To say that Kai Avent-deLeon is juggling a lot would be an understatement. Avent-deLeon’s grandmother bought a handful of buildings in Bed-Stuy in the 1980s that she now rents out, and her mother is also in real estate. Take a look at the finished apartment, by turns gallery-like and playful.
Photography by Mel Walbridge for Remodelista.
The front door of the apartment opens into the dining room, with dark, original molding and moody light.
A sculptural yellow chair was a chance find on Instagram It s by a young designer named Kelly Infield Because of the algorithm on Instagram I always get suggested home design feeds and she popped up on the you should follow page I commented on it and said Where is this chair from She said she...
...made it so I messaged her and begged her to let me carry it in the store Solange Knowles wanted to buy it but we couldn t find a way to ship it so I thought that was a sign that it should be in my home It adds a more playful feel to the room
On the mantel are three terra cotta pots, collected on Avent-deLeon’s travels to Peru (far left) and on a road trip to New Mexico (center and right).
The two from New Mexico “were $5 or $10 each, all handmade,” she says.
Avent-deLeon treats Sincerely, Tommy as a gallery of sorts, collecting locally made objects in her travels—to Morocco, Peru, Kenya—then displaying them in the shop and, sometimes, at home.
An original door (the etched-glass panel depicts a woman holding a bird) opens into a small nook off of the dining room, now Avent-deLeon’s son’s room.
Another doorway off of the dining room leads to the newly renovated galley kitchen.
The glass-front cabinets on the right were existing.
Restaurant supply-style metal shelves, mounted above the new sink.
Through the kitchen is the petite bath, with woven baskets that, placed at eye level, hold the family’s toiletries.
Looking from the bedroom, at the front end of the railroad apartment, toward the living room, dining room, the kitchen beyond.
In the bedroom, Avent-deLeon had the same local woodworker build a red folding screen, which now hides the bed from view.
The space on one side of the folding screen serves as a sitting area.
A Japanese Maruni rope chair and a three-legged Kenyan headrest, collected from Avent-deLeon’s travels and displayed on the ledge of an original built-in hall mirror.
A white curtain, hung from a wooden rod, conceals a small niche off of the bedroom, which doubles as an office and a walk-in closet for Avent-deLeon’s eclectic wardrobe.
A bassinet, on loan from a friend, beneath works by Rosemarie Auberson.
The folding screen creates a sense of intimacy for the bed area. Note the original details, like the glass door knobs.
Avent-deLeon and her son.