A Bohemian Haven in a Brooklyn Townhouse, Built by Newlyweds

Restaurateur

Matt Kliegman

proposed to

Sophie Green

, a yoga teacher and art therapist, while they were drinking wine in two Adirondack chairs by a creek in Upstate New York. Soon after, they exchanged vows beneath a floral adorned chuppah at her family’s farm outside of Toronto. After feasting on lamb chops, string beans and potatoes, guests were lead to a converted 150-year-old barn with a disco ball and bonfire, where they partied until 4:30 am.

It’s no surprise that, months later, when they were searching for their first home together, they landed on a light and airy Boerum Hill brownstone with a chic, country feel. Built in 1890 with wide plank wood floors, original moldings, and two fireplaces, it has a private yoga room, art therapy space, and roof patio.

“I immediately fell in love with the house,” says Green. “So much light filled with the entire space.“ After five weeks of renovation (“basically cosmetic work,” says Green, “refurbished the fireplace, adding new appliances to the kitchen, a walk in closet…)” they left their 400-square-foot Nolita apartment and moved right in. “It’s so liberating to be in a big house,” says Greene. “I knew this was the one the second I saw it.”

Here, Green fills in the blanks to give us the lowdown on life after marriage.

Before I got married, my apartment in

the East Village

was kind of a mix between

artsy

and

mid-century

. I lived with

my sister, Deeva

, and I spent most of my time at home

having dance parties with her

.

Boy, was it fun when I moved in with

Matt

.

When it comes to art, I’m all about

the abstract

. My partner, though, prefers

more realistic work

. The most beloved piece of art we own is

a Ryan Mcginley photograph of autumn

that we bought together from

Team Gallery

.

The first dinner party we threw together was

for Matt’s birthday when we had just moved in

. We invited

20 close friends

and ordered

Jamaican food

. The one thing I regret was

nothing! We moved from a 400-square-foot apartment to a house, so we finally had the space to entertain.

On a typical Monday evening, we can be found

cooking dinner together at home

. Saturday afternoons are for

taking long walks to Dumbo along the water with our baby

, and on Sundays,

Matt always cooks me brunch, and we eat ice cream

.

The five items you will always find in our refrigerator are

eggs

,

kefir

,

apples

,

blueberries

, and

spinach

.

We mostly shop for furniture

online, but we love Greenhouse, an antique store in our neighborhood, and ABC Carpet and Home

. The most expensive piece we’ve purchased was

our couch

that cost

more than our former Ikea couch

and came from

Montauk Sofa

.

The five items you will always find in our medicine cabinet are

sunscreen, SkinCeuticals  moisturizer and face wash, lavender oil, and Q-tips

.

I absolutely cannot get in bed at night without

flossing my teeth

.

The registry item we can’t live without is

our Heath Ceramics set

.

Our favorite room in the house is

our nursery

because

it’s super cozy

. We spend a lot of time

changing and feeding our baby there.

When it comes to housework, I am the one who always

does the cleaning and the laundry

.  My partner, on the other hand,

does all of the maintenance and most of the cooking

. The one thing we can’t agree on is

where to leave your socks when you take them off

.

The three best organizational tricks I’ve learned are:

1. How to have an organized closet. We had zero room in our old apartment so it was important to build something custom for the two of us. We designed it with California Closets.

2. Use storage up high.

3. Live a lean lifestyle.

I like to spend on

child care and personal items

, but he cares way more about

home improvements

.

The most important piece of advice I would give to newlyweds is

that communication is key and if you’re hoping to improve your relationship, don’t think kids will do that for you

. Never, ever compromise when it comes to

making sure you keep each other the top priority at all times!!

In 10 years, we hope for our home to be

where we still live

, filled with tons of

memories from our travels and adventures together

.

My design aesthetic is three words is

bohemian, country, and chic

. My partner’s is

the same!

One thing no one knows about our home is that

we are repurposing some cool rooms in our basement.

I hope our Airbnb guests don’t find our

house since we aren’t on the platform

. That would be really

bizarre 😉

See more home tours:

How a Creative Couple Combined Their Homes After Marriage How One Nashville Couple Combined Styles in Their First Home What It’s Like to Live on the Road as Newlyweds