Brooklyn Brownstone Blends History and Modern Style
New York designers create a garden apartment and a guest suite, marrying period details with modern furnishings
Erin Carlyle
September 23, 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 in Brooklyn, New York, hired Jim Hill, an architect, and Sarah Hill, a designer, both of Urban Pioneering Architecture, to help them remodel. 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 a staircase in the center of the home. The brownstone retained many of its period details, but much of it was in poor condition before this latest renovation.
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 a staircase in the center of the home. The brownstone retained many of its period details, but much of it was in poor condition before this latest renovation.
Photos by Kate Glicksberg Photography
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple; she’s a design writer, he’s a lawyer with a side lighting business
Location: Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York
Size: About 3,900 square feet (362 square meters)
Designers: Jim Hill (architect) and Sarah Hill (designer), both of Urban Pioneering Architecture
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.
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple; she’s a design writer, he’s a lawyer with a side lighting business
Location: Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York
Size: About 3,900 square feet (362 square meters)
Designers: Jim Hill (architect) and Sarah Hill (designer), both of Urban Pioneering Architecture
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.
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Before: When the clients purchased the home, it lacked a stoop. (The entry was on the garden level on the left side.) The home had a stoop when it was built, however, and the new owners wanted to restore it. (The previous photo shows the restored home, with stoop.)
The Main Level
Previously there was no entry on the main floor and no vestibule. The team created them where there had been a window. The new vestibule features a salvaged door and new tile that looks old from a distance. The new exterior door is custom.
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Previously there was no entry on the main floor and no vestibule. The team created them where there had been a window. The new vestibule features a salvaged door and new tile that looks old from a distance. The new exterior door is custom.
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The new entry leads into the living room. The homeowners furnished this space with items that showcase their appreciation of modern design. The globe pendant is by iconic designer George Nelson.
Modern Icons: Nelson Pendant Lights
Modern Icons: Nelson Pendant Lights
Before: The living room had a beautiful fireplace with wainscoting on the walls surrounding it.
After: The team designed streamlined bookcases that now flank the fireplace, preserving the original chair railing. The fireplace got a makeover with a gas insert, a cement tile surround and an Antique Gray marble hearth. The walls and mantel were painted white (Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore).
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Find sofas and sectionals in the Houzz Shop
The team replaced the lower windows with new, custom-made double-paned ones to improve energy efficiency. It had to work with the local landmark commission to be sure the new windows matched the character of the old ones. The transom windows over the sofa had been in the home since before the 1940s, according to old photos, so the commission required them to stay.
After: The homeowners wanted to celebrate the decorative molding on the walls, so the team painted them a deep slate (Witching Hour by Benjamin Moore) in both matte and semigloss. The staircase is a deep black (Pitch Black by Farrow & Ball), and the brick wall to its right was painted white (Chantilly Lace). The beautiful chandelier came from the homeowner’s antique lighting shop, Old Lights On.
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Find area rugs in the Houzz Shop
Before: The sitting area across from the staircase had worn wood floors and peach paint.
After: Now the space is swankier with slate walls and white oak flooring laid in a herringbone pattern. The clients already owned the vintage Overman settee.
Before the renovation, the kitchen was on the garden level. The team moved it to the main level in what had been the formal dining room. Where there are now two long doors that open onto a new deck, there had been windows. The wall molding on the right wall continues the pattern from the adjacent sitting area. (See the wall behind the settee in the previous photo.)
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Find kitchen island lighting in the Houzz Shop
The kitchen preserves some of the home’s historic details while incorporating 21st-century style and conveniences. It features prefabricated cabinet boxes with custom doors (painted matte black) and Carrara marble counters.
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: This is the wall, pre-renovation, that now houses the stove. The team removed the paneling, archway and corner cabinets to create a clean slate.
After: The clients wanted to keep the island counter 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 stove holds a steam oven and a microwave. The refrigerator and pantry are to the left.
The kitchen backsplash is 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 center hall staircase. The upper cabinets are walnut.
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Find kitchen faucets in the Houzz Shop
Opposite the kitchen island is a dine-in area that features the home’s existing wall paneling. 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. Since this latest renovation separated those spaces into two residences, the dumbwaiter connecting them needed to go. The designers used the space to create a nook for reading and a quiet cup of tea.
Second Floor
The broad landing on the second-floor stairs became a small seating area featuring some of the homeowners’ art. The master bedroom is to the left of the staircase.
The broad landing on the second-floor stairs became a small seating area featuring some of the homeowners’ art. The master bedroom is to the left of the staircase.
The clients furnished the master bedroom and chose a gray paint (Alaskan Husky by Benjamin Moore) in a custom mix for the walls.
The master bathroom is located over the kitchen and has a custom window that opens onto the roof over the breakfast nook and powder room, creating an indoor-outdoor experience. “She can walk from the shower onto her roof deck,” Sarah Hill says.
The vanity is Antique Gray marble and the shower tiles are Nero Marquina marble. The shower walls feature simple white subway tile.
The vanity is Antique Gray marble and the shower tiles are Nero Marquina marble. The shower walls feature simple white subway tile.
A guest bedroom doubles as the wife’s office and houses the couple’s desk chairs by Eames for Herman Miller.
Third Floor
The couple set up the third floor with amenities that make it like a comfortable mini apartment. This little galley kitchen contains a sink, refrigerator and microwave, as well as a small washer and dryer. “They have many eclectic guests that come and stay for extensive periods of time,” Sarah Hill says.
The couple set up the third floor with amenities that make it like a comfortable mini apartment. This little galley kitchen contains a sink, refrigerator and microwave, as well as a small washer and dryer. “They have many eclectic guests that come and stay for extensive periods of time,” Sarah Hill says.
The third-floor bathroom features white penny tile with black grout on the walls, floor and bathtub surround.
The third floor has three bedrooms, including this one.
Garden Level
In the garden-level apartment that the homeowners rent out, the extensive remodel included a completely new kitchen.
In the 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 garden-level bathroom features plain white subway tile and black hexagon floor tile.
Contractor: Silvio Lazo, CNS Construction
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Contractor: Silvio Lazo, CNS Construction
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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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