Our beautiful one and a half-bedroom apartment occupies the third floor of a newly-renovated brownstone on a tree-lined block in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The entire building was gutted and fully renovated just over a year ago by the owners, a very sweet couple who live on the bottom two floors. The apartment has wood floors and high ceilings throughout. The southwest-facing bedroom has a queen bed, with two large windows that overlook the quiet gardens of our neighbors (there is a kind of friendly competition among the many well-tended gardens on our block). There is no street noise audible from the bedroom, only the sound of birds in the morning.

We cook a lot, so our kitchen is well-equipped with large oven and full gas range, as well as microwave, pressure cooker, dishwasher, Pasquini espresso machine, and a variety of cooking tools we are happy to share. A new full-size washing machine and dryer are in a closet off the kitchen. Though the kitchen is not giant, it includes a stainless steel island with plenty of space for food prep, and a couple of stools where we generally sit and have our breakfast. The northeast-facing living room is 12.5 feet by 16 feet and very bright and sunny, with two large windows overlooking a park and playground. The street that passes in front of the house is not very busy with traffic, and it remains fairly quiet throughout the week. The living room also includes a dining area, with a round table that can seat 6 comfortably or 8 with a bit of a squeeze. We have a great stereo with record player, wireless receiver, and a surround sound system. The Smart TV streams Netflix, HBO, Hulu, and Amazon. The living room is where we host any overnight guests, who are generally comfortable sleeping on the large sofa, but there is also space here to set up our queen-sized air mattress.

Adjacent to the living room is the office, which also looks out onto the park. There isn't really room here for an adult to sleep, but there is space for a baby's crib. Our bathroom is unusually large and bright for a New York apartment, with a large window facing the south side.

The apartment is very accessible to transportation, within a few minutes' walk from the A and C trains at Nostrand and at Kingston-Throop, which will take you to and from downtown Manhattan in about half an hour. There are many nearby bus stops that provide easy access to all parts of Brooklyn. The surrounding neighborhood is residential, made up of historic blocks like ours with rows of stately Victorian-era brownstones and pretty front yards. Many great bars, coffee shops, bakeries, and restaurants are within walking distance, providing a broad range of options from soul food to Jamaican to Italian to Japanese. Fulton Street two blocks away is the commercial district, with supermarkets, fish and butcher shops, and lots of small local businesses.