Condo of the Day: 916 8th Avenue
It’s hard to tell too much about this two-bedroom condo at 916 8th Avenue in Park Slope from the dark photos in the Craiglist listing. It looks like the basic details have been kept intact and at least the developer hasn’t wasted everyone’s money by putting in a fancy bathroom. We can’t be sure, but it looks like the oroginal floor was kept; not so sure about the wall and window moldings. Anyway, they’re asking $845,000 for this 977-square-foot place, which seems quite steep. There’s also mention of a private garden, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given that the photos show that this is clearly not on the parlor or ground floors. Whatevs. Anyone checked it out in person?
$845000 2BR/2BA Condo w/GARDEN! [Craigslist] GMAP P*Shark
@ donatella & Brownstone Dreamin….
I absolutely agree with the both of you,
I don’t think that it should matter if an old building has all of it’s original detail…I’ve seen brownstones that have been gutted renovated with any original details and the interior still blew me
away…personally it comes down to personal style and particular tastes…
Agree w/ a few of the other posters. The apartment featured here (garden apt at this price) is fairly nice (c’mon, guys– you’ve seen condos w/ much lower quality of work– these aren’t bad!) but feels small. For us, the bedrooms just destroyed it… The second bedroom is really only an office & the master bedroom feels tiny. How would you put furniture other than a bed in there? Just didn’t make sense given the price.
You’d think for that amount of money, they could have provided a toilet seat.
One big advantage of striving to preserve period authenticity in interiors is that unlike trendy design, period looks do not “date” as dreadfully in subsequent decades.
For an example, see the Williamsburg house thread for a discussion of those already dated bowl sinks.
Granted, every generation does do “period” in its own way …
I actually think it looks weird to strip and refinish pine-plank floors in a brownstone with fancy wedding-cake ceilings and crown mouldings–kinda like wearing a tuxedo with board shorts. Pine plank floors were, indeed, almost always subfloors, intended for carpeting or parquet on top. I love ’em in a cottage, but I’d think twice about exposing them in a fancypants gilded-age house.
Pine floors were (usually) originally subfloors, but ironically today they can appear nicer than “new” floors, especially the contractor-grade strip red oak used ubiquitously. Why? Well, as many have pointed out, old pine floors were often old growth with tight grain, and having been around for a hundred years now have a terrific patina that new pine can’t match.
But if you do have to match it, try hickory.
–an architect in Brooklyn
to 11:53…we all have different like and dislikes but was just reading an article in the times today with this…i think as more of more of this crap gets built, the demand for brownstone living will only become MORE desirable. it is to me, anyway…
Around the world, from Panama to Shanghai, buyers are seeking historic or period houses, and are willing to pay high prices for them, spurring owners to spend time and money on sensitive renovations that often include modern improvements, brokers say. But finding properties worthy of such effort can be a challenge.
“The demand for property that is historic or period has never been higher,â€
as always beauty is in the eye of the beholder…all of this i agree with and to conclude, i think the best compromise in brownstone brooklyn living are those renovations that preserve the exterior in it’s entirety while thoughtfully updating the interiors to bring it to the standards of modern living – I rarely hear any arguments with any of our 100 year old exteriors – it’s the interiors, both old and new, that people consistently have issues with.
Sometimes preservation becomes false religion with its own fear inducing rules. Why is it a mortal sin to paint wood? Why is “original” inherently better? Beautiful is inherently better and sometimes old is just old.