With a straightforward black and white colour palette and a good eye for designer furniture pieces and flea market finds, artists Sarah Reynolds and Charlie Nesi transformed their blank-canvas studio into a fashionable and welcoming house. The space in former cushion mill in an artsy Brooklyn neighborhood offers a change of pace from the city in addition to a gallery-like area for their art. “If you live in and work in Manhattan, occasionally it’s hard to get that separation at which you can turn off work manner,” Reynolds says. The couple appreciates how their space permits them to pursue their creative jobs in the comfort of their own house.
Who lives here: Artist Sarah Reynolds and Charlie Nesi, also a performer and director of marketing for a mobile-app firm
Location: Bushwick neighborhood ofBrooklyn, New York
Size: About 700 square feet
Chris A Dorsey Photography
The couple spent a great deal of time in the Brooklyn Flea searching because of their furnishings; it’s a fantastic place for the two repurposed items and custom furniture. “We originally watched the coffee table in the Flea,” Nesi says, “and thought it looked cool, so we took a gamble and asked the vendor who made it to make us a dining room table. He put the whole thing together for us , all with reclaimed timber, and it turned out amazing.”
Locker: Sandusky, Staples; dining table, custom coffee table: Joel Voisard; rug: eBay; sofa: Innovation Living; ceiling: present metal plank, painted silver
Chris A Dorsey Photography
This huge 48-star American flag was just another flea market find Nesi needed to possess. “We walked, and one of the earliest vendors we watched was using this flag as a backdrop for her own unit. It was not even available, just decoration.” Nesi asked about purchasing it, and despite the vendor’s initial unwillingness was finally able to convince her to part with it. “She was holding onto it since I had been taking it away,” says Nesi.
Shelf: Expedit, Ikea; carpet: eBay
Chris A Dorsey Photography
“We saw that this lamp in a coffee shop below our flat, and we simply loved it,” Nesi says. “We begged them to make one for us.” Its metal-pipe structure echoes that of this dining table across the room.
Lamp: custom; art: Slim Aarons
Chris A Dorsey Photography
The lamp into the right was the couple’s first attempt at building their very own custom lighting. This space, bathed in natural light in the huge mill windows, is inspirational to wake up in.
Lamp: White on White; mattress: Hoffman, Room & Board; artwork: Sarah Reynolds; clothing stand: eBay; bedside table: Antiques Garage on 25th Street in Manhattan
Chris A Dorsey Photography
The dining table also serves as a huge work surface. “We love it,” Reynolds says. “We both work out here, so it’s usually covered in art supplies.”
Dining table: custom, Joel Voisard; art: Sarah Reynolds (middle and left), Charlie Nesi (right)
Chris A Dorsey Photography
A brick firewall divides the living space in the kitchen and bathroom and can be a subtle reminder of the building’s industrial beginnings.The skull over the entrance was an early birthday gift for Reynolds. “I’m from Texas, so this feels like home to me.”
Artwork: Sarah Reynolds
Chris A Dorsey Photography
Reynolds enjoys the long kitchen space. After residing for a few years near Washington Square Park in Manhattan in an apartment with a tiny kitchen, she is finally able to get some space to cook.
Artwork: Charlie Nesi
Chris A Dorsey Photography
The following project will be the bathroom, which is presently in precisely the same condition as when the couple moved in. The plan for now is to paint it blue and put clouds onto the walls.
Chris A Dorsey Photography
Reynolds’ favourite piece in the flat (the art on the left) is aptly called “The Charlie.” For Reynolds, “this piece symbolizes my first time doing charcoal,” she says. “I scribbled this image on a napkin one night and was decided to draw it onto a bigger scale. Once I was done, I loved it but didn’t know how others would feel about it. It has so much emotion. I finally got brave and showed some of my buddies, and they all loved it.”
Chris A Dorsey Photography
The bits around the dining area are from Reynolds’ first solo series, called Frames on Frames. She is hoping to mount a mirror within the framework piece but is holding out in the present time, noting that “it’s likely to cost a lot.”
Chris A Dorsey Photography
Sarah Reynolds and Charlie Nesi in the dining table. While the colour palette in the studio is largely black and white, the eclectic mixture of custom furniture, fantastic flea market finds and authentic art brings the space to life.
Your turn: Share your creative house with us