Photography by Dustin Aksland, courtesy of Elizabeth Roberts Architecture & Design, unless noted.
If Brooklyn townhouses could speak this one would have a detectable British accent.
Situated on one of Brooklyn Heights’ stateliest streets, the place hadn’t been lived in for so long it still had gas fixtures: “Nothing was working and the kitchen looked like a scary movie,” says the design-minded member of the couple. Come see the house as it was (scroll to the very end) and now.
The house’s back addition was modeled after “the tea porch extensions often introduced to these brownstones in the 1850s,” says Lekwa.
Garden Level
The owners decided to keep the kitchen in its original location because they like the link to the garden—”when we lived on the upper stories of a townhouse, we almost never used the stairs to the garden”—and wanted a big living room on the parlor floor.
On a work trip to London, the owner made a reconnaissance visit to Plain English’s showroom planning to come away with some ideas—but was so taken with the modern-traditional look and quality that with her design team’s approval she placed an order.
Photograph courtesy of Plain English.
The counters are topped with Carrara marble that continues as a backsplash.
All of the faucets throughout the house are Barber Wilsons designs and like the kitchen the owner had them sent from London You can get them in this country but I...
...went to Holloway s of Ludlow Even with shipping I paid considerably less During installation their crew consulted with the very knowledgable Barber Wilsons customer service team based in Riverhead New York
Plain English is known for its elegant renditions of classic British cabinetry, all made by hand at the company’s Georgian farm in Suffolk.
“I asked that both have counters that are a little higher than usual, so they can be used for storage and the main sink/stove counter is kept clear for food prep,” says the owner.
The butler’s sink counter is adjacent to a beadboard-paneled mudroom. The gray ceramic ceiling light is the Alabax from Schoolhouse Electric.
Barber Wilsons hot and cold taps in unlacquered brass and a Shaws Original farmhouse sink.
Above L: The cabinetry was shipped from England already painted; it was given a second coat on site. The outlet is a painted Lutron with a screwless plate.
The range is La Canche’s Saulieu Classique in matte black.
An integrated Sub Zero double-doored fridge in the back of the room is flanked by a pantry on one side and the mudroom on the other.
A proper pantry with a marble counter and a peg rail for shopping bags and aprons. Dry goods are decanted into Le Parfait Jars.
The powder room is papered in CFA Voysey’s 1926 pattern Apothecary’s Garden from Trustworth Studios. The sconce over the mirror is the Glass Wall Light from Hector Finch.
Above L: The house’s doorknobs are Nanz’s No.
“The original stair on this level was long gone, so we created a design that felt right,” Lekwa tells us.
“Our client really wanted the final product to feel like an intact 19th century townhouse that had been minimally updated,” says Lekwa.
Parlor Floor
The south-facing parlor floor is painted Greville, a pink by Adam Bray of London (see Bespoke Color from an Accidental Decorator) and has baseboards that are reproductions of the originals.
The room’s Greek Revival Portoro marble mantel was sourced from Demolition Depot—it came out of a house of the same period in the West Village.
The master bath—which doubles as a study—features a six-foot-plus antique tub: mother and children can all fit in. The owner bought the bath from a UK antiques dealer on eBay and asked if he’d hold onto it for her—construction on the house hadn’t even begun.
Second Floor
The tub’s faucets are original, newly restored to working order; note the tub’s crackle glaze.
The skylit top floor is the children’s quarters. The walls are painted Cromarty and the trim is Shadow White, both from Farrow & Ball.
Third Floor
The 0ld-fashioned look continues in the children’s bath.
The room is papered with Lee, a tiny star pattern from Hinson. The pedestal sink is the Richmond from St. Thomas Creations.
The house’s only original, untouched detail is this wooden bedroom mantel: “Our client wanted to leave something that was old and not fixed up,” says Lekha. The vintage steel and wood Result Chair is a 1950s Dutch design currently being reproduced by Hay.
Spatter wallpaper in another children’s bath.
Campaign canopy beds from Anthropology (since discontinued) came out of storage as temporary furnishings in one of the children’s rooms.
Before
The tea room addition as found: it was likely added a century after the house was built and lacked a foundation.
The only thing the new kitchen has in common with the old is its location at the garden level.
The top floor hall with skylight and banister that’s still in use.