When Brianne Doak started looking for a bigger place to share with her boyfriend, she had a few loose parameters: She wanted to stay in North Brooklyn and find some outdoor space. But Doak, who runs an architectural-design studio called Rodeo, had one hard line: She wanted the kitchen to be old. No landlord specials, no fake-looking countertops. It took a while, but she eventually found a prewar one-bedroom with a lot of its original details in Ridgewood. The kitchen was a time machine. It felt a little further out than they had hoped, but she was sold.
What were you looking for when you were moving?
I was living alone in Bed-Stuy and I had a small floor-through apartment in a brownstone that was charmingly funky. I had looked forever to find that. But when my boyfriend moved in, we were like, “We can’t do this.” We were looking for more space. I wanted basically the same thing, though: a bathroom that hadn’t been remodeled or some portion that still kind of had some charm. It was around 2021.
What kind of stuff were you seeing?
Everything was small or out of our price range or was completely renovated. Because we wanted to stay in the Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, Bed-Stuy area, everything had just been cut up and sliced so weirdly to make roommate situations possible. I was particular about what I wanted and was nervous about giving up our old apartment. I loved our landlord. We were friends with everyone in the building. We looked at quite a few places.
How did you find this place?
A friend of a friend was moving. They ended up buying a place and needed someone to take over their lease. So we came and looked at it. Ridgewood seemed kind of far away, but now it actually feels closer than Bed-Stuy because now we’re near the train. We FaceTimed with the landlord, who lived in Seattle, and then talked to the people who live downstairs. It felt like a pretty sweet deal; it’s only the downstairs neighbors, and then we’re up top and the garden floor is empty — our landlords use it when they come into town. They were very stoked on telling us about how they bought it from the owner who’d had it for 60 or 70 years. And they didn’t really change much in this apartment.
How much is the rent?
We pay $2,385.
What made you want it?
The kitchen. I don’t think a lot of people would maybe like it; the cabinets are definitely old. It’s sticky, you can’t clean it. But I like it. It has the original backsplash, which I think is really, really cool. That was kind of like a selling point for me, personally. It has a bonus room, so my boyfriend really liked that. And there’s a really cute balcony that is attached to the kitchen that overlooks this big historic church in Ridgewood, so it really does not feel like you are in New York if you try really hard. The balcony was a big seller for us because we wanted outdoor space. It feels like a special place.
What’s your ideal or nightmare kitchen?
I’m an architectural designer and I design a lot of kitchens. So I really can’t stand when people try to put too much stuff in a kitchen or put really big appliances in a small space. And I think with a lot of kitchens that get renovated in New York, that is happening a lot. Or you skimp out on the cabinets, so you have cabinets that don’t go all the way to the ceiling, or there’s just awkward spaces. It just drives me really insane. My kitchen is not a perfect kitchen, it’s very hodgepodge, but there’s something imperfect and charming about it. Two people could be here and cook, which is nice. We cook a lot. I’m in the kitchen right now, actually, bagging up these little candy things that we make. And it has an old cast-iron sink, which is really awesome. It feels very luxe to have such a massive sink.
I hate a small sink. I can’t tell you how much I hate that.
It’s so nice, and it’s a double basin, so it has a drainboard on one side of it so there’s not always dishes on our counter. They got some things right back in the day.
Have you done anything to the kitchen since you moved in?
The landlord did take out the one drawer that was in the kitchen and put in a dishwasher. So we have a dishwasher and no drawers, which is fine with me. We have a lot of plants and a vegetable garden on the balcony. Right near the front door where you would exit is the herb area, so you really can just pop out and pick some basil or whatever. And then this year, we’re doing pretty much only tomatoes and peppers. It was too hot for lettuces; they all kind of died.
Will you ever move again?
I would definitely never move in New York again. I feel like we found our spot. But we are actually thinking about leaving New York, which is bittersweet. Like, We finally found the perfect apartment.
