A Mid-Century Inspired Renovation in Clinton Hill

This is certainly one of those renovations that I have been anticipating with bated breath. Partly because the amazing homeowners, Kyle, an IT professional at a law firm, and Angela, a freelance illustrator, have the style and the je ne sais quoi to totally charm; but also, I love projects like this one, where the homeowners have lived in the space, dreamed about what it will be one day, and saved up for years towards the goal of making that dream home their real home. It gives all of us who may still be far from that goal, a sense of possibility.

“We’d been living here for eleven years and things were starting to get a bit shabby. When we moved in, the apartment had been freshly renovated with all the cheapest materials available at Home Depot, which was fine back then, but we really wanted to make it ‘ours.’ We saved up for renovations all the while and put a lot of thought into what we wanted to do.”

 –Angela, homeowner

When the time had arrived early this year, Kyle and Angela (and their “mean, little chihuahua”) posted to Sweeten to get started on renovating their 900 sq/ft, 2 bedroom Clinton Hill co-op apartment. The road to selecting ‘the perfect contractor’ was made a whole lot sweeter by our three suggestions; according to Angela, “we feel confident that any of the contractors Sweeten selected for us would have done a great job, but we’re really happy that we chose Sweeten Expert Kris.” Kris and his team were able to take the homeowners’ dreams of extra counter space for baking and a place that showed off their personal mid-century style, and turn them into a reality, on-time and within-budget!

Kris’ team worked closely with Kyle and Angela to meet their main objectives for the project: to create a modern, open apartment AND stay on budget. First order of business was making the ‘big moves,’ which meant tearing down the non-structural interior walls and tearing up the outdated and damaged parquet flooring. With just these changes, the homeowners could already begin to anticipate their moment of, “I can hardly believe it’s the same place we’ve lived for the past decade!”

What I love about Kris and his team is that, not only are they exceptional at getting the work done well and on-time, but their custom millwork is always so impressive! They worked with Kyle and Angela’s mid-century modern aesthetic and came up with this gorgeous walnut custom cabinet system that I assure you will never wear out, but only wear in, as this lucky couple grows into their space. For their backsplash, the homeowners went bold with a bright green mosaic tile, R’ceef 5 in lime green.

Along with opening the kitchen came operation living-room-update-and-integrate. This meant that although that rich orangey/yellowish wall color is one of beauty, it needed to be refreshed and made more current with a clean, modern white. Underfoot, the old parquets were replaced throughout with new flooring in unstained white oak.

Although transitioning to a more modern aesthetic, Kyle and Angela wanted to keep a vintage vibe pulsing through their new space. The couple mixed mid-century based furniture, including a set of classic Eames molded plastic/wire dining chairs, a pair of vintage Heywood-Wakefield side tables, and a period-inspired Elite Four walnut credenza by Radius Innovative Design, with more current pieces like their marble and stainless steel portica table from Room & Board.

One of the best parts of tracking home renovations is seeing how people choose to highlight the art and objects that make up their personal collection. Throughout Kyle and Angela’s living area, the couple showcases their very impressive collection of prints by California-based artist, Shag, and mid-century album covers by illustrator Jim Flora.

Over the dining table, they were able to bring some of that green from their backsplash out of the kitchen in another retro accent, Rejuvenation’s Astron Tri chandelier.

Kyle and Angela could not have been more excited to finally be rid of the outdated (Home Depot-centric) bathroom decor that they had come to love to hate (scroll to see it here), in exchange for their bright new, modern and material-rich space. The deep soaking tub from Kohler is cloaked, like the walls, in super white subway tile, and floating beside it is a dark oak Fresca Vanity with Versa faucet, both from Decor Planet. I personally love the texture that the carrera marble tiled floor adds to this sleek space.

All in all, this home looks great and I can’t get enough of the true personality inside. Many thanks and congrats to the happy homeowners, Angela and Kyle! Also, big thanks to Sweeten Expert Kris, Natalia, and the rest of the team for the excellent work in making this home a whole lot sweeter!

Ready to start your own project? Post to Sweeten to be set up with the best pros for the job!