Renovation

Need Some Help With a Floorplan

I just purchased brownstone in Bed-Stuy on Macon Street! It’s a beutifull 2 family with allot of original details. All of the doors, moldings, stairs wood paneling, door handles and fire places are original. I even have a closet with an old ice box and a built in oven that is probably from the 30’s!…

by Adamc1303
06/07/2010

I just purchased brownstone in Bed-Stuy on Macon Street! It’s a beutifull 2 family with allot of original details. All of the doors, moldings, stairs wood paneling, door handles and fire places are original. I even have a closet with an old ice box and a built in oven that is probably from the 30’s! Since everything is original I really do not want to tamper with any of it. My question is as follows, the house is a legal 2 family but it was being used as a 3 family. It has a kitchen on each floor. I was thinking of gutting the entire cellar and opening it up so I can have a large kitchen, living room and dining room and then having the bed rooms upsatirs. The issue is that the upstairs has gorgeous moldings and doors and serves as the Living Room and Dining Room with beutifull fireplaces. Would it be weird to have an eat in kitchen with a few bed rooms on the cellar level and then the LR DR and full bath upstairs? I also hae a full bath right off the kitchen. I would then also use the very small kitchen on the 2nd floor since it’s there anyway as an entertainment kitchen. It’s in the dining room anyway. What do you guys think? Do I need to gut the place and chamge the lay out to make it current or just leave it as is? I purchased this house to resell it after the renovation is done so I really want to try to get the most out of it. I will try to get a few pictures by next week.

Thanks,

Adam

Renovation

Comments

  1. Hi Adam,

    Not sure if you’ve moved forward with this but I’d be happy to show you some of our ongoing and completed townhouse renovations where we’ve successfully integrated historic details with modern space layouts and amenities.

    Feel free to give me a call to discuss: 718-852-2650. http://www.jpda.net.

    Jordan Parnass AIA RIBA LEED Ap

  4. Congrats. Sounds like an awesome house.

    With an old house like this with so many original details intact, I would not touch any of the walls, moldings, ice box, and other details. I would leave it as is for future owners. I always shudder in horror and feel sad when I see a gutted first floor level.

    I can’t tell from your description whether this was an original one family or original two family. If original two family, I would restore it as it used to be. Remove the kitchen on the parlor floor, keep the original kitchens and bathrooms. If you have old cupboards, ice box, claw foot tub, etc., you should leave them.

    If it’s an original one family, many people prefer to make the top two floors into an owner’s duplex and rent out the ground level. In that case, you would leave the ground floor as is, and upgrade the parlor kitchen. You’d put in a deck and an entrance to the garden on the parlor floor. The bedrooms would be located on the top floor.

    I hope this makes sense.

    I highly recommend the book “Restoring a House in the City” for ideas. There is a wonderful example of a kitchen installed in the dining room on the parlor level and many other great details.

    Good luck.

  6. Adam, looks like a big project, I would recommend you to call a contractor/architect. I suggest you Zurita Contractors, he’s both (architect and contractor).
    I myself can take a look and give you some suggestion. I specialize in Brownstones wood works and maybe could help you.
    Feel free to contact me
    J. Myerston
    646 248 2450
    http://www.pinocchiowoodworks.com

  7. I would recommend that you search the Forum here for the post by “Susan Elkins” where she recommended her contractors and, more importantly for your needs, her architect. it mat be under “Contractors.”

    She has a beautiful house with all the architectural detail and her architect did a great job incorporating new kitchens, etc with the detail of the original house.

  8. Adam, the level you’re referring to is known, though somewhat archaically, as the basement in this type of house. It’s also known in real-estate-speak as the garden level.
    The term ‘cellar’ always refers to the level below it, the part that is the foundation, all the way, or mostly, in the ground.
    In later houses the words basement and cellar came to be used for the same thing.
    This is really pretty basic old house knowledge, so I’m wondering what else you might need some help with. I have a house which I’ve (mostly) restored on Decatur Street and am now consulting on local similar houses. I’d be glad to be of service in helping you with your layout decisions, identification of components, etc. I’ll check back here.

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