Park Slope Studio Apartment

• Architects

Turning a tiny studio apartment into a vibrant and highly livable home

One year into the pandemic, a new client approached our studio to obtain help with renovating a tiny 300 square-foot Pre-War studio apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

The existing Pre-War apartment consisted of a tiny entry hallway, 2 closets, a small bathroom with original wall tile and plumbing fixtures, and a 17-foot long by 12-foot wide room for living, cooking and sleeping.

Our client, Irene, was excited to make the switch to living in a small footprint.

But, as a passionate home-cook, she knew that she couldn’t easily make use of the existing old-school “convenience kitchen” that was located in one corner of the studio room. Its sink was largely blocked off by a structural column, the two-burner cooktop was installed on a high counter making it very hard to reach, the upper cabinets blocked natural light from a window, and there was zero prep or counter space. Worst of all, there was no oven to bake a cake or roast a meal inside of.

She also wanted to a clear vision for how she could affordably furnish the space to switch easily between sleeping, cooking, hosting friends, working, exercising and relaxing, plus all the other uses a home needs to enable and accommodate.

After exploring several possible solutions to the tiny kitchen dilemma, we elected to replace part of one of the existing closets with a new kitchen counter, oven, bar fridge and upper cabinets. The rest of the closet was absorbed into the second existing closet, creating a large walk-in closet for Irene’s clothing and luggage storage.

We replaced the upper kitchen cabinets above the sink with open shelves and bright white gloss tile that Irene installed herself. This allowed the light from the adjacent window to flood into the kitchen area, reflected in part off the gloss-finish backsplash. We lowered the height of the (new) cooktop, and pulled the sink away from the window. These small changes have made a world of difference to the functionality of the kitchen and the enjoyment of cooking.

Using a simple table on wheels that Irene already owned, plus a new well-priced Murphy Bed unit with some built-in storage, we conceived of a room that allows her to move furniture around easily throughout the day. Sometimes the table is used for prepping food, sometimes for sewing or working, and other times for dining and hosting friends.

Irene installed simple Ikea cabinets herself in the new kitchen, and cleaned up the existing original bathroom subway tile. She painted the upper bathroom walls in a dark grey and installed a new light fixture above the hand basin, giving new life to a standard white bathroom without a lot of expenditure.

By only removing one wall between the closets and making smart choices about storage and fixture locations in the small kitchen, we were able to transform a small space into a highly versatile and functional home, where every inch is used efficiently and cleverly. The impact on our client’s life has been significant, despite a very small budget.

What was the brief?

Our client purchased a tiny 300 square-foot Pre-War apartment that she wanted to make into a versatile and highly livable home with a real kitchen. She wanted to renovate on a very tight budget and to do a lot of the construction work herself.

What are the sustainability features?

Small footprint living in the inner city.

What were the solutions?

We removed a wall between closets and used part of one closet to make a second kitchen area, with counter space and an oven below. We lowered the cooktop to a standard height, pulled the sink away from the window, and replace upper cabinets with open shelving, allowing light to flood into the space.

Who are the clients and what's interesting about them?

Our client was a young woman in her 20s who was excited about living in a small footprint space in New York City, and also about doing some of the construction work herself and making a light, inviting and highly functional space without a lot of funds.

How is the project unique?

It converted a standard, old-school New York City studio apartment that was in bad shape and hard to use as a real home into a highly versatile space that is light and enjoyable to live in.

What were the key challenges?

The existing "convenience kitchen" had a sink pushed behind a structural column, a 2-burner cooktop installed high on a raised counter, no oven and upper cabinets that blocked a window. Creating more counter space, a functioning sink and stove and adding an oven were crucial to making the home a functional space for our client.