In Red Hook, a Home a Bit Away From It All About 10 years ago, after he finished his master's degree in architecture at Columbia University, Ben Krone rented a three-bedroom loft in a big brick factory building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. First he had roommates. Then he shared the space, almost 1,000 square feet with 12-foot ceilings, with his wife, Jaime Roark, whom he had met through friends. Their rent was around $2,900 a month. They had free laundry machines on their floor. But they were tired of Williamsburg and its crowds, and eager to buy a place. "My sister has had two houses in the time that I've rented in the same apartment," Mr. Krone said. His sister lives in an Atlanta suburb. Furthermore, "I could have paid off a third of my mortgage already if I owned the place." Their ideal was a house they could renovate to their liking, with an office for their business, Gradient Design Studio, which does residential and commercial renovations. Ms. Roark, who has a graduate degree in architecture from Boston Architectural College, also works as an exhibition designer at the Guggenheim Museum. But they were uncertain whether redoing a house was financially feasible. Jason Baker of the Corcoran Group, with whom Mr. Krone had worked on development projects, took them on a hunt that also included co-ops and condominiums. Their budget topped out in the mid-$800,000s. The lack of a washer-dryer would be a deal-breaker. "If I am renting, I can tolerate a lot," Ms. Roark said. But if I am going to own something, I really need to do the laundry. Last summer they considered a two-family in Bedford-Stuyvesant, listed for $849,000. The low ceilings on the ground floor were a drawback. The house was small for a two-family, so they would have turned it into a one-family. "We didn't jump on it, and I think that was an error in judgment," said Mr. Krone, who like his wife is in his mid-30s. The house quickly sold for $959,000. The things we were concerned about turned out to be things that later on we realized we just had to get over. The couple often found fault with finished interiors. "It's difficult to walk into a place and think, "This person's taste is perfect for me, this is where I am going to hang my hat," " Mr. Krone said. Yet to them it seemed both wasteful and irresponsible to redo a fully functional interior. A two-bedroom co-op in Cobble Hill was much to their taste, with brick walls and sunshine. The price was $859,000, maintenance almost $800 a month. At 1,000 square feet, it was almost large enough. "We wanted it to be a step up or at least a lateral move," Mr. Krone said. But not until they were about to bid did they learn that no pets were allowed. They weren't moving anyplace without their dog, Wilee. In any event, the monthly fees alarmed them. "The well-priced units had exorbitant monthly carrying charges that weren't in line with their budget," Mr. Baker said. The co-op sold for $932,000. That was when the couple decided a house with space for an office would be best after all. They found themselves heading to Red Hook. "A lot of people complain it is cut off," Mr. Krone said, "and that is what we like about it." The damage inflicted by Hurricane Sandy to the area last year didn't deter them. "We felt that was an unusual situation and there are ways to deal with it," he said. A brick house on Pioneer Street came on the market for $995,000. Interested, the couple toured it with a colleague who was a structural engineer. Work was needed, which would make staying within their budget impossible. Besides, three higher offers came in. Despite this, a deal did not come to pass, said the listing agent, Eva Zurek of the Corcoran Group. The house remains for sale. Ms. Zurek, who lives in Red Hook, had a friend whose renovation had run out of steam. She described that house, two stories plus a basement, as "practically a brick wall - it's a sculpture, it's a box." It didn't even have running water. She thought the couple would like it. She was right. "It was like an Amazon recommendation," Ms. Roark said. If you like this, you might like that. After approval from the structural engineer, they made an offer, which was accepted. "It allowed us a blank slate to literally do everything from scratch," Ms. Roark said. And because it was in rough shape, that's what put it in our price range. When they closed in the fall, for around $880,000, they had all the drawings and paperwork ready. Plans call for a two-story addition in the back. Their new home will also be the headquarters of Gradient Design Studio. The washer-dryer will be in the basement; all other utilities will be on higher levels. The house will have a special system of foundation drains and a pump. The flood risk, "aside from the mortgage aspect, is the single scariest component about the purchase," Ms. Roark said, "but there are so many things that outweigh the fear aspect." She is chronicling their progress on the house on her blog, gradientarch.tumblr.com. At the moment, it's still a project. "We have a ton of work ahead of us," Mr. Krone said. "When we closed, everyone said we could go celebrate, but Jaime said, "We couldn't even squat in our house if we wanted to." We basically bought a brick shell. Until recently, with workers digging into the ground, "it was this destructive process," Mr. Krone said. But now, "things are starting to grow. It is starting to look like a house.