At Home With: Two Families in a Ridgewood Row House Renovation

Two couples from outside New York, each pursuing job opportunities in the Big Apple, meet and become friends in Dixon's first Queens renovation.

At the turn of the 20th century, Ridgewood, Queens was a booming destination for working-class German-Americans. During the decade prior to the first World War, a small community of architects, builders and suppliers built thousands of row houses, consistent in style and construction, creating a pleasant symmetry and order along quiet, tree-lined streets. A century later, in 2013, Dixonacquired a two-family home emblematic of the neighborhood’s style, in a section that would be designated the Central Ridgewood Historic District the very next year. Uniformity is a hallmark of the district, and 68th Road is lined with a harmonious stretch of brick row houses in the Renaissance Revival style, featuring distinctive bow fronts, high brownstone stoops and ornate pressed-metal cornices.

After thorough renovations and re-configuring the home's two units — an upper three-bedroom, three-bathroom duplex and a lower flat with two bedrooms and one bath — the building became the site of an uncommon friendship born between couples from opposite sides of the country, each drawn to the New York area by job offers.

Nate Kupferman, originally from Long Island, met his now-wife Samantha in 2011 when they were both living and working in Washington D.C. In January 2015, he took a Manhattan post at consulting firm Deloitte, while Samantha launched the New York office of the D.C. communications firm she was working for.

Meanwhile, 1,700 miles away, in El Paso, Texas, Kayla Castaneda had been recruited to become director of Gyn Oncology at Brookdale University Hospital in Brooklyn, where her husband Felipe now works as a research associate.

While neither couple was familiar with Ridgewood, fate and circumstance brought them to 68th Road. Nate has a friend who lives in the neighborhood and highly recommended it, so the couple began an online search. Samantha confesses "I don’t think I’d ever set foot in Queens before the day we went to check out this apartment, but we were pretty sold as soon as we walked in."

For the Castanedas, it was a broker who brought the duplex vacancy to their attention after their fruitless search in Brooklyn resulted in seeing cramped homes that lacked the outdoor space the family was seeking for their two young daughters, ages 3 and 6. Like the Kupfermans, finding the home was love at first sight. As Kayla tells it, "We came and saw this place, and the first day we saw it, we put our deposit down."

It's easy to see what drew both families to the elegantly restored home. Here, new designer elements, such as modern marble kitchens and baths, pebbled glass doors and artful light fixtures co-exist alongside striking original details, including the distinctive pocket doors and a restored grand staircase. Inside, large, bright and open rooms, feature ample recessed lighting above, gorgeous hardwood floors below, and luxe molding and trim throughout.

Outside, the home's façade includes a resurfaced brownstone stoop and yellow brick exterior with stone and rough-faced brick detail.

"The way that Dixon renovated gives a very clean, modern, open feel which just makes the whole environment of the home very pleasant," says Sam.
Kayla agrees, saying, "I really enjoy the newness of this place. I actually like this place more than I liked my home in El Paso!"
Moving into the home just weeks apart, the Castanedas and Kupfermans were drawn into an easy friendship largely driven by their older daughter Maddie's fondness for the Kupfermans' cat, Torachan (Japanese for little tiger) and her visits with Nate and Sam on the home's shared patio. "Maddie was really the person that got us together because she would go down there to visit," says Kayla.

In fact, the shared garden area, a rarity among Dixon properties, is actually representative of both the friendship the families have formed and of Dixon's willingness to accommodate residents. When the Dixon team set out to divide the yard as originally planned, the Castanedas asked that they hold off, allowing both families to enjoy a larger space.

The Dixon team also accommodated the Castanedas' request to add a door in place of an open archway between the dining room and hallway, which allows them to conveniently close off the living/dining space from the rest of the home when company visits.

Now, the charming garden, with views of the neighboring row houses underscoring the quaint charm of the block, is the scene for barbecues and happy gatherings of friends and family members, with each set of residents inviting the other to join. "When either of us has company over, usually we’ll invite them and vice versa. They've had family visiting from Texas at different times during the year, and they’ve invited us up," says Samantha.

Nate adds, "We had a barbecue and invited them down. They brought food and hung out with us and our friends." The families even spent the last winter blizzard together, playing Lotería (a Mexican game similar to Bingo), and Sam and Kayla frequently trade baked goods.

Kayla has found that the upper unit's spacious, open kitchen, and, in particular, the AGA Professional range has upped her kitchen game. "I love this oven! Oh my god, it is so cool," she exclaims. "I never used to bake. When we were in El Paso, I didn't have to because my mom would always do all the baking, but now I have to do it. I love it. I really love it." Kayla has even earned a reputation as a master baker among Dixon staff having recently bestowed a made-from-scratch pumpkin pie on Joe, their Dixon Project Manager.

The Kupfermans also find themselves spending ample time around their well-appointed kitchen, which opens to a roomy living/dining space looking out onto the garden. "It's great if it's just the two of us or if we have friends over. You can be cooking and entertaining while also having a comfortable place to sit, explains Sam.

"I think that living area was what we were really sold on and pictured enjoying a lot. I think, even just for the two of us, when we're home eating dinner or hanging out after work, it's just a great, comfortable space."

For the Castanedas, with two children and frequent visits from family members, the home's multiple, large bedrooms, situated on the top floor, were a major plus. Their master bedroom is a 19-foot by 19-foot stunner, featuring iconic bay windows and a large covered deck overlooking the garden.

Lit by a skylight and covered in marble, the spa-like master bathroom includes both a deep soaking tub and a separate walk-in shower. Perhaps most enviable of all are the seven large closets, including a massive walk-in, found throughout the master suite.

At the other end of the hallway, their daughters share another large bedroom with equally enviable closet space, while a nearby third bedroom serves as a guest room. Another full bathroom, linen closet and spacious laundry closet are also situated upstairs.

In the lower flat, the Kupfermans enjoy a large master bedroom with a walk-in closet and bay windows facing the front of the home, plus a second bedroom facing the rear yard.

While each family enjoys time spent in the home's large living spaces, they're also actively exploring the neighborhood and their New York City surroundings. Kayla and Felipe make time to take their daughters to city destinations, such as the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, the Brooklyn Children's Museum, the American Museum of Natural History and Coney Island, while Samantha and Nate head to outdoor destinations, including skiing in Lake Placid and visiting family on Long Island.

Both couples rave about the selection of local restaurant options, including great Chinese and Mexican, and, of course, Polish fare. Both families are big fans of local diner Ridgewood Eats, while the Castanedas have a special fondness for a local Italian restaurant, Trattoria Cerbone. "If it's not busy, the waitress lets my daughter help serve drinks. If other people come in, she lets her take the bread, she'll take the menus. She lets her play waitress, so my daughter always wants to go there," Kayla says.

Nate has also found a favorite stop in the area. "I go to the butcher shop that's two blocks away. It's a pretty old-fashioned Polish butcher shop, with sausages hanging from the racks and a case full of pork chops and everything else you could imagine. It's pretty nice and definitely pretty unique to that specific neighborhood." Both couples also stay active and are fond of the nearby Ridgewood YMCA and visits to Joseph Mafera Park.

While exciting job offers may have drawn them to New York, a thoughtfully renovated row house, warm community and great neighbors that have made New York their home. As Samantha puts it, "We really enjoy that we've become friends with Kayla and Felipe. It's nice to have neighbors that we have something in common with and enjoy spending time with."

View the floor plans for 68th Road