News — Stories

Danielle Rago’s family pied-à-terre was typical of New York City: dark, cramped (it spans merely 500 square feet), and dated. “We’ve had it for more than a decade,” she recalls. “It was ripe for a transformation.” So when her sister—who had been living there for the past six years—moved out in 2018, Rago leapt at the opportunity to make it her own haven. She not only longed for a place to stay while in transit—although based in Los Angeles, the cofounder of THIS X THAT, a strategic agency for up-and-coming architects, often traveled to the East Coast prior to the...

s Small bathrooms are hotbeds for clutter. Cut back on your Sephora products all you want—without the right organizational tools in place, a cramped bathroom can become your worst enemy. For anyone struggling to control the chaos, a clever IKEA hack can be the saving grace your sanctuary needs. These 12 clever DIY solutions are reminders you don’t need to renovate to get a whole new look. Whether your weakest link is under the sink or your tiny shower needs a facelift, these ideas make the most of the Swedish retailer’s cult-favorite products. The Luxe Vanity Photography by Mallory Fletchall...

Courtesy of Tortuga Living Most people look to increase their home’s square footage by any means possible in a renovation; Andrea Hill did the opposite. In 2017 the founder of Tortuga Living and her husband, artist Carlos Irijalba, bought a four-story 1890s brownstone in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood with a rental garden unit. “We knew from living in a four-floor walk-up that stairs are not our friend, so we reconfigured the home as two duplexes,” she says.  This meant losing the top two floors to renters and reconfiguring the basement rental to make space for three bedrooms, two full bathrooms,...

s In Renovator’s Notebook, homeowners open up about the nitty-gritty of their remodels: How long it really took; how much it actually cost; what went horribly wrong; and what went wonderfully, serendipitously, it’s-all-worth-it-in-the-end right. For more tips to nail your next project, follow @reno_notebook. Size: 600 square feet Location: Greenpoint, Brooklyn Year built: 2007 Top priority: An apartment with lots of light—and outdoor space. New York City native Tara Gonzalez first fell in love with Greenpoint when she was working in the art department of a film production company just after college—the area is not only home to many studios,...

Photography by Mallory Fletchall of Reserve Home Reserve Home founder Mallory Fletchall’s Brooklyn apartment is the epitome of modern. Her once laminate-clad kitchen boasts breezy blue-green cabinetry and hand-painted floor tiles, while in the living room plush velvet furniture and a chandelier with smart bulbs fill every corner with color. But for the longest time, the bathroom was from a much different era. “It was very ’90s,” recalls Fletchall. The sliding-glass shower door had floral etchings, and the bulky medicine cabinet and vanity light made the small room feel claustrophobic. “It was far from the sanctuary where I could enjoy...