Home for the Holidays: A Holiday Edition of Queer Brooklyn Interiors
This week of cheer post-Christmas and pre-New Years is always a good time. Hosting friends and toasting away last year’s dead-end jobs or high expectations is always a real pleasure. This is a time when your home is a critical oasis from slushy snow boots, pushy shoppers and honking cars, and making a home in this town is a true task. Getting over the loud streets, the blaring music, or the crazy neighbors leaves making your space a reflection of your own taste a tiring adventure. Some of the queer folks of Brooklyn have a real skill making their spaces true escapes in this crazy town. I was able to get some beautiful shots of these homes thanks to the exceptional work of photographer Michael Popp.
Michael Polson / Ditmas Park
Bohemian Pad / House
How old is the house? What’s the neighborhood like?
The house is going on a 100 years, built around the same time that Prospect Park was designed by Olmstead in a neighborhood made for summer residences of upper-crust Manhattanites. Now it's a mix of West Indian, South Asian, Russian, and aging white hippies. And randoms like myself. Lots of gays hidden in the nooks and crannies of these old places. There's a weekly queer yoga at this awesome community health center, an anarchist performance space/bar/coffee shop, a number of good restaurants including a new Filipino/Pan-Asian joint, and two organic grocery stores in walking distance. And, keeping it real, more 99 cent stores than you can shake a stick at and the best breakfast sandwich at John's.
How many roommates?
Too Many
A sidewalk sale on Cortelyou
The turquoise suitcase is so much fun! Where did you get it? What’s in it?
It was a birthday gift from my friend Bic in California, the fiercest bitch that side of the Mississippi. It came with a glittery blue toothbrush holder and I used it for overnight trips up the Cali coast. Now it carries all sorts of secret photos
Where did you get the Polson sign?
The Polson sign is from the other fiercest bitch this side of the Mississippi, my grandma. In the 1950's she would sneak out of the house, unbeknownst to my grandpa in order to earn her real estate license. When she finally got it, she came back home and told my grandpa she would now be starting her own real estate company, which she did, with much success. I nabbed this sign from my parent's attic when I went to college.
What do you think your space says about you? In what way is it revealing?
You tell me. Cowboy boots, a Dallas plate, Christmas lights, a throw-pillow room, creaky floorboards, my Mac, a random sample of my unorganized books. The tapestries are slightly post-adolescent but I embrace it.
Matt Caprotti and Nick Lanni / Crown Heights
Modern Marvel / Apartment
We have been in this apartment since June. Not quite a year, yet.
Where do you find your furniture?
The furniture comes from all over the place, for instance Matt's mom gave him the turquoise teak tables, which are from India. The couch was a gift from a friend who didn't have the space anymore. Matt is an avid flea market and garage sale shopper, if it catches his eye, he grabs it. A lot of good finds in the house are from the Woodstock, NY Flea Market, which is virtually untouched as compared to the ones that happen throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan.
The print above the couch? What’s the story?
The print was done by a well-known Woodstock artist and Coney Island native Richard Segalman. It was left to Matt along with several other pieces which are hanging in the apartment by a family friend.
What do you think your space says about you? In what way is it revealing?
It's obvious that we are nesters. We tend to surround ourselves with warm memories and touches of our journeys up until now. A nice inviting environment is what we try to achieve, it's important for us entertain in our house and we just want loved ones to feel at home. Cozy is the keyword while still being sleek and sparse. We tend to mix modern and classic elements into the scheme. Matt likes to offset stark modern pieces with warm touches of naive folk art and cozy textiles. We collaborate on all elements we add but Matt has the eye for making things beautiful and interesting.
If you would like your home featured here, email us!
