Emanating Greek Revival charm on a leafy street in Brooklyn Heights, one 1840s row house quickly captured the hearts of a young family who would soon call it home. However, after several years in residence, the owners were ready for an update to better suit the modern lifestyle of their family of five. To achieve these goals while honoring the character of the property, they called Brendan Coburn. “When you’re surrounded by hallowed architectural history, you want to be a good steward of that environment,” the architect reflects. “I always feel that I have two clients in any project. One is the humans who are going to occupy it, and the other is the building itself.” With that in mind, he and designer Hilary Koyfman set to work reenvisioning the four-story abode.
Home Details
Architecture:
Brendan Coburn and Henry Aguilar, The Brooklyn Studio
Interior Design:
Hilary Koyfman, Hilko Designs
Home Builder:
Chris Coburn and Tolib Khursanov, Coburn Construction Management
Styling:
Tessa Watson
In the same room, a 1970s Danish floor lamp joins & Tradition’s Little Petra chair and pouf. The wood stool is from Matter; the artwork is by Ellsworth Kelly.
A pendant from Zeitlos-Berlin crowns the room, whose decor was catalyzed by the deep-green Baxter sofa. A geometric Momtaz rug plays into the smorgasbord of silhouettes.
The living room is a trove of 1stdibs finds, including a 1970s Sigurd Resell for Vatne Møbler lounge chair, Cassina coffee table and antique fireplace surround. Atop the latter perch a mirror from One Kings Lane and a Pablo Picasso vase.
The kitchen cabinetry by Wolski Wood Works features rattan caning from Van Dyke’s Restorers and elegantly hides refrigeration by Sub-Zero. A vintage Florian Schulz light fixture suspends above the Calacatta Gold island top and its Waterworks faucet.
De Gournay’s Badminton print adorns the dining room, paired with Apparatus pendants and Stilnovo sconces. The Piero Lissoni-designed table from West | Out East anchors a set of chairs from Invisible Collection.
The homeowners’ bedroom wears de Gournay’s Distant Bamboo wallpaper with trim painted Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe. A four-poster bed from The Beautiful Bed Company rests beneath a Nickey Kehoe light; the sconce is Coil + Drift.
In the primary bathroom, a light well illuminates the bath area’s dramatically veined marble, sourced from ABC Stone, and clay squares from Zia Tile. Allied Maker fabricated the sconce, and the hardware is from Waterworks.
In another daughter’s room, the bed fits into a niche painted Farrow & Ball’s Sudbury Yellow with a matching Serena & Lily ceiling light. Backdrop’s Joshua Tree hand-printed sisal covers the adjacent walls.
Accented in Lulu and Georgia’s Sparrow wallpaper, one daughter’s bedroom features a cozy reading nook with McLaurin & Piercy curtains. Unus Design created custom cabinetry for chic storage.
The team, which included project manager Henry Aguilar, general contractor Chris Coburn and site superintendent Tolib Khursanov, immediately recognized that polishing the gem would mean more than an aesthetic update. They first addressed structural issues, such as fixing broken floor joists and replacing all the ceilings, before reintroducing era-appropriate detailing. Crown molding that hearkens to the 1800s surrounds the living room, which also features statement flooring. “As these houses were originally built, they would place linseed oil mats, painted to look like marble floors, on top of the pine,” the architect explains. Alluding to those treatments with an elevated twist, the team laid white oak planks in a chevron pattern and framed them with an ornamental chain of hexagons to define the seating area. To furnish the space, Koyfman chose a moss-green velvet sofa that set the tone for the room’s relaxed, low-profile decor. “I wanted it to feel really loungy,” she says. “The clients are not formal people, so I didn’t want anything to look too formal.”
Where Koyfman did use more refined elements, such as the dining room’s floral wallcovering in a burgundy hue, she offset them with playfulness. “I love the mix between the traditional and the modern, like pairing this luxurious wallpaper with a more utilitarian dining table and contemporary lighting,” the designer describes.
While much of the project focused on historical restoration, one entirely new addition made a big impact. At the rear, a two-story extension allowed for a fresh kitchen and added square footage to the primary suite above. It also gave the architects creative liberty to flood the kitchen with light and better connect the home with the outdoors by using sliding glass doors. The team also paid special attention to maximizing storage, installing chambray-blue cabinetry with rattan detailing to stow clutter stylishly.
Optimizing space throughout the abode required close collaboration between the architects and designer, and nowhere is the result more apparent than the bedrooms of the family’s three daughters. After much strategizing, they located the twins’ rooms on either end of the top floor, nestling the beds into colorful niches surrounded by cheery patterned wallpapers that add levity to each. “I try to use every moment and punch it up with color to make it special,” Koyfman says. The most coveted bedroom, however, was bestowed upon the youngest sister. There, a pop-out skylight allows stars to twinkle over a custom bunk, with the lower area transformed into a nest-like reading nook.
Though the house is engineered to enhance family connection, the homeowners also needed a moment of their own, so the entire third floor became a private getaway that includes their primary suite and his-and-her offices. To imbue a sense of calm, the designer wrapped the bedroom in a serene bamboo-motif wallpaper. Organic touches carry into the adjoining bathroom, where clay tiles add a rustic feel next to a sleek marble bath. Just like the rest of the residence, it’s infused with a delicate blend of old and new, luxury and comfort, function and beauty, and is ready to welcome another century in style.
De Gournay’s Badminton print adorns the dining room, paired with Apparatus pendants and Stilnovo sconces. The Piero Lissoni-designed table from West | Out East anchors a set of chairs from Invisible Collection.