Houzz Tours
My Houzz: 2 New York Brownstones Become 1 Spacious Home
Combining the spaces provides plenty of room for family gatherings, entertaining and a spacious garden in Manhattan
Victoria Pollak loved her 1880 brownstone in New York City, but she dreamed of having a bigger garden and more space for entertaining and hosting her large family. When the house next door went on sale, she saw a way to make that dream happen. She contacted architect Gil Even-Tsur to ask him if it would be feasible to connect the two homes. The answer was yes, and the two homes now are a single space that has a blend of old and new architecture and is focused on the garden.
Large photographs adorn one of the walls of the living room — a tribute to Pollak’s 30 years as a photographer. The pictures were parts of projects she created during her career and that have been exhibited over the years. The photographs are printed on linen and include portraits and pictures of some of her favorite places. “I’ve reached an age where I can put my own work on my walls,” she says.
The piano belongs to a friend of Pollak’s who is an opera singer. The friend didn’t have space in her own house, so she stores it here and comes over to practice.
Pollak furnished the living room with a 1972 leather chesterfield sofa, a 1950s Italian glass-and-gilt table and 1930s French walnut chairs, which she purchased in Budapest, Hungary.
The piano belongs to a friend of Pollak’s who is an opera singer. The friend didn’t have space in her own house, so she stores it here and comes over to practice.
Pollak furnished the living room with a 1972 leather chesterfield sofa, a 1950s Italian glass-and-gilt table and 1930s French walnut chairs, which she purchased in Budapest, Hungary.
The living room got a contemporary black marble fireplace. To the left is the dining room, with another fireplace. In the background is part of the kitchen. One of the kitchen islands and a wall of cabinets are visible.
A previous addition at the back of the second home had been made of brick. Even-Tsur preserved the footprint but replaced about two-thirds of the brick with steel and glass. The tall windows fill the house with light most of the day and open the house to the back garden.
This room is where her grandchildren can hang out while the adults socialize. Pollak added comfortable seating, a large TV set (out of view) and children’s toys. “This way the kids have their own space, and they don’t feel like they’re crowded in with the adults and vice versa.”
This room is where her grandchildren can hang out while the adults socialize. Pollak added comfortable seating, a large TV set (out of view) and children’s toys. “This way the kids have their own space, and they don’t feel like they’re crowded in with the adults and vice versa.”
From the other side of the living room you can see the renovated addition in the background. Above the addition is a new home office that was added as part of the renovation.
As an avid cook and host, Pollack wanted her kitchen to be highly functional and spacious enough for entertaining friends and family while she cooks. “It was important to me to have an open concept and to seat as many people around the island as possible,” she says.
Pollak worked with kitchen designer Yoram Zioni from German Kitchen Center to unite the two existing side-by-side kitchens. One island serves as a large prep area, and the other is a bar and secondary prep area.
They chose Leicht cabinetry, a brand known for its premium quality, versatility and finishes. “We used back-painted, tempered white-glass doors on the cabinets and as wall cladding on the entire back side of the kitchen,” Zioni says. “The opaqueness of the glass cabinets creates a sense of depth that was not possible to achieve with any other material. Glass cabinets also complement the glass used elsewhere in the home.”
Pollak worked with kitchen designer Yoram Zioni from German Kitchen Center to unite the two existing side-by-side kitchens. One island serves as a large prep area, and the other is a bar and secondary prep area.
They chose Leicht cabinetry, a brand known for its premium quality, versatility and finishes. “We used back-painted, tempered white-glass doors on the cabinets and as wall cladding on the entire back side of the kitchen,” Zioni says. “The opaqueness of the glass cabinets creates a sense of depth that was not possible to achieve with any other material. Glass cabinets also complement the glass used elsewhere in the home.”
“For the two islands, we chose Leicht’s specially formulated hand-troweled concrete cabinet doors,” Zioni says. “We also chose to forgo traditional handles and then added color-matched quartz countertops.”
Pollak selected a sunny yellow enamel range to be the focal point. She balanced the strong color by painting an adjacent wall the same shade to brighten up the north-facing room.
Pollak selected a sunny yellow enamel range to be the focal point. She balanced the strong color by painting an adjacent wall the same shade to brighten up the north-facing room.
During an earlier update to her home, Pollak had restored the dining room. To lighten up the room, she whitewashed the exposed beams, which had been painted black. She also changed the window frames to a rich mahogany and added a white marble mantel. “It was important for me to pay respect to the history of the house.”
Pollak purchased a Bodner chandelier and brought in a dining room table and chairs from her former beach house.
Pollak purchased a Bodner chandelier and brought in a dining room table and chairs from her former beach house.
Upstairs, the glass-and-steel walkway, with a wall of bookcases, connects her home office with the bedrooms.
A parlor on the second floor of Pollak’s first home became the master bedroom.
A doorway off the bedroom leads to the glass walkway. Pollak was born in Australia, and art by Australian painters hangs on the wall here.
The back wall of the bedroom’s walk-in closet is made of frosted glass, which lets in light from the rooms beyond.
The master bathroom features a free-standing tub, a glass shower and subtle cove lighting.
The ceiling of the guest bedroom re-creates the ceiling of a 17th-century synagogue in eastern Poland that burned down and reminds Pollak of her heritage.
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My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
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See more photos of this project
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Victoria Pollak
Location: Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City
Size: 4,000 square feet (372 square meters); three bedrooms, three bathrooms
Architect: Gil Even-Tsur
Kitchen designer: Yoram Zioni from German Kitchen Center
The renovation blended the two homes into one space while preserving and restoring historical details. It took three years of meticulous planning and was completed in 2016.
The work included opening sections of the wall between what had been the dining rooms in each home, opening the wall separating the two kitchens to create one large open space, adding a second floor above an addition at the back of the newly purchased home, and adding third and fourth floors to both brownstones to create a duplex apartment.
Pictured here is the home’s spacious two-story living room, whose top level is bordered on two sides by a hallway with a glass railing that preserves the room’s open feeling.