Renters Built a Dream Brooklyn Loft with DIY Furniture (and Lots of Plywood!) (2025)

• House Tours
• Home Type
• Lofts

published Apr 25, 2025

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

Christine Leahy and Nik Sparks have spent the last two years making this apartment — a 750-square-foot loft in an old factory building constructed in 1905 — into their incredibly dreamy home. Because the space is a rental, they’ve had to get creative with customizing it.

“It’s been a journey to parse out how to optimize storage, make things comfortable and functional, and more broadly combine our possessions and respective tastes,” Christine writes.

Christine explains that the building was converted into housing in 2000, and the apartment the couple rents started as “essentially, a big empty box” with sparse and industrial vibes. “It served as a blank canvas where we could really make it whatever we wanted.”

You might notice a few familiar elements as you peruse their apartment; we toured Christine’s previous home, a 350-square-foot studio that she customized with a brilliant wood bed platform and home office hybrid. The bookshelf/stairs from the small studio apartment found a home as a room divider in the new home, and other lumber from the studio was repurposed for things like a kitchen island, table, and benches. Even the curtains from Christine’s studio found a new home and purpose here, as a room divider.

The biggest challenge the couple faced was “making the space functional for both of us —two people, two dogs, and all the stuff that comes with that many creatures in one space. Storage was key, but we wanted something that was both functional and discreet,” Christine writes.

Another challenge for the couple? Dividing the space in such a way that works for two adults. “We both occasionally work from home, so blocking out work areas for both of us was essential, and we managed to do it in a way where if only one of us was working, the other could go about their day in a relaxed way — no need to tiptoe around.”

Not only does the space function for the couple, but it’s also actually quite a sanctuary. “Despite sitting in a rather chaotic slice of Brooklyn, the space itself feels peaceful. Our windows look out over a garden we share with our neighbors, and our dogs spend afternoons watching birds and cats in the neighborhood.”

Resources

Thanks, Christine!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.