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Architects Julie Tran and Khoi Nguyen turned their 1,000-square-foot Clinton Hill co-op into a study in controlled contrast. They removed a wall between the kitchen, dining area, and living room, then used a dark cabinet color, pale surrounding surfaces, new white-oak floors, and a mix of old and new furnishings to give the apartment a strong identity. The work took about four months. A planned construction-and-materials budget of $75,000 became just under $87,000 after unexpected electrical work and a few splurges.
The renovation is useful because its risks were selective rather than reckless. The couple worked with an ordinary 1940s compartmentalized layout, limited lighting locations, and a finite budget. Their solution was to spend on the changes that altered how the apartment feels—opening the common area, flooring, and a kitchen focal point—while finding economical ways to handle storage and decoration.
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The apartment had limitations, but the right ones to work with
The Clinton Hill co-op did not offer the ornate details often associated with prewar New York apartments. Nguyen said the unit’s strengths were elsewhere: a good basic layout, south-facing corner windows, plentiful natural light, and views. Those qualities gave the couple a reason to renovate rather than search for a more historically decorated home.
Inside, the plan still felt distinctly 1940s. The kitchen, dining area, and living room were separated by a dividing wall, and the apartment’s rooms read as individual compartments. Tran and Nguyen removed that wall to connect the three shared spaces. They also updated the bathroom and both bedrooms, making the project a whole-apartment renovation rather than a cosmetic kitchen refresh.
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The decision to open the common area did more than increase sightlines. It created one continuous space in which the kitchen could act as a visual anchor, the dining area could support it, and the living room could remain comfortable without feeling detached. In a 1,000-square-foot home, that relationship matters because every transition is visible from multiple angles.
The project wrapped in roughly four months, with the work completed the year before Architectural Digest published its 2022 feature. That schedule is a description of this renovation, not a promise that a similarly sized apartment will take the same amount of time.
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Contrast was the couple’s organizing design idea
Cool and warm elements keep the palette from feeling flat
Tran and Nguyen built the interior around contrasts: cool against warm, hard against soft, and old against new. The approach let them use a restrained group of familiar materials without producing a generic white-box interior.
Tran described the method this way: “We were working with a constrained palette of classic materials but managed to use them in interesting and unexpected ways.” The statement explains why the apartment can accommodate bold moments without becoming visually chaotic. A dark kitchen, pale walls, wood flooring, woven rugs, upholstered furniture, and metal hardware each contribute a different temperature or texture.
Risk came from placement and proportion, not novelty for its own sake
The couple’s guiding principle was not to avoid strong choices. Tran said, “You can take risks and still have a timeless design.” In practice, that meant applying risk to a few highly visible decisions while keeping the underlying materials recognizable and durable-looking.
Nguyen offered a budget-conscious version of the same idea: “One thing we say to clients when we’re working with a limited budget is that instead of high-end materials, use shape and color to create design moments.” He added, “Interesting shapes and unexpected colors can create that wow factor at a fraction of the cost of a fancy material.” Their apartment demonstrates that principle through the kitchen color, the open-plan composition, and selected furnishings rather than through an accumulation of expensive finishes.
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A blue-black cabinet color supplies the visual weight
The kitchen was deliberately made a focal point. Its cabinets were painted Benjamin Moore’s Cheating Heart, a blue-black tone that gives the room depth and distinguishes it from the adjacent living and dining areas. Because the common spaces are connected, the cabinet run is visible as part of the larger room rather than hidden behind a wall.
Pale walls, ceiling, and trim frame the darker cabinetry
The surrounding paint choices keep the cabinet color from taking over. The walls use Benjamin Moore’s Vanilla Milkshake, while the ceiling and trim use Simply White. This three-color arrangement creates a clear hierarchy: the cabinets carry the strongest color, the walls provide a soft field around them, and the ceiling and trim clarify the room’s edges.
For anyone adapting the idea, the important lesson is relational rather than brand-specific. A dark focal surface needs neighboring surfaces that give the eye somewhere to rest. In this apartment, the pale walls and bright architectural details let the blue-black cabinets read as intentional architecture instead of a patch of isolated color.
Shape can do as much work as a premium material
The kitchen’s impact did not rely only on paint. The couple paired the cabinet color with contrasting materials and worked with their contractor, Lambo Construction, on kitchen details. The feature does not identify every finish or provide performance testing, but it does show how color, material changes, and the geometry of an open room can combine to create a memorable center.
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White-oak flooring was the largest single line item
The existing floors were 1980s laminate. The couple replaced them with white-oak plank flooring, a change Nguyen called the renovation’s biggest single line item. New flooring runs through the connected living areas, so it affects the appearance of the entire apartment rather than one room.
This choice illustrates a cost-versus-impact decision. Flooring is not a small decorative accent; it establishes the background for every piece of furniture and every paint color. Spending more there gave the kitchen, dining area, and living room a common foundation, while the couple could be more economical in less visually dominant areas.
Built-in-looking storage came from ready-made components
They saved on bedroom storage by using IKEA closets with brass pulls. Their contractor framed the walls around the units so the finished installation would resemble built-in cabinetry. The strategy combines a readily available storage system with site-built framing and new hardware, reducing the need for fully custom casework while preserving a tailored appearance.
Named furnishings and appliances supported the old-meets-new mix
The project feature names a Vitsœ 606 Universal Shelving System, which Tran said they expanded with additional shelves; a HAY Mags sofa; an Armadillo jute rug; a Gestalt Calla rug; Forge Hardware Studio knobs; Emtek pulls; and a Newport Brass faucet. The kitchen appliances are identified as a Liebherr refrigerator and a Bosch range, without model numbers.
These are items named in the apartment feature, not independently tested recommendations. Their role in the story is compositional: ready-made storage, recognizable modern furniture, natural-fiber rugs, metal hardware, and appliances sit alongside the apartment’s new architectural work to create the intended old-and-new tension.
Lighting had to follow the existing wiring
The apartment’s structure and wiring limited where new light fixtures could be installed. Rather than undertake a complete rewiring, the couple placed pendants at the available fixture points and supplemented them with lamps and plug-in sconces.
That constraint shaped the atmosphere of the finished rooms. A pendant can define a kitchen or dining location, while portable lamps and plug-in sconces add pools of light where the ceiling cannot easily support another fixture. The approach also allows some lighting to move as furniture layouts change.
For a renovation with similar limits, the practical sequence is to map existing electrical points before choosing fixtures, identify which locations deserve the strongest visual emphasis, and then use portable or plug-in lighting to fill the gaps. The Clinton Hill project shows that a limited fixture plan does not automatically prevent layered lighting; it changes the mix of fixed and movable sources.
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What the numbers say about this one renovation
| Measure | Reported figure | What it describes |
|---|---|---|
| Apartment size | 1,000 square feet | The Clinton Hill co-op renovated by Tran and Nguyen |
| Renovation duration | About four months | The reported construction period; the work finished the year before the 2022 feature |
| Original budget | $75,000 | Tran’s construction-and-materials budget for this project |
| Final bill | Just under $87,000 | Tran’s reported total after unexpected electrical work and a few splurges |
The difference between the planned and final figures is roughly $12,000, but the source does not break that amount into line items. It identifies unexpected electrical work and several splurges as the reasons the final bill exceeded the original budget. These numbers should not be used as a general price guide for Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, or any other apartment: they describe one home, one scope of work, and one point in time.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Living through construction changed the couple’s advice
Tran said living through construction was something she would not repeat. The experience led the couple to give clients a specific scheduling warning: “We always recommend our clients to be flexible with their living arrangements for the final few weeks of construction, as you never know what unexpected circumstances could push your move-in timeline.”
That advice is especially relevant when a project includes electrical changes, flooring, cabinetry, and work in several rooms. Even when the planned duration is four months, the final handover can move if a late discovery or unfinished detail affects a critical path. Keeping an alternative place to stay available near the end is a planning response to that uncertainty, not evidence that this particular project suffered a major delay.
A decision framework for repeating the strategy
1. Start with the apartment’s strongest existing assets
Nguyen identified the Clinton Hill unit’s light, corner windows, views, and workable layout before discussing finishes. A different apartment may have different assets—ceiling height, a view corridor, original trim, or an efficient plumbing wall. List those features first so the renovation reinforces what already works instead of spending the budget to disguise it.
2. Open only the boundary that changes daily life
The removed wall connected the kitchen, dining area, and living room, the rooms most likely to be used together. The project did not require turning every room into one undifferentiated space; the bedrooms and bathroom remained distinct. This is a useful distinction when evaluating an open-plan proposal: remove a barrier when it improves circulation and shared use, not simply because an open plan is fashionable.
3. Choose one high-impact color relationship
The blue-black cabinets, pale walls, and white ceiling and trim form a legible color structure. A homeowner can apply the same logic with a different dark, saturated, or unexpected color, provided the surrounding surfaces are chosen to support it. The aim is a deliberate focal point, not a collection of unrelated accent colors.
4. Put major spending where every room benefits
White-oak flooring was expensive, but it established continuity across the newly connected common area. If the budget is limited, compare a finish that changes the whole visual field with one that affects only a small zone. The couple’s choices suggest reserving larger allowances for elements that improve several connected spaces at once.
5. Use construction to make economical products look intentional
The framed IKEA closets show how installation can change the reading of a standard component. Brass pulls supplied a deliberate hardware note, and wall framing gave the units a built-in appearance. This type of hybrid solution can preserve money for structural work, flooring, or a focal finish without making the room look provisional.
6. Treat wiring as a design input
Before selecting decorative fixtures, identify which ceiling and wall locations are actually available. The Clinton Hill couple used pendants where wiring allowed them and lamps or plug-in sconces elsewhere. Designing around that reality early prevents a lighting plan that depends on openings the apartment cannot easily provide.
What this case study can—and cannot—tell you
The renovation offers a clear example of how a couple used contrast, color, shape, and selective spending in a small New York apartment. It does not establish a typical renovation cost, a standard four-month schedule, or a universal return on investment. The $75,000 budget and just-under-$87,000 final bill belong to this apartment and this scope.
The named products and companies are part of the published project account. The feature does not establish current product availability, appliance model details, present-day contractor or architecture services, or any referral arrangement. Nor does it provide independent testing of the furnishings, paint, appliances, or hardware.
What is established is more practical: the couple retained the apartment’s light and views, removed a wall to connect the rooms they use together, made the kitchen visually decisive, spent heavily on flooring, saved on storage through a framed ready-made system, and adapted lighting to fixed wiring. Those decisions explain why the finished home could take a few promising risks while still reading as calm and enduring.
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