Clockwise from top-left: Homeowners Josué and Michael hanging out in their airy living room; the couple getting ready on their wedding day in 2012; the courtyard of their Clinton Hill co-op, a former shoe factory; an array of CB2 planters gifted as housewarming presents

At Home in Clinton Hill

As first-time homebuyers, a pair of creative types were excited to put their personal touch on a historic Brooklyn co-op.

Words: Jessica Scherlag
Images: Lauren Naefe

For six years, Michael Robinson II and Josué Asselin-Bienvenue saved up to buy their first apartment while renting a fourth-floor East Village studio. Fast-forward to now, and these Compass clients have clearly relished nesting in their Clinton Hill apartment — a lively duplex peppered with an eclectic mix of meaningful relics, elegant travel souvenirs, and an enviable art collection. They invited us over to explore their feng shui-inspired space, share the unique history of their building, and discuss their design inspiration.

In the couple’s open living/dining space, Michael settles in at a table made from found glass and Ikea trestles, bookended by a pair of sinewy Phillipe Starck for Kartell Masters chairs.

As fashion and industrial designers, respectively, how does your work life inform your home style?

Josué: We both travel a lot for work and pleasure, and I love finding and bringing home crafts that border on cute or kitschy. I’m always looking for that perfect objet de maison.

Michael: I’m very into feng shui and directing energy within our home. For example, since we don’t really have a foyer, we use a row of large yucca plants to create a separation between our entryway and dining space. In fact, we’ve become obsessed with plants now that we have so much daylight!

In their sun-dappled den — a handsome mix of textures — Josué sits beside a woven-leather coffee table and a side table that the couple constructed themselves from a glass beaker, copper pipe, and poured cement.

What kinds of projects have you been working on?

Michael: I work as Creative Director for Erlik, a Montreal-based eyewear company. Made in Italy, the frames feature hinges made out of TPE, a specialty elastomer that prevents it from sliding down your nose.

Very cool! What do you do when you’re not working?

Josué: We like to stay local. We’ll go to the Brooklyn Flea on a Saturday, eat at neighborhood bistro Chez Oskar for French comfort food, and hang out in Fort Greene Park, occasionally sneaking in a bottle of rosé.

Michael: We also have a projector in the living room and love a good movie night. We’ll bring in a bottle or two from Corkscrew Wines and pizza from Speedy Romeo. Now that we have an apartment big enough to host friends, we enjoy entertaining.

The couple’s pared-down bedroom blends elements both vintage and contemporary, like the copper Tom Dixon lampshade won at a Housing Works Design on a Dime auction and striped pillows picked up in Sri Lanka.

How did you know it was time to move?

Josué: Our rental was really far east on Manhattan’s 14th Street, so no one would ever come visit us. We also wanted a space we could grow into. Our old place had a shower and toilet in two separate rooms!

Clockwise from top left: Copper-gilding on their front door viewfinder, one of the couple’s many DIY projects; Josué’s parents pictured at their wedding in St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Quebec, alongside a small reproduction of one of his mother’s paintings; a photograph from Michael’s childhood; an assortment of quirky planters on their windowsill

What was the home search like?

Josué: I was roommates at the Fashion Institute of Technology with our agent Justin Croushore, so I heard about Compass through him. Together Justin and I dragged Michael to open houses everywhere!

Michael: I played more of a supporting role in looking for an apartment. I had a rule for Josué: after viewing two apartments, he had to take me somewhere to eat. After seeing three places, he needed to find me something to drink.

The grandiose brick exterior of Michael and Josué’s apartment building, built in 1913.

Tell us a little bit about your building.

Josué: It’s a former shoe factory from 1913, and our unit is located inside a long courtyard which offers a lot of privacy. A previous tenant even used to DJ raves in our apartment because of how soundproof it is from those industrial-strength brick walls!

What is your favorite thing about having more space?

Josué: Our second-floor office, which is suspended in a kind of skybridge, a vestige of the building’s past. We’re renaming it “the studio” — a dedicated space to work on design projects, both personal and for work. Sometimes we’ll even invite friends over to collaborate. It’s a great environment to play music and get creative as a group!

A mix of work and play — the vibrant details found in Michael and Josué’s home studio.

Any particularly memorable stories about items in your home?

Josué: We were hiking in El Calafate, Argentina, and stopped to eat at a restaurant in a small town. We fell in love with this penguin pitcher, and Michael had to have it. The waiter told us it was a rare, one-of-a-kind piece, so we thought we got a great deal when we were able to talk him down to $20. Michael carried it in his backpack for the remainder of the hike.

Michael: Once we got back to Buenos Aires, we realized every general store sold them for around two bucks.

From left: Josué’s great-grand father’s shot glasses hold Mezcal cocktails; an assemblage of their witty ceramics collection; a selection of Erlik glasses Michael designed.

How else do you make your home a creative space?

Michael: We have a gallery wall in the studio. Some pieces are from friends and family, like the knockoff Velasquez, purchased by my parents in Toledo in the 1970s. It’s a work in progress, and we’re always looking for art to add to it.

The couple’s ever-growing gallery wall — including a cheeky Mark McGinnis print celebrating the letter “C” and a photograph of Brigitte Bardot — Michael’s gift to Josué when they started dating.

Do you have a favorite piece in your collection?

Josué: Our new favorite piece is a photograph by Daniel Garzee, an up-and-coming photographer. We saw his work Yellow Woman in a small gallery in Barcelona. It is a little eerie, but we were totally entranced by the photograph! We became fast Instagram pals with Daniel and send him regular updates of us posing with his art.

Photographs by Rachel Monosov and Daniel Garzee leverage the tall ceilings leading up to the second floor of their apartment; another modern touch, the Nest Thermostat installed by their Compass agent Justin Croushore controls the climate of their window-filled duplex

Thanks for having us over today. What’s next for you?

Josué: We’re planning to open up the stairwell and remodel the kitchen and upstairs bathroom. Our Pinterest is bursting at the seams!

Josué and Michael stand ready for the next stage of designing their eclectic dream house.

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