It’s fitting for an artist who loves “layers of history” to settle down in a building with a storied past.
Photography by Devon Banks, courtesy of Yun Architecture.
When that market underwent an “urban renewal” in the 1960s, the townhouse earned landmark preservation status and was restored a decade later, then not touched again until the artist took an interest in it.
“The house had fallen in disrepair over the years,” Yun says, “so we carefully restored the exterior of the house by upgrading the windows, the dormers, and the front-door wood enframement.”
Before the remodel, the interior was clad in dated finishes, was wholly energy inefficient, and was not up to code.
The furnishings are a mix of the client’s own collection and new acquisitions by interior designer Penelope August.
August designed a custom shelving unit out of painted wood and compressed cork to display art objects.
The client’s favorite color is yellow, according to Yun, and the Lacanche range set the color scheme for the kitchen.
The overhead lights are custom, designed by August and made by glassblower Andrew O. Hughes in Rosaline colored glass, “reminiscent of the 1920s and ’30s,” says August.
The countertop (plus backsplash and integrated sink) is made of cast terrazzo with polished glass chips from recycled glass bottles. The copper faucet is from Waterworks, and the cabinet hardware is made of opal glass.
The townhouse opens onto the new central staircase, made of reclaimed heart pine treads (the same flooring used throughout the rest of the house—it’s sourced from Reclamation Lumber and treated with a white-tinted floor sealer) and a stained walnut railing.
The husband’s office has one of the house’s four working fireplaces, entirely vintage furniture, and his own artwork on the walls.
According to Yun, the client “wanted one room to feel very old,” Yun says, “so we papered it in vintage 1920s wallpaper sourced from Secondhand Rose.”
“The owners have eclectic tastes,” says Yun, “so we created opportunities for them to display their wide-ranging collection of art pieces.” A niche along the stair connecting the second and third floors holds a sculpture done by a friend.
The exposed beams in the master bedroom are among the only original details left of the original house.
The fireplace surround is made of ceramic tiles, screen-printed with the homeowner’s artwork of a clock showing the passage of time, “which seemed fitting for a fireplace,” Yun says.
August commissioned the blue swirl ceramic tile from Haand; they were inspired by marbled tiles the homeowners spotted in an old house in the South of France.
The wife’s small street-level office overlooks the cellar studio space, shown below.
The couple uses the basement level as a studio and exhibition space.
The clients wanted to keep the stone foundation visible “as a relic of the age and history of the house,” Yun says.
The existing rear porch was made of wood and was therefore flammable and not code-compliant, so a new metal porch “had to be carefully designed to fit in with the landmarked” exterior, Yun says.