The Insider: Brooklyn Heights Kitchen and Living Room Makeover Nods to British Design
Prior to buying a two-story condo in an early 20th century building and deciding to settle in Brooklyn, the homeowners had spent several years as expats in London.
Photo by Raquel Langworthy
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Prior to buying a two-story condo in an early 20th century building and deciding to settle in Brooklyn, designer Maureen Ursino’s clients had spent several years as expats in London. That’s where they developed an affinity for British design, which can encompass everything from Georgian townhouses to rustic country cottages to the work of iconic ’60s decorator David Hicks.
When the new homeowners hired Colts Neck, N.J.-based Ursino Interiors to revamp the dated lower level of the duplex, comprising the main living space, kitchen and dining room (there are also three bedrooms upstairs), Ursino, the company’s founder and principal designer, went at it with a vengeance. “It was a complete gut renovation,” she said. “We demo’d the entire first floor down to the initial framing and rebuilt.”
The main architectural challenge was an awkward structural column in the middle of the space, which they finessed by adding a second column and a header. The resulting large openings define the living room on one side and the kitchen on the other, allowing an easy flow between them.
The new kitchen was inspired by Plain English and DeVol, two U.K. millworks whose aesthetic — a luxe farmhouse look — is popular on both sides of the Atlantic.
After much deliberation, Ursino and her clients chose Farrow & Ball’s Hardwick White for the extensive kitchen cabinetry. “It’s a pale gray that can lean warm or cool,” Ursino said. “We wanted something that would still feel overall light, but not typical white or cream.”
Ursino modified the floor-to-ceiling brick chimney breast that dominated the living room by covering most of it with new millwork panels, retaining some brick for authenticity and coziness. A wall-spanning cabinet of her design, with arched uppers and wire mesh inserts, holds a large TV screen as well as some of the antique collectibles the homeowners brought back from their stay in England.
New wide-plank oak floors, fresh crown and baseboard moldings and two newly clad columns — one existing and structural, the other new — give the front hall a stately feel.
The living room is to the right, the kitchen and dining room (not photographed) to the left.
The upholstered gray bench near the entry door was sourced from Four Hands Furniture in Austin, Texas.
A long oval mirror from CB2 with an antique bench underneath “creates a nice little moment,” the designer said, when viewed at the end of the hallway upon entering the space.
French doors to the patio were already in place; Ursino updated the hardware.
The custom media cabinet is painted Farrow & Ball’s Railings, a soft black with blue undertones.
The redesigned working fireplace is a focal point. A warm-toned vintage rug picks up on the colors of the brick and the artwork over the sofa, a painting on linen by Memphis-based artist Chelsea Fry.
The walnut spindle-back chairs and contemporary coffee table came from Room & Board.
Ursino worked hard to make sure her clients had plenty of functional storage in the kitchen. She beefed it up by adding cabinets on the front of the island and a tall floor-to-ceiling pantry to the right of the stove, “which also has the advantage of hiding plumbing pipes,” she said.
The Thonet counter stools and over-counter lanterns from Urban Electric seemed like natural choices for the English/Old New York vibe the couple was going for.
Varied textures in the kitchen include polished nickel and antique brass hardware, silky quartzite counters and backsplash, and Roman shades of woven wood.
[Photos by Raquel Langworthy]
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The Insider is Brownstoner’s weekly in-depth look at a notable renovation and/or interior design project by design journalist Cara Greenberg. Find it here every Thursday morning.Â
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