The Insider: Boerum Hill Carriage House Reno Maximizes Tiny Space

"Though someone had recently lived there, "The whole facade was sagging and rotting," Otten recalled, and the interior was dire as well. "Inside, there was a thick brick wall with an opening, possibly for a carriage on one side and a horse on the other." There was no cellar, just a concrete slab foundation. OSSO Architecture took down that interior brick wall, as well as a low stoop that projected onto the sidewalk."

"The front facade was reconstructed, with new steel structure to support the cantilevered bay on the upper floor, and a new sheetmetal cornice. The windows on the lower level resemble carriage house doors, with lots of insulated glass to admit maximum light. Their panes are fixed, the lower ones made of reeded glass for privacy on a street with considerable foot traffic."

"The single large room on ground level is living room, kitchen, and dining room in one. The architects moved the internal staircase to one end of the space, giving it winder steps on the bottom and at the top to make it more compact. "We made the cabinetry look more formal and hid appliances behind panels, so you don't feel you're in a kitchen," Otten said."

A two-story, 1,000-square-foot Brooklyn carriage house was transformed into a two-bedroom, 2.5-bath home. The facade was sagging and rotting, and the interior contained a thick brick wall that may have separated a carriage opening from a horse stall. There was no cellar, only a concrete slab foundation. OSSO Architecture removed the interior wall and a projecting stoop, reconstructed the front facade with new steel to support a cantilevered upper bay, and added a sheetmetal cornice. Lower windows mimic carriage doors with insulated and reeded glass for light and privacy, and the rear was opened with large sliding doors. The house is all-electric with forced-air heat and air conditioning. The ground level is an open living, dining, and kitchen space with a compact relocated staircase and paneled cabinetry that conceals appliances.

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