When Brooklyn-based interior designer Maureen Cohen of Makawe Interiors and her husband moved into this three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom apartment in Park Slope a little over five years ago, she was pregnant with her first child. “The building was brand new and rather cold and ‘new construction-y’,” she says. So Cohen set out, with the help of her brother-in-law and some of her trade connections, to turn the 1,659-square-foot space from a drab apartment into a home for her family.

First, she gutted the kitchen, transforming it into something that would serve as a more functional space—adding a breakfast bar and inserting storage into every corner. “The kitchen and living room now have lots of concealed storage—there is baseboard storage under all cabinets, a pull-out pantry, and even the floor-to-ceiling bookcase has secret extra-deep storage tucked behind it for all the family's art supplies," she shares.

Unsurprisingly, there are many kid-focused elements added throughout.
In the children's room, Cohen added a bunk bed and installed ceiling-high bookshelves with the lowest shelf installed at desk height. The system is a perfect solution for organizing books and toys as well as providing extra storage space and it also adds a dedicated spot for her children to do school work or make art. Another favorite kid hang-out spot is the reading nook at the top of the stairs leading to the rooftop deck.

An additional highlight of the home is that it has three outdoor spaces—a coveted commodity in New York City and something that the family appreciates and uses almost daily. “On the roof, we have created an edible garden with strawberries, rosemary, mint, basil, lemongrass, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, and two nine-foot birch trees that a neighbor was giving away," Cohen shares. Now, this family-friendly Brooklyn home is on the market for $2.5M. Scroll ahead for a look inside.

Photos by Isabel Parra
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708A DeGraw Street, Apartment 3 is currently listed for $2,495,00 by Steven and June Gottlieb of Warburg Realty.

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