The Insider: Full-on Reno Revives Prospect Park South Manse for Modern Family

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“There was not a single thing we didn’t restore,” said architect Kim Letven of the exhaustive renovation of a landmarked, freestanding early 20th century house she described as “eclectic Colonial mansion style.”

Neglected for decades, with a onetime doctor’s office and poorly built additions, “it was in really terrible condition,” said Letven, a principal at Gowanus-based NV/design.architecture (NV/da). “There was a weird side entrance, a second set of stairs to what we assumed had been a medical office, and a tiny, shoddily constructed kitchen addition in the back.”

Yet, except for interior moldings, much original detail remained. There was clapboard underneath vinyl siding, the grand main staircase was sound, and original stained glass windows were intact, if in need of repair. As were the hefty porch columns and a carved wood mantelpiece in the front parlor. Happily, most of the original flooring throughout the house was also salvageable.

NV/da set about to restore the majesty of the single-family dwelling inside and out, rethinking every wall, ceiling, and opening with the aim of creating more flowing, airy living space for their clients, a family of five. The process required extensive approvals from the Buildings Department and Landmarks Preservation Commission, as well as a great deal of unanticipated asbestos abatement. “When this house was built, asbestos was considered a high-quality material,” said Letven. “We had to remove all the plaster walls.”

The project completely updated all building systems and added central A/C, along with re-creating historic trim and paneling inside the house, and reconstructing the porches and columns outside. The architects also located a new kitchen at the sunny back of the house, enlarged windows on the rear facade, and added two new decks, as well as a soaring primary suite and extra-special bathrooms. An unnecessary side entry door was removed and replaced with a window.

Furnishings were a collaboration between NV/da and one of their clients. In the living room (top photo), a coffee table from Amber Interiors Shoppe, a California-based company, and a bench by H&A Upholstery in Red Hook accompany a Restoration Hardware sofa and side chairs from France and Sons.

The general contractor was Brooklyn-based Kelly Construction.

The house’s original porch columns were dipped and stripped, and the entire porch structure and stairs rebuilt. Roofing and gutters were replaced; the siding is mostly original clapboard, rescued from underneath vinyl.

In the center hall, original stained glass was cleaned and restored. The wainscoting that marches up the stairs is new, built to match existing wainscoting found elsewhere in the house.

There’s a new powder room under the stair.

NV/da created a wide cased opening to frame the view into the dining room, where a Restoration Hardware table is surrounded by vintage chairs.

Stained white oak cabinetry, along with limestone flooring that mimics brick, warms the kitchen. Newly enlarged windows over the sink admit abundant daylight. A door next to the oven leads out to a new porch.

Sconces were sourced from Rejuvenation, other lighting from Allied Maker and Workstead.

The architects added a new mudroom next to the breakfast nook at one end of the kitchen.

Children’s rooms are on the second floor; the two girls’ rooms have custom window seats.

The children’s bath is unusually luxe, with a soaking tub and concrete tile floor from Exquisite Surfaces Commune.

Originally, the house had two floors plus an unfinished attic with a hipped roof. “There was not a lot of usable space up there,” Letven said. “We transformed the attic into a master suite, raising the ceiling as high as we could within the existing framing, and taking advantage of dormers.”

In the sybaritic primary bath, the huge skylight is new but the arched windows are original. Ann Sacks Adamo tile clads the floor, Riad zellige tile the shower.

A wood-framed door next to the soaking tub leads to the adjacent sauna.

[Photos by Kirsten Francis]

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.

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