After about a year of hunting, she found a co-op apartment in Carroll Gardens that felt right: a third-floor one-bedroom of about 475 square feet, with windows that looked out through treetops. It was about half as large as the rental she was living in at the time, and the cramped bedroom was only eight feet wide, but she could envision ways to make the space work better. In the living room, the middle third of one wall was brick, while the rest was drywall. “I was pretty sure that brick would have extended along the entire party wall,” Ms. Kalita said. “I was able to pick up four inches of extra living space,” she said, noting that she added a simple, plaster-covered mantel as a focal point, although there’s no fireplace.

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Persons: Morrie Breyer, Ms, Kalita Locations: Carroll Gardens, treetops