Project log · East Village

A 1,500 sq ft duplex, renovated in 12 days.

Twelve years running this apartment as a rental, 150+ reviews, and its first top-to-bottom update. I designed it, hired the crew, walked the job every day, and had the next guest moving in the morning after the punch list.

⟷ Drag any photo to compare before and after.

Start with the kitchen

Dark brown cabinet doors, grey laminate, and a mosaic backsplash that had done its time. The new cabinets and countertop went in on September 4.

Grey shaker cabinetsNew countertopNew sinkOver-fridge cabinetsLED ceiling lightWall repair
Kitchen in June 2026: brown cabinet doors, grey laminate counter, mosaic backsplash, paper towels stacked on top Kitchen in September 2026: grey shaker cabinets to the ceiling, white quartz counter, stainless fridge BeforeAfter
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The kitchen. June 30 and September 5, 2026, lined up on the stove and backsplash. The fridge and sink moved in the renovation.
12 days
Crew on site, Aug 25 to Sept 5
$8K
Renovation cost, about one month of bookings
$0
In lost bookings
+25%
Nightly rate on monthly stays, last booking before vs first after

Upstairs

The kitchen, in three steps

Same doorway, three dates. The uppers came out on August 27 and the yellow paint they'd hidden since the seventies came with them. New cabinets and countertop went in on September 4.

Seventeen seconds, gutted to done. Shot September 5, the morning the kitchen was finished.

Watch it turn over

The walls came down to the yellow paint that had been hiding behind the cabinets since the seventies. Then new boxes, a stone countertop, a bigger sink, and a ceiling light where a bare bulb used to be. Press play.

Kitchen on June 30: brown cabinet doors, grey laminate, mosaic backsplash
June 30. Before.
Kitchen on August 27: upper cabinets removed, yellow wall exposed, tools on the counter
August 27. Uppers out, walls open.
Kitchen on September 5: grey shaker cabinets, white counter, stainless fridge
September 5. Done.

The work you can't see

Behind the walls

Paint is the part everyone notices. Most of the twelve days went into the things that don't photograph: pulling the old through-wall air conditioners, bricking and sheetrocking the holes they left, re-mortaring the window well, running new electrical, and fixing plumbing that had been patched for years.

Two through-wall ACs removedOpenings bricked and sealedMasonryWindow well waterproofedElectrical, three recessed lightsPlumbing, new faucet linesCarpentry, closet shelving
Old through-wall air conditioner under the living room window, floor papered for demolition
Before. The through-wall unit under the living room window.
Hand pulling loose plaster away from the wall beside the old AC outlet
August 18. Opening up the wall. The plaster around the old outlet came away in sheets.
The AC opening being bricked up with new brick and mortar, bucket and trowel in front
September 1. Unit out, opening bricked and mortared.
The wall under the window skim-coated with joint compound where the AC was
September 1. Wire lath, sheetrock, and a skim coat over the brick.
Bedroom window on September 2: wall below it sealed, primed and clean, no air conditioner
September 2. Sealed, primed and clean. Nothing in the wall anymore.

Upstairs

Living room

Yellow walls, maroon curtains, brown sofas, and years of accumulated stuff. The brick and the three tall windows were always the point, so everything else got out of their way.

Full repaintBrick sealedNew couchWhite curtainsThree recessed lightsPlants and a floor lamp
Living room windows in 2022: maroon curtains, yellow walls, brown sofas Living room windows in 2026: white curtains, grey walls, cream sofas 20222026
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The living room windows. September 2022 and September 5, 2026. Lined up from the same spot.
TV wall in 2022: blue wall, brown sofas, leather ottoman, crowded shelf TV wall in 2026: grey walls, cream sofas, same white built-in cabinet 20222026
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The TV wall. Same built-in cabinet and mirrors, lighter everything around them. Lined up from the same spot.
Entry and brick wall in 2022: beige walls, olive sofa, signs and screens on the brick Entry and brick wall in 2026: grey walls, white sofa, cleared brick with sputnik chandelier 20222026
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The entry and brick wall. The signs, screens and desk came off the brick. Lined up from the same spot.

Between floors

The stairs

Same brick, same oak rail. Everything around them went quieter so they could carry the stairwell.

RepaintBrick sealed
Stairs in 2022: poster at the bottom, tan walls Stairs in 2026: grey walls, cleared landing 20222026
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Down the stairs. Lined up from the same spot.

Downstairs

Main bedroom

Same mirror, same leather bench. New bed, new bedding, and a room that finally reads as white instead of blue.

RepaintNew bed and beddingNew rugAir purifier
Main bedroom in 2022: green upholstered bed, city pillows, blue light Main bedroom in 2026: new bed, neutral pillows, bright white walls 20222026
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Main bedroom. Lined up from the same spot.

Downstairs

Second bedroom

A sneaker den in 2022. It became a bedroom before this renovation, which brought fresh paint and a much quieter room.

RepaintLess clutterInterior room, dark and silent
Second bedroom in 2022: sectional sofa, sneaker shelves, jerseys on the wall Second bedroom in 2026: queen bed, white walls, track lighting 20222026
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Second bedroom. Lined up from the same spot.

Downstairs

Hall and bath

Beige walls went grey in the hall, and paint did most of the work in the bath around the 2016 shower.

RepaintCloset shelvingNew shower headNew faucet lines
Downstairs hall in 2022: beige walls, white rug, stairs on the right Downstairs hall in 2026: grey walls, patterned runner, stairs on the right 20222026
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Downstairs hall. Lined up from the same spot.
Downstairs bath in 2022: wood-look tile, vanity, shower curtain Downstairs bath in 2026: fresh paint, same wood-look tile and river rock shower 20222026
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Downstairs bath. Lined up from the same spot.

Upstairs

Upstairs bath

Tan walls painted white.

RepaintFull tub
Upstairs bath in 2022: tan walls, white tub, from the doorway2022
Upstairs bath in 2026: white walls, white shower curtain2026
Upstairs bath. Side by side because the two photos were taken from different spots.

Earlier work · 2015 to 2016

The downstairs bath rebuild

Not part of the 12 days. Between September 2015 and February 2016 the downstairs bath went from cracked hex tile and a bare vanity to wood-look tile, a river rock shower floor, and a new vanity with a stone top. It's the same shower in the slider above, ten years on.

Wood-look tileRiver rock shower floorNew vanity and countertopNew fixtures
The old shower floor in September 2015: cracked hex tile and stained grout
September 2015. The shower floor: cracked hex tile, stained grout.
The bathroom in September 2015: hex floor, toilet, and a vanity cabinet with no countertop
September 2015. The old vanity, no countertop, same hex floor.
The bathroom in February 2016: wood-look tile, dark vanity with a stone top, new faucet
February 2016. New vanity, stone top, wood-look tile to the ceiling.
Downstairs bath in December 2015: white subway tile, hex floor2015
Downstairs bath in January 2016: wood-look tile, dark vanity, river rock shower2016
From the door. White subway tile out, wood-look tile and a new vanity in.
Old shower floor in 2015: cracked hex tile2015
New shower in 2016: wood-look tile walls and river rock floor2016
The shower floor. Cracked hex tile, then river rock.

How it got done

The renovation is the easy part to show.

The management is the part that matters: one crew, one budget, a date that couldn't move, and me on site every day.

  1. Cabinets ordered. Grey shaker finish, countertop, and over-fridge units.

  2. Crew starts. Drywall, paint, the AC opening, and sealing the brick.

  3. Four painters on site. I hired a fifth for three days to pull the finish forward.

  4. Outside and in. Window well re-mortared and waterproofed, closet shelving built, cabinets and countertop installed.

  5. Punch list. Three recessed lights added on the spot, the best upgrade in the apartment.

  6. Next guest moves in. At a 25% higher nightly rate, without losing a booked night.

Need something like this managed?

Let's talk.

I run rentals and renovations in New York. If you have a unit that needs a refresh, a listing that needs relaunching, or a project that needs someone on site every day, get in touch.

Get in touch → See the listing ↗

Before photos are from September 2022, except the kitchen, from June 30, 2026, and the bathroom rebuild, from 2015 and 2016. Progress photos are dated from the phone they were taken on. After photos were taken September 5, 2026. Each slider pairs two photos taken from the same spot, lined up on fixed features like window frames, mirrors and door frames. Before photos got a light color correction. After photos were brightened. They were shot at night, so in the living room and TV wall photos the window glass shows the real street view from the matching daytime before photo, and elsewhere the night-time glass was lightened to read as daylight.