Brownstone Renovation: Back Wall Replaced With Windows In Brooklyn

Photo by Ty Cole via Remodelista

It’s a simple fact: Brownstones weren’t built for light. Pre-renovation, the parlor floor of this 1899 Italianate row house in Carroll Gardens was dark and cramped, with interior dividing walls making it feel even narrower than its 14-foot width.

Drew Lang of Lang Architecture opened it up, creating the latest gorgeous example of a rear wall transformed by a wall of windows. The renovation was featured by Remodelista.

The redesign called for tearing out the back wall and replacing it with two stories of custom steel windows from A&S. Lang and his team carefully considered the proportions of the panes, and decided on 12.5-inch squares of glass. The windowed door on the parlor floor leads to a steel balcony with stairs to the garden.

Brownstone Renovation: Back Wall Replaced With Windows In Brooklyn

Lang also removed the parlor floor’s interior walls, giving a view through the entire house from front door to window wall.

Brownstone Renovation: Back Wall Replaced With Windows In Brooklyn Brownstone Renovation: Back Wall Replaced With Windows In Brooklyn

[Source: Remodelista | Photos: Ty Cole for Lang Architecture ]

Related Stories
Blowing Out the Back Wall and Battling Termites in a Carroll Gardens Renovation
The Insider: “Transformative Moves” Light Up a Park Slope Kitchen
The Insider: Workstead Designers Create Ultra-Custom Cabinetwork in Boerum Hill


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

  1. I notice that the parlor level glass doors are just slightly recessed. Nevertheless, there is no awning, and in a storm, they’ll get pretty wet. Does anyone have something like this and is rain a problem with upkeep? Do you wish you could stand on the back deck in the rain, and have an awning? Are there modern awnings that people have done with something like this?