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The dilapidated row house, recently purchased by a couple with young kids, cried out for a massive renovation. “It needed everything. The works!” said architect Kim Letven of Gowanus-based NV/design.architecture (NV/da). There were some structural issues, as well as mechanicals in need of complete replacement. NV/da began with joist repair, leveling floors, a new roof, new skylights, new HVAC, a sprinkler system, all new plumbing, repointing…the list goes on.

“All this before we could do anything,” said Letven, referring to such additional items as new wide-plank oak floors, upgrading an existing extension on the parlor floor for an expansive new kitchen, blowing out the back wall on that level, and replacing a subpar staircase in its entirety. Not to mention new finishes and furnishings, which were also part of the sweeping project.

The architectural design of the interiors, including revamped room layout and arched openings throughout, was a collaboration between NV/da and California-based artist-designer Dara Kay Barker, whom Letven credits with bringing a West Coast perspective to the job. Working with someone who questioned the traditional “rules” for a Brooklyn townhouse renovation was “refreshing,” Letven said. “Instead of a straight run of stairs that ends looking at the vestibule, Dara wanted to turn the stair so it faced the living room. There weren’t any molding details to preserve — the previous owners had stripped the house of historic material — but most people want to re-create it. Dara wanted to modernize the language completely. So we have minimal trim details and flush casing everywhere, with a reveal.”

In the front parlor (top photo), “We wanted a little bit of interest, not on the walls or in the casings, but on the ceiling. “Our crown is flat and minimal,” the architect said. Even the newly introduced arched openings are somewhat unusual. “We went through a few different iterations with the arches and ended up with quarter circles instead of the typical ellipse.” The marble mantel is new.

Letven and Barker made other moves not often seen in Brooklyn row houses, like a banquette straddling the main living space and kitchen. “That was untraditional, layout-wise,” Letven said. On the garden level, the guest room is in the rear half, rather than on the street side, where it’s more commonly found.

The furnishings and color scheme, spearheaded by Barker, lean heavily on shades of blue for a coastal feel.

FRONT EXTERIOR
FRONT HALL

An impressive pier mirror in the front hall came with the house. “I don’t know if it’s original,” Letven said. “It was sitting on the ground, so we built a platform to raise it up, and ended up designing the stair around it.”

NV/da considered trying to salvage the original stairs, which had “settled in a bad way and were really sloped, but just straightening them wasn’t going to be a long-term solution,” Letven said. Because the stairs turn at the bottom to face the living room, “We increased the width of the opening between the hall and living area, so you have clearance coming in from the entry instead of a pinch point.” The steel stair balusters are “extremely minimal. “We weren’t nodding to history.”

VIEW TO DINING ARCHED WALL
KITCHEN WITH WIDE ARCHED OPENING

NV/da made major improvements to an existing extension on the house’s lower levels. “It had a heavy concrete railing around it, and no stair down to the yard, which was odd,” Letven said. “Obviously, we added a stair.” A new panoramic window wall in the kitchen opens up completely; retractable screens slide into pockets.

Custom cabinetry in the kitchen is the work of Elephants Custom Furniture, located in Brooklyn. The cabinets are painted wood with unlacquered brass hardware. The sconce overhanging the L-shaped banquette is a converted floor lamp.

PRIMARY BEDROOM
SITTING AREA BLUE WALLPAPER

An alcove off the primary bedroom became a blue-papered reading nook.

PALE WOOD VANITY PRIMARY BATH
MARBLE SHOWER

Elephants Custom Furniture also created new millwork for the primary bath.

Marble slabs proved unaffordable, so the shower is made up of porcelain tile, put together in a way that looks natural, Letven said, though not book-matched.

ROOM WITH SKYLIGHT
BLUE CLOSETS

Exposed brick warms the kids’ play area in a skylit space at the top of the house. The storage wall is made up of components from Ikea.

DARK BLUE STUDY GARDEN FLOOR

The room at the front of the garden floor is used as a home office.

FAMILY ROOM GARDEN LEVEL OPEN TO BACKYARD
SLEEPING ALCOVE

Mirrored pocket doors create a separate sleeping space off the garden-level family room, reflecting greenery when closed. There’s a full en suite bath beyond the bedroom niche.

The ceiling is just over seven feet high. “This floor was dark and low, and it seemed there was no saving it,” Letven said. “But because of all the custom millwork and how open it is, it feels intimate and nice.”

REAR GARDEN

Steps up to the higher portion of the back garden were just a few inches beyond the back door when NV/da first saw the yard. “It was claustrophobic,” Letven recalled. They did some excavation and created a perimeter planter around the entire gravel-paved yard. An outdoor kitchen was on the homeowners’ wish list.

[Photos by Regan Wood]

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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