Desirable Brownstone Amenities and How To Update Them (Kitchen, Bathroom, Roofdeck)

Enjoy living near shopping, dining, and nightlife? The best place to look for a property that has all of those things is the Back Bay. Imagine being steps from Newbury Street with hundreds of boutique shops, restaurants, and cafes at your fingertips. You’ll also be very close to the Prudential Center mall, home to Eataly, Barnes and Noble, Vineyard Vines, Club Monaco, Blue Bottle Coffee and more. If you’re uncertain of where you want to put down an anchor, the Back Bay has everything!

When you live in a big city it is extremely rare for you to have a lawn or an outdoor place to entertain. What makes the brownstones in the Back Bay special is that some of them have roofdecks. Imagine being surrounded by the dynamic architecture of the Back Bay while gazing at a sunset over the Charles River. Your friends will stone you to have Friday nights at your place.

Most Brownstone layouts are long and narrow and can feel a bit cramped. Keep an eye out for brownstones that have a more expansive feel, one with an open layout. This makes the property feel more spacious with the same amount of space. Another way to achieve the open feel is to have a semi-open concept with half-walls between rooms.

Nearly all Brownstones inherit an old bathroom with a bathtub. The bathroom itself can be an odd shape to begin with and one of the best ways to work around it is to rip out the bathtub and install a standing tiled shower. By doing this you are preserving the old world feel while updating the design.

More and more these days people are working and cooking at home, and with that being said an efficiency kitchen just doesn’t cut it. As we discussed, rowhouse brownstones tend to be narrow and skinny. One of the best ways to free up some kitchen space is to create an open kitchen concept with a fourth counter which doubles as a room divider. Install some smart cupboards to really maximize your kitchen space.