Brownstone Renovation in Prospect Heights Brooklyn

So apparently simple and refined is this Prospect Heights brownstone that you might not suspect it recently underwent an extensive renovation: the removal of a bearing wall to open up the parlor floor, necessitating a new steel beam from front to rear; all-new kitchen and baths; stripping all original woodwork; restoration of the ceiling plaster and moldings; new rift-sawn oak floors throughout; all-new electrical and central air; and many things you don’t see (example: retractable screens to enclose the house’s original back porch and exclude mosquitos).

“The biggest design intervention was opening up the parlor floor,” said Rockaway Beach–based Barbara Canizzarro of Josephine Design, who masterminded the renovation for a young couple, one set of whose parents are longtime clients of hers. “Originally we were just going to do a bathroom and kitchen and not take down any walls, but it ballooned into something much bigger,” she said.

Canizzarro came from upstate New York a couple of decades ago to study fine arts at Pratt. She soon dropped out to apprentice in a cabinet shop, eventually building up a business as a designer/contractor. “I wanted to learn carpentry and design,” she said. “I always liked building things when I was a kid, but girls didn’t do that kind of stuff.”

In this case, she was the interior designer and project coordinator, working with J’s Custom Contracting and Interboro Design Group, both of Brooklyn.

This was not a low-budget renovation by any means. Things like lighting fixtures and medicine chests are almost all top-of-the-line. Yet the kitchen is of modest size by today’s standards, and the choices of finishes neither showy nor ostentatious. The furnishings are spare, making the most of the house’s proportions and abundant daylight.

See and read more below.

Brownstone Renovation in Prospect Heights Brooklyn

A low-to-the-ground sofa from Ligne Roset and a graphic rug from IKEA are practically all that’s needed against the classic architecture of the front parlor. The anemone-shaped light fixture is from Aqua Creations, wall sconces from O’Lampia.

Brownstone Renovation in Prospect Heights Brooklyn

“The front and back parlor weren’t open to each other,” the designer said. “We created a separation with very capacious closets on either side and ran all the new piping above.” The large opening lets light flow through the house.

Brownstone Renovation in Prospect Heights Brooklyn

The open-plan kitchen is centered on a four-foot wide Caesarstone island, above which hang lights from Niche Modern. Walnut cabinets are semi-custom from Medallion; the fridge is GE Monogram, the other appliances Wolf. The designer managed to fit in a double oven and microwave drawer.

Brownstone Renovation in Prospect Heights Brooklyn

A small vestibule at the rear of the parlor floor is configured as a bar area, opening up to the back porch. Cabinets from IKEA.

Brownstone Renovation in Prospect Heights Brooklyn

Heywood-Wakefield dining chairs from a yard sale line one side of the dining table; on the other is an upholstered banquette. The mirror is original to the house.

Brownstone Renovation in Prospect Heights Brooklyn

Deteriorating plasterwork and moldings on the ceiling were painstakingly restored.

Brownstone Renovation in Prospect Heights Brooklyn

Bedrooms are on the garden level, where original baseboards and chair rails were stripped, with grasscloth from Twenty2 in between. The limestone floors are from Complete Tile Collection.

Brownstone Renovation in Prospect Heights Brooklyn

A vanity from WS Bath Collections with Grohe faucets outfits the master bath. The medicine cabinets, from Robern, have mirrored doors that lift rather than swing open.

Brownstone Renovation in Prospect Heights Brooklyn

The limestone tile floor continues into the laundry room at the rear of the garden floor.

The Insider is Brownstoner’s in-depth look at a notable interior design/renovation project, by design journalist Cara Greenberg. The stories are original to Brownstoner; the photos may have been published before. Got a project to propose for The Insider? Please contact Cara at caramia447 at gmail dot com.

[Photos: James Shanks]

 

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