This Quirky, Colorful, Boho Rental Is “Not Your Typical Brooklyn Loft”

ABOUT THIS TOUR

HOME TYPE: Loft

LOCATION: Wallabout, Brooklyn, New York

STYLE: Bohemian, Colorful, Eclectic

BEDROOMS: 2

SQUARE FEET:

“The first thing that drew me to this apartment was honestly the size and amount of natural light,” begins Danielle Kelling, the design director for designer Katie Ridder. “The living/dining room alone is 500 square feet. Living in New York City, to have this amount of space and natural light and it be a rent-stabilized apartment on top of it all, well it just doesn’t really exist anymore.” Danielle has rented the loft for 12 years so far, and shares the space with a roommate.

“I also loved the history of the building and the neighborhood. The building dates back to 1920 when the Brooklyn Navy yards area was at its peak, manufacturing goods and building large vessels for the U.S. Navy. My building was an old Mallomar and Tootsie Roll factory.”

“I originally studied architecture at Pratt in the early 2000s when this building was converted into rent stabilized apartments. I remembered touring the apartments and thinking it was a cool building but at the time couldn’t afford to live there. Then in 2012, I was looking to move and wanted to return to Brooklyn. I was struggling to find an apartment and remembered this building. When I saw my apartment, I just knew. I am eye level with the highway, and I loved to watch the traffic go by as I was there standing still. It was all very surreal,” recounts Danielle.

“Being that it’s an old loft, the ceilings are very odd and industrial looking. I have awkward wall angles as well, which were a challenge to work with. Not to mention, I inherited this very basic dull kitchen and bathroom that lacked a soul. Also, all the walls were painted this drab buttercream color that just sucked all the light out of the space. But I saw potential for displaying my art and having a lot of space to entertain and build memories,” describes Danielle.

Resources

PAINT & COLORS

• Living Room and Dining Room — Farrow & Ball “Pink Ground” in Flat

• Kitchen Walls — Farrow & Ball “Pink Ground” in Satin

• Kitchen Cabinets — Farrow & Ball “Incarnadine” in Satin

• Bedroom — Benjamin Moore “Davenport Tan”

• Bathroom Walls— Benjamin Moore “Damask Yellow” from the Williamsburg Paints in Satin

• Bathroom Ceiling — Benjamin Moore “Paper White” and the stripe is Benjamin Moore “Super White,” all in Satin

ENTRY

• Red Lacquer Expedit Bookcase — IKEA

• Mirror — Bunny Williams for Mirror Home

• Rug — From carpet co-op I visited in a Berber Village located in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco

LIVING ROOM

• Tillary Sofa — West Elm (no longer made), reupholstered in a George Spencer Mohair

• Purple Ombré Table Lamp — Alexandra by Christopher Spitzmiller

• Silk Sari Lampshade — KRB (it’s one-of-a-kind, but she always has fun options available)

• Rug — Kate Reynolds at Temple; it’s a flatweave reproduction based on a rug design from famous Turkish designer Zeki Muren

• Cameroon Coffee Table — West Elm (no longer available)

• Side Table — Etsy

• Rocking Chair and Loveseat — Vintage (I reupholstered the loveseat in a classic print by John Stefanidis; the rocking chair is reupholstered in a fabric I found at the Weavers Fonduk in Tangier)

• Poof — By the artist Hassan Hajjaj that I bought from his studio in Morocco

• Pillows — Custom made in textiles I find traveling

• Bar Cabinet — Vintage from Good Bones Restoration

• Mirror over the Bar — Made by Ecru based in Jaipur and Kuwait City; you have to email them to order it

• Art — Mostly works I painted over the years; I do have a cyanotype by a Scottish artist named Alexander Hamilton, and my Dragonfly painting is by a quirky guy from Asheville name Matthew Brzostoski

DINING ROOM

• Dining Table — West Elm (no longer available)

• Pendant Light — West Elm (no longer available)

• Dining Chairs — CB2 (I only bought them a year ago, but no longer available)

• Console — Vintage

• Wall Mural and Painting — Painted by me

• Curtain Fabric — Etsy

• Hutch — 11 Hamilton Home, American stained pine c. early 1900s

KITCHEN

• Floors — Mirth Studio

• Kitchen Hardware — Etsy

• Microwave — LG

BEDROOM

• White Chest of Drawers — Ballard Designs

• Moroccan Side Table — Casablanca Market (no longer available)

• Bed — Custom by Charles H Beckley

• Rug — Vintage Turkish from Galerie Shabab

• Desk — 20 years old from Pier 1 Imports

• Desk Chair — Found

• Paper Lanterns — Bought in Chinatown

• Bedside Sconces — Old Crate and Barrel

• Art Paintings over my Bed — Collages I made in college

• Sheets — Crane and Canopy

• White Coverlet — CB2

• Lumbar Pillow — Custom made using a Raoul textiles sample

• Table Lamp — West Elm (no longer available)

• Curtains — West Elm; the tape trim I found in a trim shop in the wedding bazaar in Old Delhi

BATHROOM

• Shower Curtain — Anthropologie

• Rug — Old Anthropologie rug

• Mirror — Etsy

• Rowel — From the weavers fonduk in Tangier

Thanks, Danielle!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

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Further Reading

We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Ashley — Here Are the Best to Suit Your Style and Space

We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Pottery Barn — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need

We Asked 8 Pro Travelers What They Never Pack in Their Carry-On, and Here’s What They Said