The Insider: Crown Heights Reno Burnishes Landmark Townhouse

The four-story townhouse had pedigree, to be sure. It was designed around the turn of the 20th century by prolific Brooklyn architect Axel Hedman, and retained a substantial amount of its original oak woodwork. “The house had been maintained but never updated,” said architect Kimberly Neuhaus, “and there was a large ’70s kitchen at the back of the garden floor that looked like it had been plopped in from a tract house somewhere.”

New homeowners, a couple with two small children, hired The Brooklyn Studio, an illustrious architecture firm known for its high-end townhouse renovations, with Neuhaus as partner in charge, to carry out a thoroughgoing overhaul of the building. Shari Francis of Manhattan-based Dadapt, a full-service design studio, orchestrated the interiors.

The Brooklyn Studio’s scope of work included integrating a top-floor rental unit into the lower triplex to create a single-family home; installing new plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems; and restoring the original staircase, moldings, fireplaces and parquet. Resurfacing the exterior brownstone, all new windows, and a new steel deck at the rear were also part of the project.

The architects opened up a hall at the rear of the parlor floor to create a new kitchen, which benefits from an existing bay window and fireplace in the adjacent dining room (top photo). “The clients are big foodies, and wanted the kitchen to be the hub of the home for entertaining,” Neuhaus said. “We removed a dumbwaiter and shaft to get more room for the kitchen, lowered the window sills to the floor, and created a door to the new deck.”

Where the parlor floor is bright and designed for gathering, the garden level feels private and serene. The heavily paneled historic dining room became a “moody man cave,” Neuhaus said, with the vintage breakfront used to store the husband’s record collection.

Abundant original woodwork at the front entry and on the parlor floor was painstakingly restored by Owen Wilson, a master refinisher and local legend, Neuhaus said.

Furnishings include contemporary pieces and some reupholstered heirlooms.

Custom cabinetry in the kitchen was painted Jack Pine by Benjamin Moore, an emerald green with a touch of blue, dressed up with brass hardware. The veined backsplash is Laminam, an Italian-made porcelain stoneware; the countertops are honed granite.

Windows lowered almost to the floor impart elegance to the dining room, in keeping with its gleaming original mantel.

A vintage door was relocated from elsewhere in the house for the new powder room at the far end of the kitchen. The brass washstand was custom fabricated for the vintage-style sink.

Upstairs, The Brooklyn Studio carved out a primary suite with a walk-in closet and skylit bath. The shower is clad in unusual leaf-shaped green tile.

Dark paint and restored woodwork distinguish the paneled home office at the front of the garden floor, once the house’s impressive dining room.

Burgundy-colored Venetian plaster and paint warm the family den, which opens to the garden at the back of the house.

[Photos by Sarah Voigt]

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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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