Two Guys & Two Sheepdogs Renovate in Bed Stuy

Here’s a story with a happy ending. Erik Rothman, 34, and Juan-Manuel Olivera-Silvera, 33, bought their house at 208 Lexington Avenue between Bedford and Nostrand in March 2004. The couple won the house in a HUD auction with their top bid of $376,000, or a little more than $150 a square foot. Unable to afford another rent on top of their mortgage, they moved into the top floor as soon as possible and rode out the renovation. They ended up spending $240,000, or about $100 a square foot, on the gut renovation–which involved returning the abandoned and chopped-up rooming house to its original layout. We would have liked to hear more about the moments of stress or incidents of disaster during the renovation–the article makes it all sound too easy–but certainly enjoyed the piece. For all the harping about traditionalism in brownstones that we do around here, we also would like to point out that we think these guys did a very nice job of injecting a modern aesthetic into the house while maintaining and respecting its original design and details. Bravo.
2 Guys, 2 Sheepdogs… [NY Times] GMAP