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225 East 74th Street, 5K

Not everyone wants to add a bedroom to their floorplan.  Sometimes, less is more, as is seen here with a pre-war 3 bedroom on the Upper East Side. The charming sunken living room just doesn't feel right when you have a dining room table sitting in front of it. We've taken the "dining" out of the foyer, taken down the walls to the 3rd bedroom, and opened up the kitchen.  Now you have a proper dining room, can hang out with your guests while in the kitchen, and can really appreciate your expansive open living space.  

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444 Central Park West, 6H

Who wouldn't want a family sized apartment on Central Park West for under $2M? Yes you may need to travel a bit farther north to get it, but we came across a fully renovated, 3 exposure, classic 5 sponsor unit at 444 Central Park West for $1.695M.  We opened up the dining room and kitchen to create a 44 foot long great room with 3 distinct living spaces - formal living, dining, and casual living, as well as a 3 real bedrooms.  The second bedroom, at nearly 20 ft long, was easily reconfigured into 2 good sized bedrooms with a shared bath and minimal disruption to existing walls (aside from taking about 1 ft from the deep closets).  

The kitchen was awkward, so we pushed it out to create an open counter, and also sunk the fridge into half of the "laundry room" (does anyone need a laundry room in their apartment?).  Or should we have turned this back to a powder room?

What do you think?

Listing: https://streeteasy.com/building/444-central-park-west-new_york/6h

Homebildr: http://homebildr.com/home/5371254f9a6429170e24b950/444-central-park-west--6h-alt-plan

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600 West 111th Street, 15E

Sometimes re-configuring a floor plan is not about adding rooms, but about getting the most from your exposures.  In this Morningside Heights Classic 6, the best open Hudson River views are in the dining room - which is usually the room reserved for the worst views.  Pre-war apartment designers probably thought that the dining room is often used mostly at night, so if you have to choose a room without a view, the dining room was usually it - with the Living Room and Master Bedroom usually getting the river view if there was one.

However, if you want to modernize this layout, rather than turning the dining room into a third bedroom, we expanded it into the foyer and hallways to create a river view Great Room, and opened up the maid's room to create a casual eat-in-kitchen. We then expanded the Master Bedroom to create a huge master suite, and turned the living room into additional bedrooms and storage.  Now this home is set up for modern family living AND has the river view in the correct place.

Original listing:

http://streeteasy.com/building/600-west-111-street-new_york/15e

Homebildr links:

http://homebildr.com/home/534d6af79a64297239cd1569/600-west-111-street--15e

http://homebildr.com/home/534d8f649a64297239cd1c0a/600-west-111th-street--15e-alt-plan

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455 East 86th Street, 21E

If you are looking for a 3 bedroom condo on the Upper East Side for less than $2M - the entire Upper East Side - today, April 3rd, 2014, you have four apartments to choose from.  That's right, just 4.  And there is a good chance some of those are really gone.

Streeteasy's latest market report says inventory is at a 7 year low. Well, the good news is that if you are willing to do some work, you can still find some opportunities to get value in a crazy market by reconfiguring a layout to make it work for you.

Here we took a 2BR condo (with private outdoor space and a pool in the building) and turned it into a easy flowing 3 bedroom. The easy part was dividing the nearly 19 foot master bedroom in two.  However, the challenge was figuring out how to access each half of the room, since there was a large, en suite bathroom blocking the way.  However, with some creative maneuvering, we cut the master bath in half to create a new hallway and provide access to the new rooms.  And we now have the condo of your dreams - replete with big views and every amenity - for the price of a 2BR home.

Original listing/floorplan:

http://streeteasy.com/building/the-channel-club/21e

Homebildr pages:

http://homebildr.com/home/533ccf499a642974d0421bdb/455-east-86th-street%2C-21e

http://homebildr.com/home/533dcf569a642974d0421c06/455-east-86th-street%2C-e-line#

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Not all convertible 2BR apartments are in cookie cutter post war apartments.  250 Mercer has high ceilings and unique floor plans - but very few 2 bedroom apartments.  And if you want a 2BR for under $1M in Greenwich Village, there are very few options.

So while this apartment does not have the largest bedrooms, we think we have created a very livable floor plan, with a second bedroom or home office carved out of the original large bedroom.

See floor plan and listing here: 

http://streeteasy.com/sale/1071355-coop-250-mercer-street-greenwich-village-new-york

See on Homebildr: 

http://homebildr.com/home/5339ba3a9a642974d0421aed/250-mercer-street%2C-a202

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7 West 96th Street, 2A

One of our favorite renovations is taking a Classic 6 and opening it up. It's not for everyone (there is something to be said about a formal dining room) - but if you want an open plan apartment and need 3 bedrooms, it's one of the most economical way to get it. The trick is to find a Classic 6 with the dining room in the right place - adjacent to the bedrooms.  In this case, the kitchen was at the end of the apartment, with the Maid's Room between the kitchen and dining room.  And the Maid's Bathroom is right where a powder room should be - and not between the kitchen and maid's room, which could complicate things.  For this property, we created a large rectangular open kitchen and dining area, and were still able to provide for a proper third bedroom.  The "sleeping nook" in the third bedroom also work nicely to define the foyer, while allowing for an open concept.

Original listing: 

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/1038752-coop-7-west-96th-street-upper-west-side-new-york

Homebildr page: 

http://homebildr.com/home/532367709a64295fb78adfb0/7-west-96th-street%2C-a-line

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250 West 94th Street,12E

Here we took a 1 bedroom with dining room at 250 West 94th Street, and converted it into a 3 bedroom with home office. This specific apartment, 12E, is listed for $975K, and is nicely renovated. The construction will involve removing and rebuilding walls, new lighting and electrical in the reconfigured space, and replace flooring where needed. The whole renovation should cost less than $100K (bathrooms and kitchen to be left as is). In all, a 3BR 1.5BA apartment in a prime UWS pre-war full service building for less than $1.1M.

Original listing:

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/1066483-coop-250-west-94th-street-upper-west-side-new-york

Original floor plan:

http://img.streeteasy.com/nyc/attachment/show/1528297-the-stanton-250-west-94-street-new_york.jpg

Homebildr link:

http://homebildr.com/home/531f38959a6429149ce880f9/250-west-94th-street%2C12e

Click through and hover over the Homebildr floor plan image in the upper left corner and click on the "create new home from this floorplan" to be able to modify this floorplan and make it your own...

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500 East 83rd Street, 7J

500 East 83rd Street, 7J is a 1221 Square Foot home with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 0 half baths.

This is one of the easiest ways to convert a "convertible" 3 bedroom into a true 3 bedroom apartment.  Here we created a hallway from the walk-in closet in the master bedroom.  It is now a real 3 bedroom because all of the bedrooms are accessed from a common hallway, and not simply a door off the living room.  These layouts also work nicely with a modern "open concept" - the 24' living room allows for a "great room" with the living area near the windows, and the dining area adjacent to the open kitchen. And the best part is that this modification can be done with very little expense. Tell us what you think!

Link to original listing:

https://streeteasy.com/building/500-east-83-street-new_york/7j

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446 Kent Ave, D Line Alt Plan

446 Kent Ave, D Line Alt Plan is a 1130 Square Foot home with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths

Here we took a split 2BR/2BA Schaefer Landing condo and added a bedroom where part of the living room was.  While the living/dining area is smaller, the layout works with 3 bedrooms because of the open kitchen with breakfast bar, and the big views and light in the living space.