inimalism gets a bad rap. When you’re talking
about a home, it’s a word that connotes austerity, a
lack of humor, a disinterest in comfort. In practice,
though, minimalism doesn’t have to be the inverse
of softness, warmth, welcome—the attributes most
would agree we want in our homes. Kai Avent-
M
deLeon’s Brooklyn apartment is instructive: minimal but
inviting, uncluttered but rich, understated but also distinctly
unboring.
Avent-deLeon is a daughter of Brooklyn—granddaughter,
really. Her family has called Bed Stuy home for decades; her
landlord is a relative. That close relationship means that she
had some input on the recent renovation of the parlor floor
apartment that she shares with her partner and their one-
year-old, Che. That renovation wasn’t tailored to her but
geared toward the long run, the future tenant.
Because Avent-deLeon considers the home almost a way
station. She has a way of life that’s unattached to objects or
a particular design scheme, combined with a serious case of
wanderlust and an entrepreneurial mind; thus, she imagines
living in this particular apartment two years at the most.
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