House of the Day: Lincoln Place Landmark 4-Family
We got excited when we saw the exterior of this Lincoln Place 4-Family in Park Slope for $1,750,000. After checking out a couple of the interior shots, however, now we’re not so sure. We saw some original windows and shutters but it looks like the moldings have been removed and the ceilings dropped with recessed…
We got excited when we saw the exterior of this Lincoln Place 4-Family in Park Slope for $1,750,000. After checking out a couple of the interior shots, however, now we’re not so sure. We saw some original windows and shutters but it looks like the moldings have been removed and the ceilings dropped with recessed lighting. Ouch! The ad says there are many original details so who knows. The house has a lower owner’s duplex and a studio, one bedroom and two bedroom on the top two floors. Could still be worth a look as a single family in good condition on this block would probably run you a few hundred thousand dollars more. Anyone seen it?
Landmark 4 Family [Brown Harris Stevens]
re:Restoring or creating from scratch plaster moldings. I ‘run’ them in place, as it’s called, and there are also cast plaster moldings from different sources, including Foster Reeve in Greenpoint Brooklyn. But then you’ll have to pay a contractor to put them up and finesse them. Plaster by Nick charges about 70 to 100 a linear foot to run them in place using a track, a jig and the apropriate profile cut from sheet metal, as do I. Providing this info more as a fellow owner than as an advertisement. The moldings add big character and underscore the ceiling heights and scale of the windows, and are not in the least anti modern. I am apropolis@yahoo.com. Thanks!
thanks for the advice! It sounds like stripping the paint will be well worth it. I think we are better off going slowly and restoring the moldings rather than tearing any down…
Re: restoring woodwork and shutters: the reason it’s worth restoring what’s there, rather than replacing with modern woodwork, is that the nineteenth century wood simply can’t be matched with stuff you get at a modern lumber yard. Not only are the proportions larger than modern moldings, the old wood is far higher quality. The fact that moldings may have a lot of coats of paint on them doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re “in horrible condition.” I have a very middle-class brownstone with original moldings and doors. When I bought it years ago, the wood was covered with dozens of layers of peeling paint, mostly brown and turquoise. The bottom layer was a dark varnish that was probably original to the 1878 construction – as though they’d tried to imitate the mahogany or walnut of pricier brownstones. I went at it with a heat gun and discovered that what I was stripping was really glorious nineteenth century Virginia heart pine, straight and true, tightgrained, and absolutely knotless. Looks a bit like maple. This type of lumber doesn’t exist today – it was all cut down 100 years ago. It took a couple years and some patience to finish, working around the day job, but it was absolutely worth the effort. Getting the paintlocked shutters out of their recesses and sending them out to be dipped wasn’t very expensive – and they add privacy and versatility. If you can’t strip the woodwork yourself, and can’t afford to have it done right away, I’d recommend waiting till you can. The results can add a lot of beauty and value to the house.
it’s an interesting discussion about modernizing vs. keeping all detail in brownstones that I was thinking of bringing up too. We’re about to close on our own brownstone and we’re starting to plan the renovations- some we’ll do immediately, but most over time. The majority of our moldings are in terrible condition, painted over dozens of times. Is it true that restoring molding is $150/ft? If so, I can’t imagine us affording that. In my current pre-war apt, when our landlord replaced the windows, he took off the moldings and didn’t replace them. I was sad at first, because I love old details, but it actually looked really nice and clean, and better than old molding in horrible condition. In our future brownstone the shutters are painted into the window molding/frame and it really doesn’t look good. I would love to restore it, but if we can’t afford that what are our other options? Installing new molding? which I’ve seen done cheaply and it looks horrible, but it can probably be done really nicely- or exploring more modern options for a cleaner plainer window frame. My first choice of course would have been for more details in great condition… but we’re just happy to be able to afford any brownstone.
I think the discussion below was pretty clearly made separately from the house in question, it just came up here. No one is singing the praises of this particular house.
Sorry, but you have to see this house. There is no modern or minamalist tones to it. Its just chopped up with nothing nice about it whether we talking about recessed lighting or parlor doors. There is nothing to appreciate on this one and therefore whatever details you choose to put into the house, its going to require a hefty check and at this price there are better deals on the market.
Interesting discussion here. We see how people could get the impression we are slavishly devoted to preservation, but that’s not actually the case. We are against destroying existing historic details, but in their absence we would prefer to see a clean, even bold, modern approach rather than a mediocre attempt at mimicing a more conventional design. That’s just boring, in our opinion. Also, when it comes to furnishings and art, our taste tends to run towards the modern. As a result, we suspect that our house will not feel as much as a “period” home as some of you suspect. We are trying to save every molding and floorboard we can, but we’ll probably take some liberties with pendant lamps and wallpapers and our kitchen cabinets may even be red lacquer. We are also removing some walls, moving bathrooms around, and opening up the living spaces. The way we live our lives has changed a lot in the past century and there’s no reason to think our living structures shouldn’t adapt accordingly. And, believe it or not, we may even have recessed lighting in the basement hallway!
I wholeheartedly agree with the last post re: slavish devotion to “original detail.” I have felt at times that posts by Brownstoner were a bit myopic in assuming that this is ALL ANYBODY wants in their brownstone. I, too, plan on maximising the play between some original detail and clean, contemporary upgrades to create a beautiful, livable – and, yes, modern – home.
I agree this place looks a little cheesy, but I disagree with the preservationist bias on this blog. Original details are nice, and I probably wouldn’t rip any out if I bought a brownstone with most of the detail there. But I think some brownstoners are a bit slavishly devoted to the Victorian. It’s possible to renovate a brownstone beautifully in a modernist, even minimalist aesthetic, and I’ve seen brownstones done that way that are far superior to others I’ve seen with a surfeit of detail. It’s also possible to combine the two well. I’m not defending this particular place based on the photos, but I also don’t think recessed lights are inherently a sin.