Space of the Week: The Brownstone Boys Max Out Storage Space in This 500-Square-Foot Home

When Brian Landman and Sean Gilleran reached out to the home renovating duo the Brownstone Boys, Barry Bordelon and Jordan Slocum, for help updating their 500-square-foot apartment in Manhattan, they were laser-focused on making the kitchen an inviting space for hosting friends and family. Since they both love to entertain, "their hopes and dreams were more around opening up the kitchen and having more social interaction between who's in the kitchen and who's in the living room," says Barry. But while touring the apartment for the first time, Barry and Jordan spotted another situation desperately in need of design remediation: a wall of louvered closet doors in the bedroom that Barry describes as a "monstrosity." To fix both the unsightly, dysfunctional closet and add more storage to the kitchen, they turned to cabinets from BOXI that fit seamlessly into the design.

Before moving into the gorgeous brownstone the couple is best known for renovating, Jordan lived in a 350-square-foot basement apartment, so he was able to apply what he learned from his first-hand experience living in a small space to his clients' apartment. "Everything was on display and it drove me crazy every single time I walked into my apartment," says Jordan. Similarly, in Sean and Brian's bedroom, "we walked in there, and there were shoes on shoes on shoes." They promised Brian (a former visual merchandiser at Foot Locker) that he could keep his beloved shoe collection, it just had to be hidden inside sleek, smart storage.

By installing a full wall of Salt Slab cabinets from BOXI, shoes, clothes, and coats all have a storage spot, yet nothing is left on display. Compared to the louvered doors on the former closet, the new cabinet fronts are minimal and modern, so they blend into the space and help the room feel larger. A wall-mounted sconce frees up space on the nightstand and floor, while a nightstand with a drawer squeezes in just a little more storage.

In the kitchen, a mix of open and closed storage, in the form of Shaker-style cabinets and floating shelving, provide places to both hide and display cooking tools and dishware. By opening up the wall that previously separated the living room and kitchen, the apartment is now not only a great spot for entertaining, but it's also flooded with more sunlight.

While Brian's clutter kryptonite is shoes, Sean's is books. Luckily, when drawing up design plans for the kitchen, Barry and Jordan managed to sneak in some bookshelves next to the counter seating. "The majority of the renovation centers around storage and places to put things, and organizing their lives and bettering their relationship through it," says Barry. Thanks to storage designed just for them, the couple—along with all their shoes and books—can happily cohabitate in a small space.

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