The Insider: Soup-to-Nuts Redo Brings Historic Yet Fun Vibe to Greek Revival in Boerum Hill

A top-to-bottom overhaul was needed to restore a sense of history and place to an altered 1860s Greek Revival.

First, the Boerum Hill brick row house received an extensive, top-of-the-line renovation, spearheaded by Brendan Coburn of Dumbo-based CWB Architects. Then Fearins | Welch, a six-person interior design firm spun off as a separate entity after a decade as a department within CWB, took over, producing stylish yet kid-friendly rooms for a family of five.

The update of the four-story, 25-by-36-foot row house was a full-on gut. It included reframing the interior, relocating the kitchen to the garden level, exchanging a modern two-story bay at the rear with a wood and copper-clad one more in keeping with the house’s original architecture, and re-creating wood trim and other detail that had been lost in prior renovations. Alex Duncan of CWB was the senior project manager and Rachael Stollar the project architect.

Fearins | Welch was involved from the get-go, with Erin Fearins and Amy Courtney heading up the interiors project team that helped figure out layouts; chose stone, tile and other materials; then masterminded the selection of paint colors, fabrics, wall coverings, lighting and furnishings.

“We responded to the house’s traditional detailing in choosing the furnishings, and the clients had some family pieces they wanted to incorporate,” Fearins said. “But they are a young, vibrant family and didn’t want anything stodgy or old-fashioned, so we mixed the heirlooms with unexpected pieces from different eras to make it more fun and youthful, and to make these beloved pieces feel more relevant.”

Chilmark Builders was the general contractor.

The house’s badly deteriorated front facade was entirely restored.

The all-new interior has replicated moldings and new parquet flooring. The staircase was entirely rebuilt, though most of the original newel posts and balusters were reusable.

The vintage olive wood console with graceful splayed legs and the faux bamboo coat stand were found on the antiques website 1stdibs.

The chandelier came from Visual Comfort.

New pocket doors can be closed to separate the more formal front parlor, used for cocktails and adult entertaining, from the more relaxed rear portion of the parlor floor. “The front parlor feels more buttoned up, with less saturated colors than the back parlor,” Courtney said.

The sisal rug from ABC Carpet, though, is casual and kid friendly.

The designers reupholstered a vintage wing chair that belonged to one of the homeowner’s grandmothers in a bright patterned crewel from Clarence House. Mid-century slipper chairs found on 1stdibs were covered in a playful fabric from Osborne & Little.

The pale, clean-lined sofa is from Duralee, the standing floor lamp from Visual Comfort. The faux bamboo coffee table and mirror above the marble mantel are both 1stdibs finds.

The mantel, like all the others in the house, is new but period appropriate.

The family plays games and watches TV in the back parlor, whose bay window extension makes the room feel exceptionally spacious.

Colorful furnishings include a red sofa from Lee Industries and two blue swivel chairs from A. Rudin. The coffee table and pair of stools are from Hickory Chair, the glazed blue and white table lamp from Bunny Williams.

The chandelier, from Remains, is identical to the one in the front parlor.

A wet bar with an antique mirrored backsplash and stone tile flooring is adjacent to a door leading to the deck and garden.

A tiny powder room was wrapped in Paris-themed wallpaper from Decorators Walk, available through Schumacher, and brass accents.

The wood floor in the garden level entry hall was painted with black-and-white diamonds, a classical treatment typical of the mid-19th century.

The clients wanted a formal dining room on the garden level, adjacent to the kitchen. Though low-ceilinged, the room’s vivid green Brunschwig & Fils wallpaper makes it a standout.

The mahogany dining table, an inherited piece, is surrounded with vintage Swedish Gustavian-style chairs found on 1stdibs. The Murano glass chandelier came from 1stdibs as well.

The kitchen includes a “homework station” for the children of the house and a breakfast area overlooking the garden.

The kitchen is “super functional,” Fearins said, with custom cabinetry built by the general contractor (as were all the built-ins in the house), glazed brick wall tile from Waterworks and Carrara marble countertops.

Traditional touches include the bridge-style faucet and antiqued glass in the upper cabinets.

Pendant globe lights wrapped in wire mesh came from Remains.

In the master bedroom at the rear of the second floor, a dresser built by the client’s grandfather found a natural place. The footed wardrobe was built by the general contractor.

Waterworks wall tile in the master bath is from the handmade Architectonics line, with variation in each tile. The floor tile is Bardiglio marble in a hex pattern.

The gilded mirror is a repurposed piece already owned by the clients.

A study painted a moody teal blue is part of the master suite. The carpet was another 1stdibs score.

A second bathroom on the master floor has a shower of Carrara marble tile and a sink console from Waterworks.

In the children’s bath, the designers used simple ceramic penny tile on the floor and subway tile on the walls, and painted the sink vanity a lively yellow.

The rear wall was completely rebuilt, and the two-story bay extension added.

[Photos by Francis Dzikowski]

Check out ‘The Insider’ mini-site: brownstoner.com/the-insider

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. Got a project to propose for The Insider? Contact Cara at caramia447 [at] gmail [dot] com.

Related Stories

• The Insider: Brownstoner’s in-Depth Look at Notable Interior Design and Renovation Projects
• The Insider: Ingenious Tweaks Banish Kiddie Clutter in Heights Condo
• The Insider: Designer Uses Feng Shui to Decorate Off-Kilter Parlor in Brooklyn Heights

Businesses Mentioned Above

[blankslate_pages id=”d53a491b45d1a8,d575195357bca5,d5876e27f47f2e,d560433e289d08,d53a0d2febd12f,d57c5ad941a604,d55c127ce78677,d53a0d9463954b, d56322646889cb, d53a0d73433d49, d53a0951e2c74d, d53604e6503f4c, d5a451a4e4294c, d5a451b1372a44, d5a451bf9831f6, d5a451cb453e44, d5a451dd0b0ebe” type=”card” show_photo=”true” utm_content=””][/blankslate_pages]