The Insider: Brand New Boerum Hill Condo Gains Character With Custom Millwork, New Furnishings
Architects Andrea Fisk and Jess Hinshaw of Boerum Hill-based Shapeless Studio warmed up the new space and made it inviting, comfortable, and functional for the young family.
Photo by Hagan Hinshaw
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The joint compound was still fresh when a couple on the verge of having their first child took possession of this two-bedroom condo in a barely finished building on the edge of the brownstone belt. The apartment had some very positive things going for it, including a large outdoor terrace with a sweeping city view. The developer’s kitchen was uncommonly attractive. Existing wide plank floors were another plus.
And the rawness was soon dispelled by architects Andrea Fisk and Jess Hinshaw of Boerum Hill-based Shapeless Studio, who warmed up the space and made it inviting, comfortable, and functional for the young family.
They gave the walls a subtle texture with limewash finish and designed new cabinetry for every room, crafted by ABC Millwork in Gowanus. “The nice kitchen gave us a starting point for materials and finishes,” Hinshaw said. They drew on the kitchen’s warm wood tones for the white oak units in the entry and living room and the walnut pieces in the primary bedroom.
In the bedroom, especially, the built-ins are Japanese in feeling. “We tend to gravitate toward design ideas that are simple and elegant and well-organized, basic principles that overlap a lot with Japanese design,” Fisk said.
Newly purchased furniture is in a chic modern vein, upholstered in fabrics that are “plush and comfy,” Hinshaw said, including a “wildly comfortable” Kelston sectional sofa from Design Within Reach and playful orange Bollo chairs by Fogia.
The living room flows into the outdoor space, lushy landscaped by Elevations Landscape Design + Build using containers only.
All the millwork has “a lot of program,” Hinshaw said. The white oak piece in the entry hall contains open storage, closed storage, a shoe bench, coat hooks, and display space.
Again, program: On a formerly blank wall in the living room, the architects managed to provide seating, storage, a media area, a bar, and even an ethanol Eco-Smart fireplace that doesn’t require piping or flues.
Shapeless Studio designed the dining table to perfectly seat either four or six, and had it made by Brooklyn-based Ivory Build. It’s accompanied by Tokyo dining chairs from Bensen, a pendant lamp by Astep x Gino Sarfatti, and a nubby rug.
The bedroom’s gleaming cabinetry is highly figured walnut. “We wanted it to be a little moodier in there,” Hinshaw said. The millwork includes a built-in headboard and side tables, bookshelves, dresser drawers, and an elaborate closet with a slatted sliding door inspired by Japanese design.
Nursery furniture was sourced from Crate & Kids.
Gowanus-based Elevations Design + Build spec’d outdoor furniture and provided container plantings designed for bloom throughout the season.
[Photos by Hagan Hinshaw]
The Insider is Brownstoner’s weekly in-depth look at a notable interior design/renovation project, by design journalist Cara Greenberg. Find it here every Thursday morning.
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