Garden-Level Brownstone Reno Tour - The Brownstone Boys

Today, we’re taking you on a special tour of a garden floor reno for our wonderful friend, Michelle Agins! Michelle was the first black, female staff photographer for the NYT and has had the most incredible career as an artist. She bought her Brooklyn brownstone in the early 90s and her space has been overdue for an upgrade. We’re taking her garden apartment from dark and cramped to a bright, relaxing sanctuary with plenty of room for storage and hosting.
For this reno, we focused on three main areas: kitchen, bathroom, and work/living space. In the kitchen, we added tons of new cabinets, two new windows, and some beautiful #BigChill appliances, including a 36” range. The original bathroom was completely dysfunctional in the space, so we upgraded Michelle to a gorgeous walk-in shower and spa-like W.C. The final push was elevating the living and working space to leave plenty of room for displaying Michelle’s work, including a custom wallpaper of her shots from #EasyWallz! Recognize anyone?
For a full list of items in the home visit our blog below:
👉 www.thebrownstoneboys.com/blog
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[@neilschipper3741]

Wow.........! What a Night and Day difference. You guys are phenomenal.❤ a great job you guys did. Thanks so much for taking the time to make this video to show such a beautiful home.

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thanks so much Neil! So happy you love her new space! It was such a great couple months working on Michelle’s new home

[@lyndameeder6293]

Love you guys ! Every place you do feels and looks like the person it is for . Always warm and comfortable . Thanks guys , you are the best

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you so so much! We really try to make each of our projects adaptable and comfortable. We’re so happy this space came across that way! 🤎

[@1tsbecca]

Absolutely Beautiful! The thoughtfulness of the custom wallpaper photo wall is so sweet and what incredible photography! 🩶

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Ahhh this means so much. ❤️

[@cassaundraspann-2qshab516]

I like how you transformed the space and she seems to really love it. The space seems like such a reflection of the client in mind. It's livable!

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you so much 🥰

[@fchino-jr.3340]

Excellent design and layout guys, love everything about this design. That photo wall is everything, amazing photography as well . I now have kitchen envy for sure. Looking forward to seeing the next project. ♥️ hugs.

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thanks so much! :)

[@peggyheard6272]

Loved this renovation and seeing the loving relationship between you two and your client/friend.

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you so much! ❤️

[@Itsgorgejess]

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! 😍🔥

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you! This was such a special project for us ❤️

[@VanessaBasora]

Beautifully done! 😍

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you so much! It’s means a lot

[@pjeanjac]

Absolutely love how this turned out! Truly done with LOVE!! 🙌🏿

[@myrtecampbell7083]

You guys are my new favorites, you do such beautiful work.

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you!! ❤️

[@nahomie]

Absolutely beautiful!

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you so much!

[@iLoveLeatherNYC]

Recently started watching some of your Renovation videos. For sure you two pay close attention to details and both of you are very talented. For this one tho (I didn't care for the tiles in the bathroom, the uneven sizes and grout lines, results didn't look polished, you must think 20 years from now will this trend end). What I did love was the added pantry storage in the kitchen + letting in more light.

[@briann8983]

Excellent…, This Reno is very beautiful!!

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you so much!

[@terrilove8910]

Beautiful!!!

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you!! :)

[@scamp_bk]

Beautiful

[@qymrmz]

Love, love, love!

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you! 🤎

[@cherryandrews1429]

Stunning ❤️

[@WSB32867]

Beautiful just simply beautiful 👍🏿👏❤️ I think you two guys hit this out of the box 📦 as always no disrespect intended New York City USA 🇺🇲

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Heheh thank you so much!

[@shayroshan3546]

Beautiful design! the only thing I would've done differently is giving her a living room instead of the dining room and move the dinning room close to banquette

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you!! She has a living room upstairs :) This was only a renovation for her garden level!

[@UMVELINQANGI]

Lovely

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you!!

[@user-mj7bg1ob3u]

Stunning

[@paulajf4205]

This is a small but special and wonderful reno- love it! It would be great to see the bedroom. Does the bedroom have an en suite or is the bathroom you showed the main bath?

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Thank you! The primary bedroom is on the parlor floor, along with the main bath. This was just a garden level renovation! Hopefully Michelle invites us back to work on the rest of the house in the future :)

[@HotSixty]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@kgalvin7503]

That wallpaper is amazing. Is it possible for others to order?

[@BrownstoneBoys]

This was a custom wallpaper from EazyWallz, using Michelle's copyrighted photography! So it's not available for order, but you could design a similar wallpaper with our friends at EazyWallz :)

[@HealingHands354]

what was cost of typical brownstone reno

[@annarmbruster6920]

How did you remove the hearth without destabilizing the chimney structure going up?

[@thescarecrow.8581]

Stunning rooms. Can I ask did you do her bedroom and lounge room?.

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Hi there! Thank you so much. The primary bedroom /living and bathroom are on the 2nd floor aka The Parlor . We didn’t do it during this phase but hoping we can in the near future!

[@maddscientist3170]

Nice reno...IMO don't know if the bathroom is "larger" ..the other had a Tub/Shower & a window that was in the back. Assuming the bedrooms & living space are up on the 1st floor?

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Ah thank you so much! Yes the bathroom sq footage is a little large than the previous. Moving it allowed us to expand the kitchen and add a walk in shower as the original tub Michelle could not access. The primary bedroom and bathroom are on the second floor that we did not do during this phase!

[@susanfindell6154]

Really great! Does she have an actual living room? ( maybe on another floor) , or does she do the living in the dining area?

[@maddscientist3170]

and where is the bedroom?

[@BrownstoneBoys]

We only renovated the garden level of this brownstone! Michelle has living space on the upper floors of the home!

[@susanfindell6154]

@@BrownstoneBoys that’s what I thought, you did a fabulous job ❤️

[@bettenotap4791]

You guys never disappoint, it’s beautiful! You really know how to open up a space and create sight lines that are so, so good. I love all your material choices and of course your signature door for the bathroom. I wouldn’t have thought to use a chair rail with a lower ceiling, but the trim detail add a lot. The photo wall is the real star, this must have made her so happy, I certainly was moved, such a talent she is. Too bad there was an audio problem with the interview portion with Michelle, I can’t hear it at all, let me know if it works for you. 😞 I hope you have the success you deserve, I’m such a fan and I’ve learned a lot from you both.

[@BrownstoneBoys]

@@bettenotap4791 Thank you so much. This comment touches us deeply and really means so much. We are so grateful to have worked on Michelle's house. It was such an honor. Hope you have a wonderful holiday season and we'll see you on the next tour! Thank you 💜

[@buhumal]

Nice, where is the banquette bench from?

[@BrownstoneBoys]

West Elm!!

[@jamesm.8194]

Any consideration on the climate effect of continuing to support gas instead of induction cooking?

[@philshelton3534]

how much did it end up costing? 100k?

[@lulu07Lulu]

It is extremely dark in there. You'd think more recessed lighting would be installed. It is nice tho!

[@BrownstoneBoys]

Rest assured this was shot on a rainy day! We don't usually turn on lighting during shoots to avoid yellow tones. There's a lot more natural light in real life :)

[@DeShawnHatcher]

Seriously take this video down and fix the audio. How insulting.