Houzz Tour: A Brooklyn Brownstone Blends History and Modern Style
Restoring original features while making a home for 21st century living was the brief for this elegant period townhouse
Erin Carlyle
6 November 2019
Former Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes to remodel. Former Forbes real estate reporter. Fascinated by cool homes, watching the bottom line.
Former Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes... More
The couple who bought this 1860s brownstone home in Brooklyn, New York, hired Jim Hill, an architect, and Sarah Hill, a designer, both of Urban Pioneering Architecture, to help them remodel it. The owners wanted to celebrate their home’s historic features while blending them with their modern design style.
The home had been renovated several times over the years. A remodel in the 1920s or ’30s had removed the original staircase and replaced it with one in the centre of the home. The brownstone building retained many of its period details, but much of it was in poor condition.
The home had been renovated several times over the years. A remodel in the 1920s or ’30s had removed the original staircase and replaced it with one in the centre of the home. The brownstone building retained many of its period details, but much of it was in poor condition.
House at a Glance
Who lives here? A couple; she’s a design writer, he’s a lawyer who also has a lighting business
Location Clinton Hill neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York
Size About 3,900 sq ft (362 sq m)
Designers Jim Hill (architect) and Sarah Hill (designer), both of Urban Pioneering Architecture
Photos by Kate Glicksberg Photography
The remodel included converting the garden level to a separate apartment that the homeowners rent out and creating a guest suite with a kitchenette on the top floor.
Find an architect on Houzz
Who lives here? A couple; she’s a design writer, he’s a lawyer who also has a lighting business
Location Clinton Hill neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York
Size About 3,900 sq ft (362 sq m)
Designers Jim Hill (architect) and Sarah Hill (designer), both of Urban Pioneering Architecture
Photos by Kate Glicksberg Photography
The remodel included converting the garden level to a separate apartment that the homeowners rent out and creating a guest suite with a kitchenette on the top floor.
Find an architect on Houzz
Before Photo
When the owners purchased their home, it lacked a stoop (steps up to a small platform to allow entrance at a higher lever – the front door was at ground level on the left-hand side.) The home had a stoop when it was built, however (see previous photo), and the new owners wanted to restore it.
On the upper-ground floor, the team created a new entrance where there had been a window. The new vestibule features a salvaged door and new tiles that look old from a distance. The new exterior door is custom-made.
Find an interior designer in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Find an interior designer in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
The new entrance leads into the living room. The homeowners furnished this space with items that showcase their appreciation of modern design. The white pendant lights are by iconic designer George Nelson.
Before Photo
The living room the couple inherited had a beautiful fireplace with wainscoting on the walls surrounding it.
The team designed streamlined bookcases that now flank the fireplace, preserving the original dado rail. The fireplace had a makeover with a gas insert, a cement tile surround and an Antique Grey marble hearth. The walls and mantel were painted white.
The team replaced the lower windows with new double-glazed ones to improve energy efficiency. They had to work with the local landmark commission to be sure the new windows matched the character of the old ones.
The transom windows (above the main ones) had been in the home since before the 1940s, according to old photos, so the commission required them to stay.
The transom windows (above the main ones) had been in the home since before the 1940s, according to old photos, so the commission required them to stay.
Before Photo
Just off the living room is the central hall staircase, here seen before the renovation.
The homeowners wanted to celebrate the decorative moulding on the walls, so the team painted them a deep slate in both matt and semi-gloss. The staircase is a deep black, and the brick wall to its right was painted white. The beautiful chandelier came from the homeowner’s antique lighting shop, Old Lights On.
Mouldings painted in Witching Hour; wall painted in Chantilly Lace, both Benjamin Moore. Staircase painted in Pitch Black, Farrow & Ball.
Mouldings painted in Witching Hour; wall painted in Chantilly Lace, both Benjamin Moore. Staircase painted in Pitch Black, Farrow & Ball.
Before Photo
The sitting area across from the staircase had worn wood floors and peach paint when the couple moved in.
Now the space is much smarter, with slate walls and white oak flooring laid in a herringbone pattern. The couple already owned the vintage Overman sofa.
Before the renovation, the kitchen was on the lower-ground level. The team moved it to the main level into what had been the formal dining room. The two doors that open onto a new deck were formerly windows.
The wall moulding on the right wall continues the pattern from the adjacent sitting area (see the wall behind the sofa in the previous photo).
The wall moulding on the right wall continues the pattern from the adjacent sitting area (see the wall behind the sofa in the previous photo).
In the kitchen, the team have preserved some of the home’s historic details while incorporating 21st-century style and functionality. The units feature standard cabinet carcasses with custom-made doors (painted matt black) and Carrara marble worktops.
The kitchen design was the result of a collaboration between Urban Pioneering Architecture and Alex Scott Porter Architecture + Design.
The kitchen design was the result of a collaboration between Urban Pioneering Architecture and Alex Scott Porter Architecture + Design.
Before Photo
This is the wall, pre-renovation, that now houses the cooker. The team removed the panelling, archway and corner cabinets to create a clean slate.
The owners wanted to keep the island free of a sink and other features so it could serve primarily as a prep space and serving surface. The side of the island base facing the cooker holds a steam oven and a microwave. The fridge and pantry are to the left.
The kitchen splashback features a thin glazed ceramic tile that Sarah Hill calls an “elegant interpretation of brick”. It echoes the look of the white-painted brick wall in the adjacent centre hall. The upper cabinets are walnut.
Opposite the kitchen island is a dining area that features the home’s existing wall panelling. One of the homeowners made the dining table herself.
In one of the home’s numerous renovations, an extension behind the kitchen was added that contained a dumbwaiter to transport items from the then garden-level kitchen to this space near the dining room on the main floor. The designers removed the dumbwaiter and used the space to create a nook for reading and a quiet cup of tea.
The repurposed area also contains a cloakroom.
The broad landing by the first-floor stairs became a small seating area featuring some of the owners’ art. The master bedroom is to the left of the staircase.
The owners furnished the master bedroom and chose a grey paint in a custom mix for the walls.
Walls painted in Alaskan Husky, Benjamin Moore.
Walls painted in Alaskan Husky, Benjamin Moore.
The master bathroom is located over the kitchen and has a window that opens onto a roof terrace above the breakfast nook and cloakroom, creating an indoor-outdoor experience. “The owners can walk from the shower onto their roof deck,” Sarah says.
The vanity unit is Antique Grey marble and the shower tiles are Nero Marquina marble. The shower walls feature simple white metro tiles.
The vanity unit is Antique Grey marble and the shower tiles are Nero Marquina marble. The shower walls feature simple white metro tiles.
A guest bedroom doubles as the wife’s office and houses the couple’s desk chairs by Eames for Herman Miller.
The couple set up the second floor with amenities that make it like a comfortable mini apartment. This little galley kitchen contains a sink, fridge and microwave, as well as a small washer and dryer.
“They have many guests that come and stay for extensive periods of time,” Sarah says.
“They have many guests that come and stay for extensive periods of time,” Sarah says.
The bathroom on this floor features white penny tiles with black grout on the walls, floor and bath surround.
The second floor has three bedrooms, including this one.
In the lower-ground, garden-level apartment that the homeowners rent out, the extensive remodel included a completely new kitchen.
The team created a bedroom where the dumbwaiter and staircase once stood. This level also contains a second bedroom (not pictured).
The bathroom features plain white metro tiles and black hexagon floor tile.
Contractor: Silvio Lazo, CNS Construction
Tell us…
What do you think of this New York home? Let us know in the Comments section.
Contractor: Silvio Lazo, CNS Construction
Tell us…
What do you think of this New York home? Let us know in the Comments section.
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Fine, except too many bookcases in public spaces without books. “Curated” shelves means skimpy, barren, easy to clean, but not like real life. —Retired librarian here, whose 1008 Sq ft home has a Bedroom-Library (3 walks of books) plus 2 of IKEA’s tall bookcases in the living room flanking a window, filled with treasures, and an IKEA glass-doored bookcase as a dining cabinet having two shelves dedicated to cookbooks.
One more photo—the living room window.
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