1) Brooklyn Heights, long a bastion of historical preservation (it was the city's first historic district), is seeing a huge influx of new condo conversions, seemingly all of which seek to blend the oldness of Brooklyn Heights with the newness of Dumbo. Old fashioned lettering will appear on the facades as well as things like faux-gaslight street lamps. The developer of 72 Poplar Street says that the target buyers are "urban hipsters starting families." ['Luxury Brooklyn Condos, Some Cloaked in Tradition']
2) This week's hunters, Kristina and Pierre, are renting in Carroll Gardens when they learn that their building is for sale. They decide it was time to buy somewhere anyway, and begin searching for a house containing a unit to rent out for around $1 million. They need three bedrooms and outdoor space for their two daughters, three cats and one dog. Their search takes them to Greenwood Heights, back to Carroll Gardens, and, finally to Red Hook, where they find a shell of a mixed-use house being offered for $999,000. Kristina sees to the potential, however—she wants to open a cafe. They're able to customize the place to their tastes and enjoy the neighborhood's uncrowded-ness. [The Hunt/'Filling a Family's Tall Order']
3) Renovating can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be—just ask freelance art director and New Zealand native Miranda Dempster. Brace yourself, though, because she'll probably say things like "I got the guy at Home Depot to explain the different edges of tiles, and I figured it out pretty quickly," and make you feel like a big idiot. Dempster spent under $1,000 on the kitchen and then got a friend resand the floor and paint the place for around $2,000. And that is how you do it. ['The Rules of Subtraction']