Ellie Deneroff and Alex Frank were in the middle of remodeling their brownstone in Brooklyn, New York, when inspiration struck as they were listening to the podcast “Dolly Parton’s America.” “We were like, ‘Let’s make a Dolly bathroom,’” says Ellie. “We just wanted the house to feel really fun and comfortable, and not too serious.” The Dolly bathroom is now on the parlor floor, with glossy pink tile and two artworks honoring the queen of country.

The home had come a long way since they purchased it in 2021. Alex, a co-owner of a boutique PR firm, and Ellie, a graphic designer, had been renting in Brooklyn for five years when the pandemic hit. They left the city, first to stay with Ellie’s parents, and then to take a road trip across the country with their dog, Bodie. By the time they returned to New York at the end of 2020, many people had moved out of the city. They thought: “Maybe this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to actually buy something of our own in New York as opposed to renting.” Then, a house popped up in their price range.

The listing stipulated that anyone coming to tour had to bring a contractor with them. "Basically, it was gutted,” says Ellie. “There had been a fire, and there was a lot of damage—the entire thing needed to be redone.” Alex adds: “The couple that owned the house was in the middle of a divorce. They were trying to sell it quickly, but they had at least started the process of trying to renovate.”

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

Their realtor recommended a contractor, and Ellie and Alex, who were staying with Ellie’s parents three hours away, went to go see the home. Every room was in a different stage of demolition or completion. On the garden floor alone, crumbling plaster was falling off the living room walls, while the kitchen had new cabinets, appliances, and an island waiting to be installed, floating in the middle of the room on a dolly.

“We walked in the house and I was like, this is perfect,” says Ellie. “We had never imagined ourselves in a brownstone, and the house just felt so special, even though it was kind of falling apart. We were like, it’d be such a cool opportunity to restore this house and preserve some of these original details that are just so cool and beautiful.”

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

Before: Wet Bar

After: Wet Bar

Despite their realtor’s hesitations and parents’ objections, Ellie and Alex moved fast. They worked with Daniel Goldner Architects to draw up simple plans, and they applied for a “construction to acquisition” loan. They managed the ensuing project, working closely with their contractor, Leo Puma, who had first toured it with them, on a budget-conscious remodel.

$1,050,000 Land	$10,000 Roofing	$8,000 Tiles
$75,000 HVAC	$5,000 Landscaping	$3,000 Hardware
$15,000 Kitchen & Bath Fixtures	$6,000 Lighting	$800 Cabinetry
$6,000 Countertops	$8,000 Appliances	$4,500 Windows & Glazing
$3,000 Doors	$10,000 Furnishings & Decor	$2,500 Permitting
$32,500 Architect/Design Fee	$325,000 General Contractor Fee (Includes Materials, Services, and Labor)
Grand Total: $1,564,300

Now, in addition to the Dolly bathroom, there’s the Jimi Hendrix powder room, covered in a psychedelic paisley wallpaper, where an artwork by John Turck featuring the musician hangs. “We were out to dinner and saw this Jimi print hanging on the wall and I just immediately loved it, so I found out the artist’s name and messaged him on Instagram,” says Ellie. “I think Jimi is an artist that helped separately shape Alex and my appreciation for music in our more formative years.”

After: Powder Room

The couple also drew on their travels for inspiration—the primary bathroom recalls a Southwest hotel they loved, while the tufted banquette in the kitchen is a spin on the decor at Don Angie, one of their favorite restaurants in the city.

Their design process was largely guided by intuition—as Ellie puts it, “I feel like the rooms told us what they should look like, in a way.” In the dining room, they paired dark-blue walls with a restored stained-glass window and one of two murals that Ellie painted in the home. “I just knew that room shouldn’t be white,” she adds.

Before: Dining Room

After: Dining Room

Alex and Ellie spent much of their time sourcing fixtures and decor from family, estate sales, and their absolute favorite outlet: Facebook Marketplace. “New York City is the best place on earth for Facebook market,” says Alex. “It’s so good. You’ll find these things from people on the Upper West Side or Upper East Side. They’re like, ‘I need to get rid of this gilded gold mirror that cost us thousands of dollars. Just come and get it.’”

Their splurges include a Toto toilet, a standalone ice machine (“We love ice,” says Ellie), and the sink basins in their primary bathroom. The latter purchase was a serendipitous one, after the couple took a weekend break in Atlantic City and won some money at the roulette table. “There’s a showroom on the way back to the city,” says Alex. “So, we stopped and picked up two sink basins with our winnings.”

Before: Dolly Bathroom

After: Dolly Bathroom

In the immortal words of Dolly Parton, “Everyone carries their own little bit of razzle dazzle.” So too does Alex and Ellie’s house, after the remodel wrapped in August of 2022.

“Our home is really an expression of us, and it’s such a special place,” says Ellie. “It houses things we’ve collected on our travels together, and it’s the home we brought our son into. I feel really proud of us for having a vision, executing the vision, and having fun while doing it.”