If you’re like us the words “thrifty” and “green” may just throw you into a fit of hipster hating backlash. Or maybe it would make you a little misty for the bearded Al Gore. Whatever. Today’s NY Times has a story about Katherine Belsey Davis and her husband’s (a musician, not named…hmm) Brooklyn Heights kitchen reno:

New York Times: Leftovers….: Over the last year, after Ms. Davis and her husband combined their apartment in Brooklyn Heights with one next door to make space for their growing family, she built a laundry room and a recording studio for her husband, a musician, and renovated a bathroom at budget prices. But it was her kitchen renovation, which included appliances, cabinets, counters and floor, where she really managed to get a lot for a little. The kitchen came to a total of $10,600, said Ms. Davis, who estimated that she saved $19,000 to $28,000 on that one room by recycling.

Lots of work done over the weekend. Lowered the floor of the "standing area" for the loft portion, put in the rafters for the bed platform and the ceiling for the room aka The Study aka The Batcave. Shifted the doorway closer to center, maybe a little past center actually. This will add to the cost, since the contractor didn't figure it in to his original estimate, but that's okay. It's coming along nicely, though I suspect that some of my measurements were a bit off.  The standing area is a little worrisome. There's not as much headroom as I expected — I can fit in there perfectly, however some of my 6+ foot tall friends might have to hunch over. They can hang out in the batcave, though. I want to lower the loft wall facing the windows by at least half its current height, as well. Right now, the bed space seems too closed off, and the air would easily become too hot and stale. Cutting off the wall would help with airflow and light. This, of course, will be an additional expense.

The Study has good headroom, and benefits from the standing area miscalculations. I was assured all the little cracks between the pieces will be taken care of. The light fixtures and outlet won't be placed until the walls have been primed and painted. I still don't know what I'm going to do with the room, but I have many options, ranging from TV room to a library to a walk-in closet. If you have any ideas, comment below or send your suggestions to webmaster@brooklynheightsblog.com.

Currently, there's a little downtime, due to one of the workers suffering from ingrown tooth pain. However, next major task will be the stairs. Originally, I was going to have the fine folks at Nova Zembla on Atlantic modify their rosewood step cabinet piece into a stairway, but unfortunately the price was beyond my budget. So, it will be built, against the wall, with 8 inch risers, some shelf space, and a little closet underneath.

Day 1 — Day 0 — Other People's Apartments 

Work began with cutting out the space for the "standing area" (the space to the right of the door), and installing the frame for it. I wasn't happy with the doorway being so close to the future stairway, it looked awkward. The entrance to "the study" (or "the TV room") should be centered between the edge of the wall and the edge of the stairway.

Also, the "standing area" is a bit too high. When I stood on the frame I bumped my head. Can't have that. The light fixture will be turned into an outlet for a possible bed light, and the light fixtures that were on that wall will be moved to the side wall in "the study". The rest of the frame and the rafters should come up rather rapidly, as soon as the "standing area" height is reduced.

Day 0 — Qfwfq's "inspiration" 

No, the room isn't leaning, just the camera. 

We can't all be a Brownstoner renoblogger.

When I bought my "Junior 1 Bedroom" apartment, one of the more interesting aspects of it was the "Junior Bedroom". As you can see, the walls don't reach the ceiling, and the space inside barely fits a bed. Since the ceiling is 11 feet high, I felt this arrangement was a poor use of space. 

Some said: "You should put a ceiling on the existing room, and use the top part for storage." Others said: "You could build a short loft and use the small 'room' for storage."  I said: "NO! I want both a room AND a loft! AND a place to stand when I get out of my loft bed!" And they all said: "That's CRAAAZY!"

Well, not really. This is how it's going to work. Because I don't have quite enough space to stand in both areas, I will have to sacrifice some space in both the loft and the room. The stairs, which will be up against the building wall, will lead up to a "standing area" where I can ingress and egress out of bed without worrying about bumping my head on the ceiling. Consequently, in the room, there will only be around 4 feet of open space underneath the standing area. This should be enough space to put furniture items, such as a dresser perhaps, or maybe a TV and some shelves as well. I haven't decided what to do with the room. Next to the standing area will be a raised area where the bed will be, which will be high enough to stand in the room below. I won't be able to stand on the bed.

We'll see how this all plays out. I'm mostly concerned with  the strength of the loft. I want it to be sturdy enough so when I host a party, people can hang out there without the floor giving in. Work began today with a local contractor. I'll be sleeping on a small sofa for now, and will be eating Ramen noodles after I pay for all this.