This Brooklyn home feels like a book-filled cabin in the woods

My friend Adam Roberts – a cookbook author with a fun food newsletter – always reminds me of a Disney prince. He’s charming, has a big smile, and plays your favorite song on the piano. Adam lives in a shack-like house in Brooklyn with his equally lovely husband, filmmaker Craig Johnson. Here’s a look inside…

KITCHEN

Adam, left; Craig, right

On moving from LA to New York: We were looking for a house in LA when I suddenly had a desire to move back to New York. I had grown up in New York and missed it, so we started looking for places here instead. My husband met all the criteria for a house in LA – nature, lots of natural light, etc. – and when we found this rental, we felt like we had found our dream LA home in Brooklyn.

To enjoy the seasons: I almost feel guilty describing all the things I love about this house because it’s so unusual to have them in New York: a bedroom surrounded by trees, a porch where I can grow tomatoes, a kitchen overlooking a garden. In the winter I made pasta while watching the snow fall, and this spring I baked strawberry rhubarb pie and looked up at the pink tree. It’s an absolute dream to live here.

About vintage finds: I’m a bit obsessed with vintage plates and platters and search for them on Etsy and eBay. My mid-century flour and sugar bowls are almost 70 years old; they have so much history and character.

Cake stand: Food52, similar.

About a cookbook collection: I love cookbooks so much that the biggest arguments in our marriage involve me buying more books, even though our shelves are already overflowing. But I love how cookbooks can surprise you – for example, I’m reading one called Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules, a Ukrainian cookbook writer who lives in London. It’s about Ukrainian food, which is of course very moving because of the war. I had already made pickled plums, but as I was flicking through I found a recipe for sourdough bread and thought: What is this, the pandemic? But she uses dark rye flour, so I was inspired to make some.

On the subject of cooking at home: My husband Craig loves my cavatappi with sun-dried tomatoes and cannellini beans, roasted chicken with root vegetables, and seared scallops with citrus risotto. But I’m more of a dessert person. My favorite is Amanda Hesser’s almond cake, which I’ve been making for years, and in the fall I like to make apple pie.

DINING AREA

Dining table: CB2, similar.

For stress-free entertainment: My dream is to have everything done Before People come over because that’s when dinner is the most fun. I prepare dessert the day before. In the morning, I start seasoning or brining. If it’s winter, you can prepare a stew, and it only gets better the longer it sits in the fridge. If I’m feeling social anxiety during a dinner, I sneak into the kitchen to take a break. However — as I’ve become more relaxed and taken more Lexapro — I find it easier to have people come over and help me cook.

For exhibiting treasures: Craig collects miniature creatures. He’s like Kathy Bates in Misery – remember when she realized the guy got out of bed because her ceramic penguin was turned 40 degrees? Craig will say: Someone moved my toy frog!

LIVING AREA

Sofa: Bloomingdale’s, similar.

As a workaround for the couch: When our moving truck arrived, we realized we couldn’t get our sofa through the front door, so I called the Couch Doctor. They ripped off the fabric and took apart the wood – it looked like they were going to destroy our sofa! But when they got it inside and put it back together, it looked incredible.

On the subject of watching films: As a filmmaker, Craig is obsessed with the Criterion Channel. I, on the other hand, could spend all afternoon watching America’s Test Kitchen. I also love Downton Abbey; it’s so cozy and classy.

Arc lamp: CB2. Armchair: Macy’s, similar.

As a conversation starter: Craig and I were in Barcelona 15 years ago and we ate at a restaurant that had works by the artist Sergio Mora. All of the paintings were of humanised body parts – a heart with a face, for example – and we thought they were funny and cute. So for Christmas I contacted the artist, who sent me a spreadsheet with all of his paintings. I told Craig he could pick one, and there were hearts, legs and brains, but he said, ‘I want the penis painting!’ I asked, ‘Do you really want a giant painting of a penis with a face and an umbrella in our living room?’ And he said, ‘Yes, yes, I do.’

Record cabinet: HD Buttercup.

On musical rituals: On Sunday mornings, our ritual is to get the New York Times, put on records, and drink coffee. Craig plays his record player with the same passion that I play the piano. If I buy a lot of cookbooks, he buys a lot of records, so we’re a tit for tat kind of thing. Going into a record store and flipping through albums feels so good – like oh, I wasn’t expecting to find these random Kinks records from 1971.

On the subject of performances for friends: I have played piano by ear all my life. I am not a professional musician, but I have played at bar mitzvahs. I get a lot of joy from having a piano in our home. I try not to force people to sing, but at Christmas I play Christmas carols, and when friends from Broadway come over I play show tunes. My plan for retirement is to be the piano player for Marie’s Crisis.

MASTER BEDROOM

In a cozy place: Our bedroom is the dreamiest room in the whole house. The light that comes through the windows in the morning is spectacular.

Bed with bookcase footboard: Crate and Barrel, similar. Bedside lamps: Crate and Barrel.

About beloved books: We’ve always had a bed with a bookshelf underneath. I’m a huge fan of John Lahr, the former theater critic for The New Yorker. He wrote a biography called Prick Up Your Ears and a book about his father called Notes on a Cowardly Lion. I love George Saunders – his book A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is one of my favorites. I also love Nora Ephron.

To write: I just sold my own novel called Food Person, which comes out in the summer of 2025! It’s about an aspiring cookbook author in her twenties who reluctantly takes a job ghostwriting a celebrity’s cookbook. My main character is a lost soul and the celebrity is a hot mess. It’s about their relationship and how they end up helping each other. Our pitch is that it’s The Devil Wears Prada meets The Bear. We’re pitching it in Hollywood right now.

Bedding: Cultiver.

On modern art: I bought this print with my father in the MoMA gift shop twenty years ago. It’s a dollar store photo, but you’d think you were looking at a watercolor landscape from a distance. But when you get closer, you think, “Wait, that’s just a pile of crap, like gum and candy bars.”

REAR TERRACE

On to sweet rescue: Winston is the most amazing dog in the world. We found him at a shelter in LA. He looked up at me so sweetly, so I called Craig, who was holding him. And even though he wasn’t as much of a “let’s get a dog” person as I was, Craig started crying because he thought Winston was so cute. We took him home and he is the most adorable dog. The only annoying thing is that when he gets too hot on a walk, he puts all his weight on his hind legs and doesn’t move. I have to carry him over the threshold like a bride.

At a nice meeting: Craig and I met in graduate school at NYU. He looked at my profile on Friendster and I messaged him with the subject line “Mysterious Stranger.” We had dinner at a French restaurant on April 8, 2006 and we hit it off immediately. We were looking for the exact same thing at the exact same time – I was looking for someone to cook for and he was looking for someone to cook for him.

Thank you, Adam and Craig! We love you both.

PS: Many more house tours, including a family’s scaled-down dream home and a colorful apartment for book lovers.

(Photos by Julia Robbs for Cup of Jo.)