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Notes on the 2007 Bed-Stuy House Tour
By Alexa11221 | October 21, 2007
Yesterday thechangeling and I went on the 29th Annual Bed-Stuy House Tour. It’s the first time I’ve done this, and I didn’t know what to expect. I knew there are a lot of beautiful 19th-century houses in the neighborhood, but I haven’t been in that many. In fact, I think I’ve really only seen house interiors here when I was househunting.
The great thing about this tour is you get to meet the homeowners and you truly feel that you are visiting a home and not just some display house. And the energy is very positive–I asked the tenants in one place if they felt disgruntled by having so many people come through their space and they said no, everybody was so smiling and happy and so appreciative that it really made them feel good. Thechangeling and I met up with two school teachers, Karol from the Bronx and Joyce from Harlem. Karol said she goes on the Bed Stuy tour almost every year, but this was Joyce’s first time. So we joined forces and went around together. They were great companions.
It was inspiring too. I came away convinced that we need to save up enough money to re-do the kitchen, downstairs bath, and do something to the back garden (it wouldn’t have to be much, it could be mostly cosmetic). The rest of the house just needs cleaning and organizing for now.
A personal thanks from me to the organizers, Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant, and the families and homeowners who graciously opened up their living spaces for us oglers. I can’t wait to see next year’s houses!
Here’s a list of details I liked:
1. The Morris House: Glass bamboo tile in the downstairs powder room. Black and white red-spotted stone counters in kitchen. Purple and brown guest bedroom. Pebble tiles in 2nd floor bath.
2. The gorgeous Afro-Caribbean kitchen in the Sheperd-King house. Amazing colors, beautiful workmanship, seemed like a wonderful place to cook or just hang out. I tend not to like showplace kitchens, but this one was a showplace that also felt real. I also loved the floors–they were original and unique and yet perfectly complemented the historic details.
5. Fela Barcliff’s whole apartment was amazing, both for the original details and the restoration choices. And the small kitchen is lovely. I noticed that in particular because I have a small kitchen and there’s really no way to expand it unless I totally redid the floor plan (unlikely). Also, I really liked the organizational touches in her bathroom.
6. I loved the restoration choices of the Franklin house–I really like how they judiciously removed walls to open up the top duplex. It felt so light and spacious and also good to be in–the proportions felt just right. And the slate bathroom was gorgeous.
7. Pratt house–gut rehab on garden floor, beautifully restored details on parlor floor, and a nice job in the tenants’ apartment up top–I really liked the skylights (note to self– need to think about restoring the closed-in skylights on our top floor). They had an appealing hand-crafted industrial feel.
8. Oden house–just the garden floor was on the tour. Ravonda Oden was holding court in her fabulous kitchen. I liked her granite choice too, and they used amazing, rich colors throughout. Thechangeling was really taken with her kitchen and wants one just like it.
9. Julian Watson–I love how he used different types of marble for the floors (I spotted what I think was a patch of the original flooring and it looked just like mine-beat up pine subflooring, probably original to the house). Also his basement lounge and wet bar were great! I definitely got some ideas for how our basement could be redone (unlikely, again, but you never know …)
10. I really liked the parlor floor deck in the Fishers’ house. It felt so serene to be up high like that. It made me wish for a roof deck (again, unlikely …) I didn’t make it to the top floor apartment because it was 4 and the tour was ending and we were exhausted from walking all over and climbing all those stairs (you need good knees for brownstone living).
Unfortunately, I missed the last stop on the tour (an apartment that’s been featured on Oprah). Too bad because from the description it sounded really interesting.
And I didn’t make it back to the bazaar at Old Boys & Girls High School either, which I totally regret. I saw some lovely stuff. I hope some of those artisans will show up at the Lewis Ave Flea Market!
I’m sure thechangeling will post her own impressions as well!
October 21st, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Hello Alexa,
It was a great experience yesterday and it was wondeful meeting you and thechangeling.It’s hard to choose a favorite home. The Franklin Home was a “work in progress” last year and now it’s completly renovated. It was amazing to see what went into creating the different spaces. We met a gentlman named the “Woodman” who stripped coats of paint from the wood paneling thoughout the Barcliff/ Killings home .I can’t wait until next year.
October 21st, 2007 at 5:48 pm
I couldn’t pick out a favorite house, and I didn’t even manage to mention all my favorite things! Each one of the houses had things I loved. One thing I enjoyed was that all the houses were similar in size and layout and yet each one was different. That’s one of the things I love about Brooklyn brownstones.
I met “The Woodman” too–I’m saving his flyer for when I have time and $$ to redo my floors!
October 21st, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I would say the king house was amazing, it was just dripping in details. i’m a sucker for that kind of stuff.
the morris house was nice too, great owners there and in many of the homes. did you notice so many other homes were well kept, clean blocks, plants and flowers on the steps, etc. great area.
October 21st, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Dear Alexa,
I am very happy that you enjoyed our house tour. For 29 years, we have been celebrating the people of our community, and their great spirits. However, I was shocked to see that you published the names of the homeowners. This is the first time in 29 years that a tourgoer has ever done that, although there must be thousands upon thousands of house tour booklets in the hands of the public. Somehow, folks have understood that advertising the homeowners’ information is a no-no, until now. I am asking you, and anyone else who went on the house tour, to help us continue to respect the privacy of our homeowners. They graciously open their homes for one day, and one day only! In these days of blogs and such, we have to be more than careful about our neighbors’ privacy, and I am sure that you will agree. Make the comments, if you must, but without names and addresses. Let’s respect each other.
October 21st, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Anybody have an idea of the cost? I could totally see myself buying in this neighborhood. Bed-Stuy seems to be the only affordable place left!
October 21st, 2007 at 10:19 pm
I’ll just add that I was amazed at how many neat things people were doing inside of their homes. I had no idea that some residents had their own saunas! I really had a good time chatting with Karol, Joyce and Alexa 11221 throughout the tour.
Flex, I didn’t ask any of the homeowners about the costs of their renos. If you’re just interested in finding out the cost of the homes in the area check out some of the major real estate sites. We did get a chance to look at a 3-family brownstone for sale that day. The agent was holding an open house so we couldn’t resist dropping by. It was partially renovated but the top floor still needed a lot of work. I believe that it was being marketed by Fillmore and being sold for around 900K.
Brenda, I’m surprised that you see a problem with what Alexa has done. You have already pointed to the fact that there were tons of booklets handed out with the names, addresses, and descriptions of renos done in each home. Now you ask for privacy? What a bizarre contradiction! No addresses were published here, so how are we to discuss what we liked about specific homes if we don’t refer to them by the owners’ names?
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:27 am
I think the comment from Ms Fryson (who I see from the pamphlet is a member of the sponsoring organization, but not one of the house tour chairs) indicates the changing nature of information in our society. I have been led to understand that the hospitality shown by house owners has rarely if ever been betrayed by visitors, and Alexa’s use of information provided by Brownstoners of Bed-Stuy themselves to comment favorably upon the even seems completely inevitable and natural to me. That said…
I really appreciated the owners being present. Their willingness to answer questions and explain their renovation processes was unlike any other tour I had been on. I could most relate to the Morris’s house on Madison (#2) where they had to create details and a sense of history where a previous renovation had swepted that all away. The apartment on Malcolm X (hosted by a bevy of very attractive spokesmen!) reminded me of the renovations done by my friends 15 years ago in lofts on the lower east side and Tribeca. Ultimately the minature kitchen and the sleeping closet made me smile but not want to live there; I suspect their planned condo development will be a little less focused on design and a bit more on the practicalities of actual life. Loved the energy. Getting over there led me to wander across Malcolm X down a street with a lovely church and a woodframed house (maybe Lexington?). I could imagine that area feeling a bit more desolate in February than on a beautiful Fall afternoon. Seems to me, however, that it is on many blocks such as those two where people will find more affordable projects. I also began to smile about the presentation of rooms as “meditation Spaces” or zen retreats. Either Bed-Stuy folks are more contemplative than the rest of us or there were a whole bunch of junk room which got cleaned out a repurposed last week!
Thanks for the tour. Everyone was lovely and friendly.
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:52 am
Our name was mentioned, and I don’t have one bit of a problem with it. I do understand the need for privacy, but I feel like this blog is “Family”
To that end, I’m not bothered at all. The mini tour that was enjoyed by all the participants, was absolutely amazing! While some places were great to look at, others were not as extravagant, but I could TOTALLY see myself living in those spaces. I’m amazed at how creative people can be with so little space. Our place was a “work in progress” so it was completely beneficial for us to get ideas on how to finish what we’ve began.
Alexa, I’m glad you got the chance to stop by our home. You’re always welcomed!
October 22nd, 2007 at 12:08 pm
How do you get in touch with the Brownstoners? I joined several house tours ago, when they were soliciting for membership, but received only one mailing from them which announced an upcoming meeting, but no time/date or return address. When I heard from them again the meeting had already occurred and they sent me a flyer re upcoming fundraiser which they wanted me to participate in. Disenchanting!
October 22nd, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Their website http://www.brownstonersofbedstuy.org/ has a “Contact Us” tab. It allows you to enter your contact information and presumably someone will get in touch with you. That might be one option if you haven’t tried it already.
If there are any Brownstoners out there who know a better way for BedStyliving to make contact, then please post.
October 22nd, 2007 at 3:01 pm
The tour is such a blessing. I greatly appreciate the owners sharing their successes and frustrations. It is very helpful to someone (me!) who continually works on their house.
I love the before and after pictures. The amount of work that goes into these projects makes you appreciate anyone who not only puts in the money and time, but shares it with everyone.
I hope this continues to inspire others to keep at it and brings new people into our neighborhood to appreciate our lives here in Bed-Stuy.
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I apologize for mentioning any family names in my comments.
I didn’t mean to invade anyones privacy.
October 22nd, 2007 at 8:06 pm
I attend the house tour every year. This year’s tour was one of the best! The homes were beautiful and featured wonderful design ideas. I was really impressed with the cellar. I want that!
Re Ms. Fryson’s comment. Anyone can go on Property Shark and ACRIS and find out far more about homeowners than the info in the tour bochure.
Anyway…thank you, participants, for sharing your amazing homes!
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:07 am
The Bed-Stuy house tour was my first house tour and my first time in Bed-Stuy. After reading so much about the community, I was excited to see it for myself. I’m looking for a somewhat affordable, up and coming neighborhood, with racial, ethnic, and economic diversity for my imaginary future family.
Hoping to beat the crowds, I started at the end of the tour and worked backwards. When the shuttle dropped us off at the apartment, I skipped the long line in hopes of seeing my first brownstone with more elbowroom. It worked out really well.
I am so thankful to all of these people for letting 800-900 folks troop through their homes.
One of my concerns about the idea of living in a brownstone is the lack of light on the parlor and garden floors. I loved being able to see an upper duplex for the owner’s at the Franklin house.
I adored the Barcliff apartment. It was so refreshing to see a small but useable kitchen after so many granite counters and kitchen islands (definitely the Avocado and Harvest Gold of the mid-2000’s). I loved being able to smell the wood in the gracious old home and I longed to take a long soak in the deep claw-foot tub. (I used to have one when I lived in the East Village and I miss it terribly.)
I wanted to move into the parlor floor of the Morris home. I told the owner that by the end of the tour I was afraid that my mid-century modern esthetic would not work in a brownstone, but his home gave me a glimmer of hope. I loved the brightness and lofty feeling of the open parlor floor.
I’m so glad that I attended the tour. I’m not sure if Bed-Stuy (or any part of Brownstone Brooklyn) is for me, the blocks and blocks and blocks of homes without businesses on the avenues felt too suburban to me. But then again, perhaps we take a chance and hope the businesses will come.
I was so pleased to meet The Changeling and Alexa11211. I’m still going to check the blog every day!
October 23rd, 2007 at 1:31 pm
This post is directed to LookingforHome…
The businesses are already here!
http://www.shopbedstuy.com
October 24th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
i think most of the home went through a major renovations, so you got to have deep pockets to make these homes look nice.
October 25th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Sally, I think a lot of the homes can be made to look nice with less.