 |
The crew that sparked Brooklyn's design boom.
(Photo: Mark Heithoff) |
As annoying as this announcement will be to those who live there, Brooklyn has become an adjective, a shorthand for a certain style of living. It’s mostly Manhattan’s fault, of course; real-estate ridiculousness over the past ten years has forced the young, the creative, and people who want separate bedrooms for their kids to embrace 718. But what was once a reluctant move has become an enthusiastic, don’t-look-back migration to a place with more space—and thus, literally, more open to change, risk, experimentation. Real communities (the kind where neighbors invite each other over for dinner) have coalesced, and so has the style we’re calling Brooklynism: looser and more playful than its Manhattan counterpart, homey and ironic, comfortable but always conscious of its looks, and often of its politics (green and recycled are key). It’s not just limited to home design: In the following pages, you’ll see Brooklynism in all its manifestations, from the growing new-cuisine movement to the close-knit fashion-design community to the increasingly potent product-and-furniture-design gang, who’ve become an international force in just a few years. Brooklyn, you’re on.
 |
Interiors
• The Royal Walkers
Returning to
Prospect Park to take over
the ancestral home.
• The Slow-Motion Dream Sequence
Building a modernist’s dream house on top of a Boerum Hill auto-repair shop.
• Brownstone Is the New Black
A novelist’s family moves from the East Village to tranquil Brooklyn Heights.
• The Player's Pen
A slice of Morocco
in Williamsburg.
• Double Space
Artist Kehinde Wiley needed a big loft for big canvasses—and big parties.
 |
Things
• When Is A Chair Not A Chair?
How Brooklyn designers perfected the small-town avant-garde aesthetic.
• A Brief History of Brooklyn Design
From KleinReid to Jason Miller.
• Trash Luxe; Remake, Remodel, Recycle; Classic Craft
Postmodern chairs, ecofriendly tables, and other staples of hipster domesticity.
• Brooklyn Design Calendar
 |
Fashion
Piece and Harmony
The joys of working in fashion without fashionistas looking over your shoulder.
 |
Food
Hungry In Hipsterville
An examination of the cozily fashionable, ingredient-obsessed restaurants serving what might be called the
New Brooklyn Cuisine—and where to find the fifteen
best expressions of the form.
 |
Map
Brooklyn's Finest
A map of where to find
the best shopping and
dining from Greenpoint.