Brooklyn Heights

Interior Designer Transforms Brooklyn Heights Studio Into Chic Oasis With French Country Flair

When interior designer Felicity Sargent first set foot in the 800-square-foot studio destined to become her home, she thought, “The space will never work.”

Photos by Alexis Buryk for Apartment Therapy

by Barbara Eldredge

05/09/2016 3 minute 0

When interior designer Felicity Sargent first set foot in the 800-square-foot studio destined to become her home, she thought, “The space will never work.” An unfortunate U-shaped loft ran around the perimeter of the apartment, blocking nearly all the light and views from a pair of tall parlor-floor windows.

But Sargent loved the building — a 19th-century Brooklyn Heights mansion — and couldn’t quite get the unit out of her mind. It was like a spatial puzzle; there had to be a configuration that felt right. That night, the designer sketched out a new layout for the space — one with a mezzanine at the back of the room, leaving an ample open area for those exquisitely molded windows.

Soon enough, she’d closed on the apartment and kicked off a multiyear saga of construction and restoration. Bringing the home up to snuff meant not just building a new loft, but rewiring, moving an enormous mirror, discovering and relining a hidden fireplace, and scouring Brooklyn for just the right furnishings.

Filled with artwork and pieces she loves, Sargent’s home reflects a taste for French country mixed with Southwestern mementos picked up on her travels to Jackson, Wyoming.

Sargent found the coffee table at Olde Good Things, the pink couch was her grandmother’s, and the large white mirror was moved from the opposite wall where it was hiding the fireplace beneath the stairs.