The Insider: Prospect Heights Brownstone Retains Old-School Charm in Major Reno

The most unusual aspect of this recent row-house renovation is what the homeowners and their architects, Dumbo-based Robinson + Grisaru, chose not to do. The clients, a pair of empty nesters who decided to stay put rather than downsize once their children were grown, did not blow out the back wall and replace it with steel and glass. They did not install central air, instead choosing a whole-house fan on the roof to pull out hot air.

Nor did they replace the old cottage-style kitchen cabinets, or ever even consider getting rid of the green vintage kitchen sink. “It was there when they moved in 20, 25 years ago,” said Gitta Robinson, half of the husband-and-wife architecture and design team. “They loved it and so did we.”

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That’s not to say this wasn’t a thoroughgoing, top-to-bottom job. When the homeowners moved in decades ago, they didn’t have the means for a full renovation. In this go-round, said Robinson, “We did quite a bit,” including refurbishing the original woodwork, overhauling the outdated electrical system, and removing a dropped ceiling on the garden level to expose floor joists and gain a few inches of ceiling height. They also reconfigured the entire top floor, taking it from a two-bedroom, one-bath situation to three bedrooms and two small but characterful baths.

Robinson + Grisaru also spruced up the décor, which hews traditional, helping their clients choose new furniture and lighting and reupholstering some existing pieces. “The clients came with their own aesthetic, things which are close to their hearts, that we responded to,” Robinson said.

The general contractor was Andrew Giancola of Giancola Contracting Inc.

New wallpaper in the entry vestibule is Fool’s Parsley from Trustworth Studios. The house’s original woodwork was cleaned up throughout, and the existing wide-plank floors refinished.

White walls are the norm in most of the rooms, but the front parlor, used as a library/home office, was painted a rich, vibrant turquoise (Benjamin Moore’s Azurite).

A new millwork unit containing bookcases and a low TV divides the front hall from the middle parlor area.

What had once been a wall separating the rear entry hall from the parlor floor’s living space had long since been removed, making the high-ceilinged 20-foot-wide house feel “incredibly spacious,” Robinson said.

The architects rethought the functionality of the parlor floor, creating a dedicated TV area in the middle. The homeowners’ sofa was reupholstered with red velvet from Knoll.

Two structural columns remained that needed to be worked around. “Given the post locations,” Robinson said, her clients “could never figure out how to furnish the space.” The architects reduced the cladding on the steel posts to “make them as minimal as possible.” One post was incorporated into the TV cabinet/bookcase. The other was wrapped by a custom-made sisal rug, which defines the more formal living space at the rear of the parlor floor.

The south-facing living room looks out on a leafy backyard and has the lovely feel of a garden room. The Ligne Roset sofa belonged to the homeowners; it was newly upholstered, as was the Horchow ottoman.

The greenish tile in the fireplace insert is original to the house, Robinson said.

The architects designed a screen along the staircase at the garden level which slides along a brass track and can be pushed out of the way — to move a large piece of furniture, for instance.

The big move on the garden level was removing a dropped ceiling to expose the beams. The carved mantelpiece is original, with a new tile insert.

The long low daybed under the windows, from Modernica, is covered in a tweedy fabric.

The existing kitchen cabinets and counter were left in place, painted white and with upper cabinet doors removed to create simple open shelving.

In the wall to the left of the green sink is a Sub-Zero refrigerator, paneled to be unobtrusive.

Bone china pendants were sourced from Original BTC. Monopoint wall washers between the ceiling beams provide additional illumination.

Three French doors at the rear open onto a dining patio.

The architects sacrificed a full bath on the garden level for a pantry and a small powder room.

In an alcove to the right of the green sink (top photo), open shelving and freezer drawers extend the functionality of the kitchen.

In the small new primary bedroom, the suggestion of the original fireplace remains, made into a decorative feature with yellow ceramic tile.

Imaginative tile work in the two new baths on the top floor make up for their small size. In the ensuite master bath, Robinson + Grisaru used the same bold pattern on the floor as on the wall: large format concrete tiles from Popham in the aptly named Backgammon pattern.

The bone china pendants came from Original TTC.

The guest bedroom is distinguished by Cole & Son’s Egerton wallpaper.

Greenish yellow Rugosa concrete tile in the top floor bath used by guests, including the homeowners’ grown children, was sourced from Mosaic House.

A pull-out daybed furnishes the third bedroom on the top floor.

[Photos by Allyson Lubow]