The Insider: Scandinavian-Style Furnishings, Modular Bookshelves Elevate Boerum Hill Rental
A growing family needed functional furniture and help getting books and art out of storage and onto walls.
Photo by Mark Weinberg
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After a year or two of living in the bright upper duplex of a 19th century row house, a couple with two sons realized they needed a professional design assist. As renters, renovations were out of the question, nor were they needed. The apartment was freshly painted, with wide-plank wood floors, an open layout on the lower level, and three bedrooms above.
“They needed guidance on how to pull it all together,” said Alex Kalita, founder and principal designer at Dumbo-based Common Bond Design, whom the couple identified online as having an aesthetic they liked. Kalita’s growing company, founded in 2013, has since evolved to specialize in construction-intensive, sensitive renovation of historic spaces in and outside New York City, including townhouses, freestanding homes, and even a 1910 cigar factory in Ybor City, Fla.
“They had a patchwork of area rugs and needed carpeting, which was required in the lease,” Kalita recalled. “They had tons of books and no bookshelves, and no art on the walls. They needed a comfortable sofa, lighting and occasional pieces, and help dealing with storage. They didn’t have a home office, and were using the classic brownstone ‘bonus room’ as a catch-all.”
Kalita chose, not for the first time, modular Vitsoe shelving as an organizing device for several places in apartment. “I’ve been an unofficial spokesperson for the company since I bought Vitsoe bookshelves for my own rental as a 30th birthday present to myself, and have used them again and again,” Kalita said. “They’re easily adaptable, whether you move or just decide to reconfigure them, and more cost- effective than built-ins.”
The couple owned a Danish modern dining table and sideboard in need of refurbishment. That and a bed base from the venerable Swedish company Hästens were about all that were deemed worth keeping. Other furnishings were purchased new and unified with durable, easy-care rugs — “everything with the idea that, in the future, pieces can be moved and be reconfigured,” Kalita said.
A simple partition divides the upper duplex from the landlord’s apartment below. A full bath sits at the top of the stairs. Hooks provide a place to hang outerwear before entering the apartment.
A gateleg table and mirror stand on the landing near the apartment entry.
A sectional sofa from Hem, a Swedish brand, along with a modern edition of the 1947 Dornstab standing lamp, sourced from Future Perfect, and an armchair with Josef Frank fabric sit upon a pale-colored custom rug from Curran, one of several Kalita ordered for the space. “The rugs are pretty central to the whole thing,” she said. “They can be cut and reconfigured. I was wary of cream rugs at first, with two young boys, but they’ve stayed in great shape.”
A space adjacent to the living room was the perfect place for a TV and more Vitsoe shelving.
A previously owned Danish Modern sideboard and dining table formed the basis of furnishings for the central space on the duplex’s lower floor. Kalita found a white cabinet by Asplund, another Swedish brand, to fit precisely in an existing alcove.
The mushroom-shaped Panthella lamp, a Danish mid-century design by Verner Panton, with an acrylic shade and aluminum base, is “another thing I use in a lot of projects,” she said. “It gives a soft, diffuse light and, with young kids, is less delicate than a ceramic lamp with a fabric shade.”
Common Bond’s clients already owned the checkered bed base from Hästens, which was supplemented with the matching headboard and a dresser from Asplund.
Vitsoe components, spindle-back chairs from Design Within Reach, and a graphic blue-and-white rug kit out the home office, a room formerly stuffed with random possessions.
New beds from Blu Dot and a chair from the Danish Design Store furnish the boys’ top-floor bedroom.
[Photos by Mark Weinberg; styling by Veronica Olson]
The Insider is Brownstoner’s weekly in-depth look at a notable interior design/renovation project, by design journalist Cara Greenberg. Find it here every Thursday morning.
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