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Above: French Mid-century sofa and Vintage Art Deco chairs reupholstered in Savile Row Windowpane by Holland & Sherry. Custom Parchment Daybed (upholstered in Claremont’s Linoteca Ambra), steel coffee tables, mahogany screen, fabric and metal scones, and rug by Augusta Hoffman Studio. Pair of Vintage Art Deco Inlaid Lacquered Side Tables. Table Lamps by Willy Guhl. Drapery in Rogers & Goffigon, Meltemi, Gull. Chandelier by Paolo Moschino in bronze verdigris.
After closing on a 19th century Brooklyn townhouse, a homeowner was quickly met with a sense of exhilaration—and then a to do list. The property, a narrow 3,100 square foot brownstone, needed a number of structural updates. The kitchen, for example, characteristic of these buildings, was dark and forgotten at the back of the house. She wanted it brought up to the parlor floor, becoming a centerpiece of the home. And then there was the stoop—or lack thereof. Without front steps, guests were potentially walking into a low-ceilinged space that did not feel particularly inviting. And finally, the basement was more of a crawl space with little functionality.
She found two people to help her solve all of these problems. About a month after securing the keys to her new forever home, the owner attended a furniture exhibition in a Chelsea townhouse. There the kitchen looked exactly how she hoped hers would. She learned that architect Oliver Freundlich and his studio were behind the renovations and immediately reached out.
Tim Lenz
A view from the kitchen into the living room. Bronze verdigris ceiling light by Paolo Moschino. Faucet by Waterworks. Millwork paint is Benjamin Moore’s Spring in Aspen.
“Where other architects saw constraints, Oliver saw opportunities,” she tells ELLE Decor. “For example, because the depth of the house is shorter, he framed it to allow light to travel from one end to the other, rather than having a darker center. I was really drawn to that kind of creative optimism and knew I wanted to move forward with him and his team.”
Though the owner has a background in art and design—and was very involved with the renovations—about a year into the project, she also brought on ELLE Decor A-list designer Augusta Hoffman to lend a fresh eye. “I had been following her work from early on in her career and was always struck by the intention behind each detail,” says the owner. “I always hoped to work with her but wanted to wait until I had a home that I’d be in for the long term.”
Tim Lenz
Vintage Swedish String Light. Augusta Hoffman Studio Custom mirror and console. Wool and jute trellis rug. Benjamin Moore paint in Mountain Peak White.
For the next two years, the trio tackled every decision—and there were a lot of them—as a unit, starting with that tricky kitchen. “The [centered] kitchen needed to be beautiful and viewed from both the living room and the dining room,” says Freundlich, but it also had to fit the narrow space. To ensure people could be seated at the island, Freundlich’s team mocked up the area to check that the clearances were sufficient. In the same breadth of space, the stairway, the spine connecting all three floors, needed to be rebuilt into one sinuous line.
The starting point for the stairs was the ground level, where Freundlich also ended up enlarging the doorway to make way for a grander entrance. Then, to the left, he created a mudroom with custom cabinetry that provides ample storage. Hoffman made the mudroom and the foyer gleam with high gloss lacquer ceilings. “We kept the finishes light and airy just so that it felt less like a dark mudroom,” she says.
Tim Lenz
Vintage Art Deco Chairs Reupholstered in Rogers & Goffigon Mohair in Velvet Squid. Downlights, rug, ottoman, and side table custom made by Augusta Hoffman Studio. Gracie wallpaper custom matched to Loggia by Sherwin Williams. Small ceramic lamp by Studio Balestra.
On the same lower level, Hoffman showed her playful side with the wet bar, accessible through the family room. “I feel like typically you’ll see wood or painted wood cabinetry and then stainless-steel countertops, and I wanted to do the opposite,” says Hoffman, who instead opted for all stainless millwork with a brushed finish and a countertop and backsplash in rich walnut wood. She also added English taps as faucets and created a custom tile sink.
The house’s third floor features a walkthrough primary suite where Hoffman designed pieces especially for the space, including a custom king bed, mohair rug, and slipcovered ottoman. She was also quick to point out that most of the home features custom lighting.
Tim Lenz
Chandelier by Paolo Moschino in bronze verdigris. Custom dining table by Augusta Hoffman Studio. Vintage scarpa leather dining chairs. Drapery is Rogers & Goffigon in Meltemi-Gull. Artwork by Jens Sørensen.
“Augusta and her team did an incredible job sourcing fixtures, both interior and exterior,” says the owner. “Each one feels so unique and almost like its own piece of art. They add such a distinct character to every space.”
To create even more space and storage, Freundlich went south. He dug about two feet into the earth and poured concrete beams to create a new basement, which became a gym, a sauna, and a laundry room. Also behind the workout room’s mirrored walls are the water main, gas line, and electrical hobnobs. The result is a chicly arranged subterranean space that rivals the fanciest of gyms. “It wasn’t originally part of the plan,” says the owner, “but seeing how cleanly it came together, how much ceiling height we were able to achieve, and how it now functions as such a purposeful, well-designed area feels like a real bonus.”
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When the project officially wrapped, Freundlich presented the owner with a book that commemorated all the work they had done together. “It’s something I’ve grown to love doing because sometimes the perfect polished photographs hide too much of the process and don’t tell the whole story,” he says.
The owner says it was worth the effort. “When you invest so much time and energy into something like this, there’s definitely a level of pressure,” she says. “But it really exceeded my expectations.”
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CB2 Encino Velvet Throw PillowCredit: CB2
Thomas O’Brien Tiny Terri LampCredit: Visual Comfort & Co.
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Sarah Cristobal is a writer, editor, and creative consultant. She is currently editor-at-large for 10 Magazine USA, among other freelance projects.