Brownstone Renos: A Contrast In Styles
The House & Home today section compares the renovation approaches of one couple who went for a bold modern approach to renovating part of their brownstone overlooking Fort Greene Park with that of hardcore preservationists and Clinton Hill old-timers Jim and Sharon Barnes. Here’s what we had to say about the modern reno after seeing…
The House & Home today section compares the renovation approaches of one couple who went for a bold modern approach to renovating part of their brownstone overlooking Fort Greene Park with that of hardcore preservationists and Clinton Hill old-timers Jim and Sharon Barnes. Here’s what we had to say about the modern reno after seeing it last May on the Fort Greene House Tour:
Clearly the boldest departure from brownstone tradition on the Fort Greene House Tour was the parlor floor renovation at 203 Washington Park which featured poured and buffed concrete floors as well as an open-plan loft-style kitchen/dining/living area. We thought the modern approach was largely successful but agree with an earlier commenter that the juxtaposition to the shlubby traditional hallway was a little jarring. Perhaps the coolest part of the design, though, was the giant wall of windows overlooking the garden.
Interestingly, modern and spare does not mean cheap: The Phillips spent $400,000 renovating the bottom two floors.
By contrast, the Barnes have painstakingly restored their Clinton Avenue house over the past twenty years, along with seven other rental properties in the neighborhood. Preservation, to the Barnes, is a kind of calling. Every one of the people who I met over the years who’d bid on this house were going to tear it to smithereens,” says Ms. Barnes. “What is unique about this house is that it is intact.
A Flood of Foreclosures, but Should You Invest? [NY Times]
FGHT: Modern on the Park [Brownstoner]
Photos by John Lei for The New York Times
I love the unexpected contrast between outside and inside. Another question to the owner — where did you find the lamp over the dining table?
mj, i guess your opinion is the right one.
Some of these comments are so arrogant that I almost cannot believe the writers are serious. This was by far our favorite house on the FG house tour. My husband and I thought it was gorgeous, stylish, and far more interesting than some of the tradition, restored homes. But Im not so arrogant to this that this is the “correct” way or “best” manner to renovate a home. It is completely up to those who purchased it, and it works for them. Design is about evolution, sometimes incorporating the past or even recreating it. But for some of you to imply that modern design and that sort of evolution is “wrong” because it is new, is almost laughable. If we thought this way, many of the architectural wonders of the world would not have been created. There would simply be “new” replicas of the past. How boring would that be? Its time for some of you to get off your pedestals and acknowledge that while this home may not suit your particular tastes, it is still wonderful because the owners are happy with it, and it possesses its own new and refreshing beauty. I also own a brownstone in FG, and do enjoy the landmark status because I feel it maintains level of architectural beauty and consistency on the OUTSIDE of owners homes in a residential area. But the insides are another story- where the owners spend their days and their nights. Shouldn’t this be the place which suits them? Congrats on the Wash Park couple for renovation such a fantastic home.
Surely “hate” is a little something more than admitting the possibility of error, no?
“However, people can be wrong about many things, and what they believe to “work for” them might in fact not work for them at all.” (from Leo) Leo, who are you to say that Ms. Phillips’ design may not work for her family, when she has said that it does? She and her husband found an original way to make the space that they have livable, beautiful, and spacious. They generously shared their ideas with the community, and what do they get? People like you saying that they must not know what works for them, because you don’t like it. Stop it, Leo. Don’t be a hater.
thanks so much kphillips – the design is great and it is such a benefit to have you on the thread!
Owner here again – clarification on the radiant heat. There are two kinds – generally when someone just does a bathroom or something after the fact, they put electric coils under the floor surface. I imagine this would have some effect on your electric bill, but I have no idea how much. When you are actually heating the house with radiant heat (rather than warming the floors), as we are, you have water tubes in the floor. The water is heated by our furnace, which is natural gas. We use the same furnace we had when we had radiators, but it was converted by a plumber. Radiant heat using water tubes embedded in the floor (here embedded in concrete) is actually considered significantly more efficient than other heating methods, and ultimately cheaper, depending on your costs of conversion. The water heats the slab and it holds the heat for hours. And you don’t have to have big radiators cluttering up the walls, which is a problem when you have a design like ours.
However, people can be wrong about many things, and what they believe to “work for” them might in fact not work for them at all. And indeed, such has been my experience with many advocates of modern design.
I wonder if this has something to do with why modern design changes so rapidly. It makes sense, actually. If people have little sense of what they’re doing, what they want, what they should want, and so on, then the final product will change a lot over time as the designers thrash about trying to find themselves.
I too, like modern design that incorporates the touch of the craftsman. I recently saw a home in a magazine (Elle Decor, the best American home magazine out there) where they used huge pieces of wood veneer on walls and doors. The grains were all identical, and it had a wonderful sculptural and organic quality that was modern, yet warm. I think the turn off for me in a lot of modern design is the coldness factor. Many people like the stark white on white look, with the angular furniture lines, and minimal or no accessories, but I do not find it comfortable or warm. To me, the best design of any kind, modern, period, eclectic, has to be comfortable and livable. I like homes that look like real people live there, with their family photos, mementos, kid’s toys, and the pet chew on the floor. If that design works for the homeowner, whatever that may be for them, by definition, then it is a successful design.