1,600sf residence
A 1,600 sf Brooklyn Townhouse built in 1901. This home had only two owners prior to this renovation. It is a brick and beam constructed home with three floors and a shallow basement. When I first started work on this house there were a gang of cats and kittens living on the second floor and the broken skylight welcomed rain and pigeons on a regular basis. The floor boards were twisted with the might of constant moisture and the porch was pitched so severely it detached from the house and should have been deemed a danger and condemned. But the bones were there and they were wonderful. A strong oak staircase, original mantles that somehow escaped the rain, even the cherry floor borders were salvageable as was some of the patinaed oak strip flooring. I rolled up my sleeves and stepped inside, carefully.
Besides opening up the cramped kitchen and gutting most of the inessentials of the house I reattached the mantles to the walls, added a skylight and replaced the old one. I salvaged much of the flooring and patch-blended new boards in seamlessly. A new roof, windows, some re-pointing of the mortar and the exterior was completed with a nod of repect to the age of the house. Inside the walls asked for venetian plaster in the living room, a custom chef’s kitchen and a sun-room off the back where the mud room was collapsing. This room opened up so much air and light and overlooked the new back garden, deck and cedar gazebo. I installed hydronic radiant heat in the entire first floor and the master bedroom and used electric radiant mats in the two full baths. It is a pleasure unknown to many to have warm feet and toes in the early morning.
This project was a labor of love and devotion and it is an example of an antique-modern approach that, when done well, is a warm and cozy place to call home.
