« Saving the Short-Sighted from Themselves Some More 411 on the "Schermerhorn House" »
May 30, 2006
Behind the Facade at 112 Butler Street
Our post at the end of last week on the new wood-sided modern house that went up recently at 112 Butler Street elicited a lot of feedback from readers, most of it surprisingly positive. As we said in our initial post, we weren't really sure how we felt about it. Now that we've seen these photos of the interior we definitely get it. The closed-off facade, which some people thought was too unfriendly, is more than made up for by the walls of windows on the rear. The 2,500-square-foot house ends up being light, clean and modern. Quite a success and, as one reader pointed out last week, not particularly out of context given the hodge-podge of existing buildings on that street.
Outsider Architecture on Butler [Brownstoner] GMAP
Comments
Nicely done!
Posted by: BrownBomber at May 30, 2006 10:37 AM
...and not a starfish in sight! (This is nice...as nice as modern gets for me, a confirmed 'old-looking old house' person...)
Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at May 30, 2006 10:39 AM
That is just lovely. Gorgeous. I hope you will consider BHMS, just down the block, when it's time for your kid to go to school!
Posted by: anon at May 30, 2006 10:47 AM
Thanks for letting us see pictures! Beautiful!!
Posted by: Bx2Bklyn at May 30, 2006 11:25 AM
I want it.
Posted by: linusvanpelt at May 30, 2006 11:42 AM
I agree with all the others that this is a really lovely place. However, I must say that on this site folks only seem to go gaga over something that is completley modern or compeltely historically accurate brownstone and nothing that's in between or that plays with this relationship gets any play here. Where's all the imagination? Personality? Elsewhere, I assume. Don't mean to take anything away from this Butler house. Looks like a really nice place to live.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2006 11:50 AM
nice pad, I guess walking around your house naked is out of the question... lol
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2006 12:06 PM
regarding privacy... am I the only person leary of having a home that is so open in a place like Brooklyn? while the house is great I'd be scared of the accessiblity of the glass. couldn't someone just break it and easily enter your home? I'm sure that same arguement can be made about windows but windows are usually smaller or bared or at least farther up so it wouldn't be as easy, just a thought... anyway, like I said nice house.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2006 12:11 PM
i like those bar stools!!!
does any one know where to get them?
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2006 12:20 PM
These look like artist renderings for a new development.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2006 12:25 PM
Gorgeous! I'm the person who mentioned last week that I lived on this block years ago (at #104), and that given the mish-mash of different buildings on this block, I didn't think you could call this out of context architecturally. I live in a more traditional townhouse in Park Slope now, but I simply love this house. As for the earlier question about security, I assume you have the back windows hooked up to some kind of alarm? Someone last week criticized the fortress-like front facade, but there are times in the big city when that makes sense (the only time I've ever been mugged in my 30 years living in NYC was on the corner of Butler and Hoyt), and I love how it's open to the back. Bravo!
Posted by: Park Sloper at May 30, 2006 1:03 PM
Anon 12:11, you're not alone. Although the house is nicely done and I, too, love the idea of huge windows, the bareness would disturb me. You never know who's watching and for what reason,and I'm not the paranoid type, just cautious. Seems more fitting for something other than an urban neighborhood.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2006 1:12 PM
There are lots of places that use glass window walls. I don't know for sure but I always thought there was an especially heavy, hard to break glass that would be used in applications like this.
Anon 11:50- I don't think that it's entirely accurate to say we only go gaga over historically accurate or ultramodern. It's hard to know what's in between because posters here and renovators are "obsessed" with brownstone Bklyn and so we tend to see both ends of the spectrum more or less. It's possible that in the middle comes off as bland and not very interesting by comparison. But I can recall a number of threads where there were houses creatively and not historically done that everyone loved.
Posted by: Bx2Bklyn at May 30, 2006 1:22 PM
I like it in theory altho it seems messy. And this is my issue with modern (for my own life): if you're not super neat all the time, things appear really messy. It's an unforgiving look.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2006 2:44 PM
love this house, even though our style is pretty different. this would be a fun thing to have on b-stoner on week the facade, the next week the interior!
Posted by: misspriss at May 30, 2006 2:58 PM
The house doesn't look "messy" to me, they have a child, for crying out loud. I think it looks great, and it is not my style, whatsoever.
I like the bright accent colors, especially in the small details, it looks wonderfully airy and bright. It also looks lived in, which is great. So many modern and minimalist interiors look as if they aren't really lived in, like they are an art installation, and everything is placed just so for visual impact, but not practical living. This is a real home, enjoyed by a real family. I hope they enjoy it for many years to come.
Posted by: CrownHeightsProud at May 30, 2006 3:13 PM
Messy???
Posted by: Park Sloper at May 30, 2006 3:49 PM
If the person who owns this house is reading this, I would love to talk to you about where you bought your cedar siding and the installation process. I'm about to undertake installing a similar facade.
Thanks
samandjoeshow@yahoo.com
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2006 4:43 PM
This seems no less secure than any window without bars.
If you don't like people looking in, I've heard of this product called a "curtain" that is supposed to work well. It just ocurred to me, seriously.
Posted by: bkborn at May 30, 2006 5:05 PM
It's way to sterile, empty and unimaginative for my taste. I like "things" and proudly display my "things".
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2006 5:50 PM
pretty in an "Ikea showroom" kind of way.
i especially love the decadent wall mounted tv, with the maisey cartoon playin g in the background.
obviously the child is a borrowed prop for the photo shoot, since there are no crayon marks on the wall or table etc.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2006 9:58 PM
Simply stunning - I'm not sure how anyone in their right mind wouldn't appreciate it. I'd love to see a floorplan.
My one gripe - and I hesitate to even make it - is that this design is so vastly different from the original structure (i.e., there appear to be very few, if any remnants of what it once was) that it begs the question - why didn't they just tear it down and start over?
I wonder if this will be on a house tour. It would be nice to see how it feels to walk through this space, rather than just see it in pictures.
I'm wondering how it will age. I've seen 1980s renovations that become horribly dated. This design seems to be sufficiently kitsch and gimmick free that it should stand the test of time...
Posted by: Ed at May 30, 2006 10:27 PM
Ed, there was nothing to tear down/renovate - it was already an empty lot when they bought it.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 31, 2006 12:00 PM
All your comments remind me of the story I believe is called "The Emperors New Cloths."
How can you tell what the interior looks like from those photos? Their all close ups of modern furniture!
The kitchen photo is shot at an angle that doesn't let you see anything except the island counter and the rear photo is shot at night, so all you see are lights!
Please think before you start making all those gushing comments!
Posted by: BillyBob'sTruck at May 31, 2006 12:14 PM
I had no idea it was entirely new. In that case, the owners deserve a HUGE THANKS!!!
Meanwhile, these photos show plenty.
Posted by: Ed at May 31, 2006 2:12 PM
b/t/w - unless you have a wide-angle lense, it's difficult to photograph homes which are only 20 ft. wide. There is still a lot to be taken from these photos however, so I'm not sure why Mr. Truck feels they are insufficient. Maybe Mr. Truck is not looking at them carefully.
In a sense, no house is justly represented in photos. You've gotta walk through them to really get a sense of how everything fits together and how the space feels.
Posted by: Ed at May 31, 2006 2:21 PM
I think it's interesting to learn that this is all-new construction. Not having seen the building or block in person I had assumed that this was a re-do of an existing building (or shell) on a street with similarly scaled buildings.
So, given that this house was built on empty lot, I would be interested in detail about the owner/architect's decisionmaking process. For example, what was the zoning designation for the lot? Did they "max out" on the maximum allowable FAR? Or did they choose instead to build in scale with surrounding development (in terms of height, setbacks, yards, etc.)? So I guess the parking space (garage) was required if this was new construction?
etcetera, etcetera
Posted by: anon2 at May 31, 2006 9:00 PM
i agree with BillyBob'sTruck:
the interior has such low key details, mostly the pictures are of the furniture.
in short, similar to an ikea showroom.
Posted by: ikea at June 1, 2006 1:30 AM
To the owner: I'm a very big admirer of your house. Can you tell me what kind of wood you used for the siding?
Posted by: Chris at June 3, 2006 12:38 PM
FYI -
the child isn't a 'prop' it is their real child...
they also have an amazing collection of things but spaces for display were designed to display their collections...
they didn't buy the siding, it was designed like the rest of the house, for them specifically....its cedar
as for interior detailing, its true, it is very simple - a product of taste, time and budget really....
and yes, I designed the house! It was a great process, a great client, ad a great project team.
thanks for all the kind (and not so kind) comments...
Posted by: tsquare at August 1, 2006 2:34 PM
Wonder why it's not selling??? It's been on the market for months...
http://corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=915276
Posted by: guest at August 16, 2007 12:05 PM
Latest Restaurant Additions
-
Piattini Ristorante
added November 23, 2009 12:00 PM in Bay Ridge -
Le Barricou
added November 20, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Der Schwarze Kölner
added November 19, 2009 12:00 PM in Fort Greene -
Oak Wine Bar & Café
added November 18, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Mr. Wonton
added November 17, 2009 12:00 PM in Park Slope -
Casa Rosa
added November 16, 2009 12:00 PM in Carroll Gardens -
Cousin John's Café & Bakery
added November 13, 2009 12:00 PM in Park Slope -
Elote
added November 12, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Miracle Grill
added November 11, 2009 12:00 PM in Park Slope -
Phoebe's Cafe
added November 10, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.