Open House Wrap-Up: Crazies in Park Slope
There was not a lot of consensus in the Open House Picks comments over the weekend. Now we’d like to hear from people who actually tore themselves away from their computers to walk through some real live real estate. Any feedback on these places or any others? We’re all ears. Open House Picks [Brownstoner]
There was not a lot of consensus in the Open House Picks comments over the weekend. Now we’d like to hear from people who actually tore themselves away from their computers to walk through some real live real estate. Any feedback on these places or any others? We’re all ears.
Open House Picks [Brownstoner]
Two important issues to consider when “opening up” rooms in a brownstone is how you are going to heat/cool and the noise factor. Picture kids in one part of the house doing homework, while you watch tv. And do you want to be running a/c all through your house, if you are only sitting in one space. Right now I am loving the thought of a house with a 3 zone system- the minute the kids are in college, that third floor is sealed up until the grandkids come over!!!
Without getting into the morals of “ruining” the floorplan of a brownstone, there are plenty enough houses in which that has already been done — ours, for instance, had been chopped up SRO-style in some godawful remodel decades ago. Few details were left, and we preserved what details there were. But something needed to be done to the floorplan anyway, and to me, re-creating the original floorplan from scratch in the 21st century would be no more authentic than opening the place up.
Unfortunately, there are very few townhouses in Brooklyn neighborhoods that are “more open”. If there was an entire neighborhood of well constructed townhouses that used open floor plans, I am sure that most people who prefer that type of design would focus on that neighborhood first.
If you like open/loft-like minimalist/modern decor then don’t look for or expect it in a brownstone or other historic non-loft building.
IMHO there is nothing worse than a historic building that has had wall, doors, etc removed to make it “more open”. If that’s what you want, then pick a different building/neighborhood and don’t ruin the floor plan of a historic building.
Unfortunately our architect doesn’t do individual home renos anymore, but we took out the entire load-bearing wall on our parlor floor and replaced it with a steel beam set into the ceiling. Makes a tremendous difference in a narrow brownstone. (The beam must be held up by columns, including an interior one we ran through the bathroom walls to hide it.) It added a few thou onto the renovation–totally worth it. I don’t think it’s a matter of “how many” walls–just that if a wall is load-bearing, you must find an alternative to carry the weight of the house.
I believe that generally in a brownstone the load-bearing wall is the one that runs from front to back, so that there’s usually no problem removing the walls that run perpendicular, but you’d really need to have an architect or engineer look at the particular house. Good luck.
I saw the Park Slope house on 11th St. What drew us to the house WAS in fact the *amazing* rennovation. I agree with the poster above that the rennovation style IS NOT for everyone. I personally love the open/loft-like minimalist/modern decor – and this is a VERY rare thing in the slope. The rennovation was on this property was BEAUTIFUL. Warm/bamboo walls and custom made cabinets throughout were great, I have been looking for a house in a slope that has this kind of open/loft-like style for the last few years, and have only seen a few things that only come close. Viewing this property gives me inspiration that this modern/open rennovation is POSSIBLE to a brownstone in park slope.
I’m still trying to find more information on HOW MANY walls could actually be knocked down in a typical Park Slope brownstone (and still have enough support in there to hold the building up). Anyone out there that has knowledge of this sort of thing or can point me in the direction of any architects with this kind of direct experience, please post or EMAIL me at michael at modernconsumer dot com!
Gracias much-
~Michael
Also went to 11th St. Thought it was pretty nice. Seemed to have been professionally staged – in my several years of open house visiting (and time actually looking for a house) I don’t think I have ever seen one that I was so sure had been staged.
I don’t think for a minute they can get over 2 mil for it. The 1.167 they paid 7 months ago is, I believe, the current record for the block. (Unless you count another house up near 7th which was turned into 3 condos – those added up to more.)
As for the crazy people, they are far enough away to blend in with all the other urban annoyances. Living next door to them (the house next door to them is for sale) would be a whole other story, though.
Congratulations, clor! We have a winner for Smug Post of the Day!
I don’t understand how people use “the ’70’s” as if it were a negative. It was the highpoint of brownstone renovations!! Everything since then as been unimaginative and devoid of any personal character.