The Insider: Narrow Carroll Gardens Brownstone Gets All-White Parlor Floor Makeover, New Baths
Initially brought in for a kitchen remodel, architect Kim Hoyt ended up transforming a dark, claustrophobic brownstone into a light and open home for a family of three.
Initially, the owner of this slender Carroll Gardens brownstone, a single mom with two young kids who occupy the top three floors of the four-story house, came to architect Kim Hoyt wanting just a kitchen makeover. The existing kitchen, Hoyt found, was in the center of a dark, claustrophobic parlor floor, which was divided up into three rooms, with a long hallway alongside.
“The house is only 13-1/2 feet wide inside. I said, ‘Let’s open up the walls to make it more airy and open, and improve circulation,'” recalled Hoyt, whose office in Carroll Gardens is known equally for its landscape architecture practice.
Hoyt totally reworked the parlor floor, creating an inviting “perch” at the front with a window seat and bookshelves, completely re-designing the central kitchen with the high-end finishes the client wanted, and inserting a powder room and storage under the stairs.
The two upstairs bathrooms were re-vamped as part of the project, and new windows were installed throughout the house.
Hoyt’s client, who owns the local paint-your-own pottery studio, The Painted Pot, “definitely wanted an all-white interior,” Hoyt said. “One of our biggest challenges was convincing her to let us work in some subtle color, like the soft blue of the kitchen backsplash tiles.”
The general contractor was Nelson Remodeling.
MPD Design Build made the window seat at the front of the parlor floor, which opens up for storage, with cushions by Kevin Taylor Upholstery. The custom bookshelf unit doubles as a radiator cover.
Three ‘Mori Squash’ pendant light fixtures in different shapes, of stretched fabric over a frame, came from the NYC-based lighting manufacturer Rich Brilliant Willing.
The kitchen’s custom cabinetry is also the work of MPD Design Build. The client went all out for marble countertops and a marble-topped center island, as well as new Miele appliances.
The pale blue subway tile backsplash from Ann Sacks strikes a balance between traditional and contemporary, the architect said.
Kohler fixtures came from Park Slope Plumbing.
The main living space is at the rear of the parlor floor.
A powder room with a tiny corner sink from Duravit was inserted under the stairs, whose other doors conceal storage and a refrigerator.
The second-floor master bath was another splash-out, with a Waterworks pedestal sink. Light from a skylight comes down through a well that runs through the third floor bathroom directly above.
By popping the wall out a foot, Hoyt was able to create a clean wall that accommodates a tankless toilet, storage cabinetry and the skylight well. Broadnax Painting was the cabinetmaker.
In sourcing materials for both the master and children’s bath, Hoyt said, “Everything was done for two.”
Glass shower enclosures came from Home &Stone, plumbing fixtures from Duravit and Waterworks, and lighting from Schoolhouse Electric.
[Photos by Wonderly Imaging]
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The Insider is Brownstoner’s weekly in-depth look at a notable interior design/renovation project, by design journalist Cara Greenberg. Find it here every Thursday morning. Got a project to propose for The Insider? Contact Cara at caramia447 [at] gmail [dot] com.
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