed this condo unit ourselves with guidance
01:45and input from my sister, Sade, who is an interior designer in London. Growing up in the city, she
01:51had great inputs in terms of making this new unit more of a functional space, the two of us.
01:59When we first moved in, the condo had very little storage space in terms of cabinets and closets,
02:04typical to New York City. I did love that the appliances were all integrated, giving the kitchen
02:09a clean, minimalist look and also an opportunity to add some character later. Our Brooklyn condo unit
02:15was essentially a plain white, one bedroom, one bathroom box. It has an open space living and
02:20kitchen area but lacked full functionality to adequately live sustainably. To make the space
02:26more functional, my sister had an idea to convert the water tank unit into an instant water heater that
02:32could sit on the wall. The utility water tank closet then became much more functional. One of the ideas that
02:38Jeff had was to move over our swinging door and convert it into a pocket door, giving us extra space
02:44to build out a custom closet. In the open space kitchen and living area, the layout stayed largely the same.
02:50We added extra cabinetry to give us more storage space.
02:59As you enter the condo unit, you leave the monochromatic white, black and grays of our building hallways
03:04into our terracotta colored doorway, which immediately gives you a warm feeling when you enter the space.
03:11We zoned this small entryway by installing a wall mounted oval mirror and also an organic shaped
03:17wabi-sabi style pendant lighting that added another warm setting to when you first walk in
03:23to help stylishly illuminate the space.
03:28Just after the entryway, there's a small utility closet that we now use for our coats and shoes
03:33and for other storage items. There's also a kitchen console table, which we got from Facebook
03:38Marketplace, that we use to store our keys and letters. The kitchen is L-shaped and came with
03:47integrated appliances including a dishwasher, electric oven, integrated fridge and freezer,
03:53and also a combo washer and dryer unit in a closet style. We added three custom millwork wall mounted
04:00cabinets with IKEA fronts to create additional storage space and increase the function in the area.
04:06The cabinets slightly covered the open shelving, however, we used that little corner to hide small
04:12things. Underneath these cabinets, we added slabs of Toronto to add more character to the all-white
04:18kitchen and fill in the gap. In the center of the kitchen, we added a movable multifunctional island
04:26table with stools to match. Not only does it serve as an entryway console, but we also use it in
04:31the kitchen
04:32for extra prep space and to enjoy quick bites and a cup of coffee in the morning.
04:38It also serves as extra space when I'm working from home. When our friends or family are in town
04:43and to create extra space for entertainment, we move the console table towards the living room area.
04:50From the kitchen area, you enter our living room and dining areas. To delineate the two spaces,
04:56we converted the original straight ceiling beam into a dropped arched ceiling beam instead.
05:03This arch also creates a striking architectural detail that gives the space character, softens
05:08the edges of the room, and complements the curves of the bay windows.
05:13To create a cozy feel in the space, we have the oak-colored lounge chair and wood side table
05:19designed by Jeff, and also the low-profile Japanese coffee table. Having this low coffee table makes it
05:27easy to move out of the way and tuck it under the TV media unit when the sofa is being
05:32used as a sleeper.
05:34In the living area, we used fixed acoustic wall panels to not only zone the living from the dining
05:40areas, but also to reduce echoes and noise, which is great for when we're working from home.
05:47The wall panels also create a sense of extended height in the space,
05:52and it sits behind the sleeper sofa, serving as a sense of our peace.
05:59We chose a round dining table to not only complement the bay windows, but also to make
06:03for easy navigation around the space. We added a drop pendant-style lighting fixture to complement
06:10the one in the entryway. On the bay windows, we added Roman blinds, which are actually tension
06:16rods, not only saving us money, but they look beautiful. As you enter the bedroom, the pocket
06:25door slides in and disappears into the wall, making the bedroom feel airy and spacious.
06:32To create function and flow in our bedroom, we have our bed in the center and our work desk area
06:37on the
06:38left side towards the Juliet balcony, making it easier to have natural light throughout our workday.
06:44A ledge and shelves were added to make for a nook to sit and enjoy the light from the Juliet
06:49balcony,
06:50but also for extra storage to put some of our favorite reading books.
06:57On the other side of the bed, Jeff has his closet, which is a built-in style that came with
07:02a condom.
07:03For my closet, the extra space created by converting the swinging door into a pocket door allowed for
07:09us to install an IKEA PAX unit for a closet just for me.
07:21The bathroom came with floater walled travesting tiling and a rimless glass division, which helped
07:26the space feel bigger and airy. We also love the LED mirror with storage behind it. We added chrome hooks
07:33by the shower niche to make the bathroom a little bit more practical. We also had the hooks behind the
07:37door for extra hanging space.
07:45Our condo also came with a rooftop, which we added some furniture and decor to, and we used it to
07:50enjoy
07:50city views and relax during the summer.
07:54My favorite thing about this condo is taking a moment to enjoy the architecture in the block,
07:59sitting on the bay windows, and just taking in the warm light.
08:04As with other major cities, living in New York City means there's higher demand than supply,
08:08and so reconstructing these heritage homes into boutique buildings allows for more people to have
08:13housing and is a more sustainable opportunity for this generation to own.
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