The Insider: Boerum Hill Townhouse Refresh Evokes an Arty Era With Deep Color
Custom millwork, mellow finishes and warm primary colors inspired by the paintings of Joan Mitchell recall New York in the mid 20th century.
Photo by Matthew Williams
The chic yet relaxed interior of this townhouse triplex began with a unique concept. New homeowners, a couple with a young child, came to Gowanus-based design firm General Assembly wanting to capture “how New York felt in the ’50s and ’60s, when the area had a Bohemian vibe, not as stately and grand as it is now,” said Sarah Zames, who founded the full service design office in 2010.
Zames and her team also recently opened a retail store, Assembly Line, on Atlantic Avenue between Hoyt and Bond, “where homeowners who may not be working with a designer can source material for a targeted renovation,” she said. Open Wednesdays through Sundays and by appointment, it’s a place to pick up wallpaper and flooring samples and locate special finishes, like the lime wash that gives the walls of this townhouse their creamy, weathered feel. The shop offers a curated selection of furnishings and lighting, as well as helping customers find tradespeople to carry out home-improvement projects short of a full-on renovation.
“The scope of work on this project is what we feel the store is suited to,” said Zames. The four-story townhouse — the owners live on three and rent out the garden level — was renovated about a decade ago and “didn’t need a gut,” she said. “We didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. The goal was a feeling of layered history over time, with pieces that felt maybe they were acquired from a great aunt.”
The house had original plasterwork and mantels to play off, and an existing glassed-in addition at the rear of the parlor floor that recalls an artist’s atelier. General Assembly focused on infusing the space with color, upgrading finishes and lighting in the kitchen and baths, and designing and building custom millwork pieces. The latter are mostly freestanding rather than built-in, to give the intact Victorian moldings breathing room.
The General Assembly team and their art-loving clients used the paintings of American abstract artist Joan Mitchell, a member of the New York School in the 1950s and ’60s, to inspire the use of deep, warm primaries in the décor. Mitchell’s work “was our reference for color and also for period,” Zames said.
A deep blue sofa by De La Espada, a midcentury-inspired lounge chair by Formstelle, a thick, textured rug from Beni and hand-blown light fixture made in Paris by Jeremy Glass give the front parlor the “worn-in ’60s feeling” they were going for, Zames said.
The bookcase is a custom piece by General Assembly, of walnut with brass pull-out dividers.
The blue credenza by Orior, with a stone top and leather front panels, and the color field painting by Susan Vecsey, through the Berry Campbell Gallery in Chelsea, pull in the colors of the American mid-century.
General Assembly reused the existing kitchen layout and cabinet boxes, replacing only the fronts, and installed new quartzite countertops. The floor-to-ceiling built-ins were hand-painted on site for a warmer, more homey feeling, Zames said.
Two freestanding custom cabinets designed and built by General Assembly, with hardware from Sun Valley Bronze — a broom closet and a pantry cabinet with ribbed glass doors — provide additional storage across from the kitchen.
Sheer drapes over the sliding doors in the glass-and-steel extension lend a feeling of privacy, especially in the evenings.
Classic armchairs by Hans Wegner became an opportunity for a pop of deep green.
A custom built-in with a little window seat has fabric drawer fronts and a leather surface.
Among the rooms on the middle floor of the triplex is this moody space for meditation, painted Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue.
The top floor’s open central space was conceived as a second living room and home office. Furnishings include a sofa from De La Espada and another Vecsey painting.
More texture, more color in the primary bedroom, with a fuzzy rug from Beni, deep red curtains and a bed made by the sister of one of the homeowners.
Lighting was sourced from a Gowanus-based maker, In Common With, whose products are represented in the new Assembly Line store.
The primary bath received all-new finishes and lighting, as well as a custom concrete countertop on the vanity. One wall and the freestanding bench in the shower were clad in deep-green ceramic tiles from Heath.
[Photos by Matthew Williams]
The Insider is Brownstoner’s weekly in-depth look at a noteworthy interior design/renovation project, by design journalist Cara Greenberg. Find it here every Thursday morning.
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