Video: A Full Gut Renovation with Grandmillenial Home Design

Two sisters with a love of grandmillenial home design show off their reno highlights: walk-in closet, wrap-around kitchen, and more

Click here to watch the video

Daria and Deanna had lived in the Sutton Place neighborhood in Manhattan for seven years before they purchased their 700-square-foot apartment. Seeing the potential for much better layout, they reached out to Sweeten to pair them with a general contractor to take on their full gut renovation. The end result? A two-bedroom home, infused with chic grandmillenial home design; now with a modernized kitchen, a second bedroom, and a walk-in closet with a work desk.

Daria: (00:10)

Hi, I’m Daria.

Deanna: (00:11)

And I’m Deanna.

Daria: (00:12)

Welcome to our home in Midtown East. We’d like to walk you through our home renovation project. We’ve been living in Sutton Place for the last seven years and knew this is where we wanted to stay. It’s close to our office, close to the heart of the city. Yet the further east you go, it provides a quiet suburban-like atmosphere that we were after.

Deanna: (00:27)

When we first saw this apartment online. We saw that it had been sitting on the market for over a year and that was due to the fact that the layout was like a jigsaw puzzle, and that it hadn’t been touched since the ’80s. However, we both saw long-term potential in the fact that we could turn this into a two-bedroom. So, fast forward two years later, we did a gut renovation and today we have a comfortable two-bedroom apartment. The master being 12′ x 14′, the second bedroom being 9′ x 11′. We have a 7′ x 10′ walk-in closet, and we have a bathroom that has a 20-square-foot walk-in shower. In total, the apartment’s about 700 square feet. And surprisingly, we have a lot of storage and a decent-sized kitchen that has a wraparound counter and a wine rack.

Deanna: (01:29)

Our favorite part of the apartment is our dining room doors. If we had got them custom made, they would have been a few thousand dollars. However, we got doors from Lowe’s, had someone make the ‘X’ designs, and had our contractor assemble them for a fraction of the cost.

Daria: (01:47)

Since we were doing a gut renovation, we knew we had the freedom to do what we wanted in the kitchen. What was really important to us was that we had full-size appliances and a great space to cook and entertain, which we love doing. We kept the colors pretty neutral here, but knew that we needed a pop of color, which is what drew us to this backslash, which is true to our style.

Deanna: (02:10)

Initially, to keep costs down, we were going to keep the wood floor that was in the apartment. But when we started demolition, we quickly realized that wasn’t a possibility. It was a thin wood veneer and it started to warp. My sister and I decided that we would put hardwood flooring down because it’s practical, it’s easy to clean, and it’s great for resale value.

Deanna: (02:32)

The original footprint of this bathroom was extended and we decided to keep it in order to accommodate a 20-square-foot walk-in shower. We put the handle on the opposite side of the shower heads so you don’t get wet walking in. And to keep costs down, we put subway tile on the wall. But to make it a little richer looking in here, we decided to do a marble floor.

Daria: (02:59)

Welcome to one of my favorite places in the apartment, our closet. After looking at numerous apartments, we realized that the master bedroom was always too large. The first thing we thought of was a giant walk-in closet, which is everyone’s dream in Manhattan.

Deanna: (03:12)

We took advantage of the 70-square-foot closet by putting a workspace, our shoes, our clothes, and even our jewelry. But the best part is, is that these units can easily be taken down so you can comfortably fit a daybed or even a couch.

Daria: (03:23)

We couldn’t be happier with the outcome of our apartment. We hope you enjoyed this tour and good luck on your renovation.

—

Sweeten’s founder + CEO answers whether wood floors are a good investment?

Sweeten handpicks the best general contractors to match each project’s location, budget, scope, and style. Follow the blog, Sweeten Stories, for renovation ideas and inspiration and when you’re ready to renovate, start your renovation on Sweeten.