Sam Ross’s mixology career is defined as much by continuity as by change. He got his start bartending at the legendary Milk & Honey on the Lower East Side, then later returned to that same address to open his own bar, Attaboy, while inventing a handful of modern classics along the way (a gingery Penicillin, anyone?). At home, a similar pattern played out: Ross moved into a small Red Hook apartment atop a century-old two-unit building nearly two decades ago and has only recently transformed it into something entirely new.
“I applied for this place on Craigslist in 2008,” says the Aussie-born drinks expert, who has lived in New York for two decades. “The landlord was a lovely woman, and we developed a tight relationship. I was her tenant forever.”
That loyalty paid off. When the landlord decided to sell in 2022, Ross was the first to know—and he didn’t hesitate. Not only did he buy his longtime 600-square-foot perch, but also the entire building, unlocking 1,200 square feet of interior space along with a backyard and a raw rooftop. His goal was to turn the circa-1899 property into his dream home, and for the design, there was only one person he considered for the job: Mel Brasier, who had shaped the interiors of his first bar, Attaboy, when Ross was an emerging entrepreneur and Brasier was fresh out of FIT’s interiors program.
“We’ve known each other for more than 20 years, so there’s this unspoken understanding,” says Ross. “I’ll show her an image or throw out half an idea, and she just gets it; she can translate it into something far better than what I imagined.”
Brasier, who later brought her design sensibility outdoors and cofounded the exterior design studio Manscapers, was more than happy to reimagine the space for her old friend. “He’s a very upbeat, positive person who loves to entertain and built his whole career around that,” she says. “He was a very good client in the sense that every suggestion was: ‘Go for it! Let’s be creative.’ You rarely get that kind of freedom.”
The designer took cues from Ross’s easygoing, gregarious nature, expressing it through tactile materials like wood and ceramics and a palette of saturated but unforced colors, including forest green, terra-cotta, and dark rose.
Although he gave her carte blanche, Ross did have a few requests: The main level on the ground floor had to be wide open, and for his personal hangout on the second floor, he wanted a cozier, cabin-like vibe. “I got obsessed with these ’70s log cabin images—lots of cedar, a fireplace, a loungy vibe,” he says.
Brasier delivered by wrapping the spacious primary suite in cedar planks, carving out a richly textured sitting area around a freestanding fireplace, and tucking the bed into a cosseting nook by the window. “It sort of smells like a sauna up there constantly,” says Ross. “I couldn’t have imagined it any better.”
There’s no cedar downstairs, but there are multiple rows of thick wooden beams on the ceiling, uncovered during the renovation. As a more polished counterpoint to the rustic beams, Brasier chose white oak parquet flooring laid in a classic chevron pattern and added wainscoting to the walls surrounding the dining table. Now, every zone of the main space flows seamlessly into the next, allowing conversation, food, and cocktails to do the same.
“I don’t have kids, but I wanted my house to be full of love and laughter—other people’s kids running around, friends cooking in the kitchen, family visiting from overseas,” Ross says.
Naturally, the kitchen took center stage, its U-shaped layout wrapped in scene-stealing zellige tiles glazed a deep green. “We dedicated a big chunk of the budget to tile and materials that show texture and a handmade quality,” says the designer, pointing out that even the bathroom on the basement level features tiles crafted by hand.
Behind the kitchen, a set of floor-to-ceiling glass doors opens to the backyard. There, Brasier put her landscaping know-how to work, creating a dining deck with a grill and a stone-paved patio edged by a swooping raised garden bed brimming with plants. But she and her team, who once starred on Bravo’s Backyard Envy, didn’t stop there. They also designed a rooftop with a pergola, plush chaises, and an outdoor shower worthy of a Hamptons beach house.
“It’s still not real. I’ve lived in New York for 20 years and never had this much room,” says Ross. “Coming home now to all this space, sunlight, and different moods—it’s a luxury I don’t think will ever get old.”
