House in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York

Our client bought this 1850s Italianate townhouse in Carroll Gardens in an acutely compromised state. The house had sat empty for some time, sustaining significant water and structural damage.  Within the decay, some original details remained, and house offered beautiful natural light and elegant proportions.

The design program was a combination of careful restoration and reconstruction combined with stylistically modern interventions. Using archival photos, the original front façade was remade to match the original design.  Missing details on the interior such as stair balusters and door casings were recreated from fragments that remained.   A beautiful crumbing plaster medallion was carefully deconstructed and remade using a laborious hand casting technique.

At the rear of the house, a new façade with expansive steel glazing looks into a garden and a 3rd floor roof terrace designed by Julie Farris of XS Space.  Rooms at the rear, such as the kitchen, 3rd floor study, and ground floor guest suite reflect the natural light and clean aesthetic of the garden and offer a contrast to the traditional rooms facing the street.  The interplay between the traditional front and the modern rear shapes the architecture of the interior.  At the parlor floor, operable wall panels hide closets, a bar, and a powder room, integrating seamlessly behind restored casings.  At the 3rd floor a new barn door in walnut provides privacy for the study, and plays against the restored traditional handrail and exposed brick walls of the stair hall.

New structural, HVAC and plumbing systems were surgically inserted into the historic context.

Photographs: Julian Wass / Styling: Carin Scheve
Project Team: Vrinda Khanna, Navajeet Khatri, Veronica Patrick, Robert Schultz
General Contractor: TCM Corporation
Landscape Design: Julie Farris, XS Space
Interior Design: Deborah Berke Partners / Kiki Dennis
Mechanical Engineering: On Point Engineering
Structural Engineering: Ross Dalland, P.E.