In some ways, Brooklyn Brownstone is a project born of a typical tale of architecture and property. A couple looking for their dream home stumbled upon a house in Brooklyn - generous in size but in need of some love and with lots of potential for adapting to their own needs. The space that resulted from this process, via a thorough internal refresh by Jon Powell Architects, is less conventional - a contemporary design rooted in modern elegance that is unafraid of embracing its period roots.
Tour a refreshed Brooklyn Brownstone
The historical home, with its familiar brownstone facade, sits across a bucolic park lined by birch trees. The structure's location was idyllic and its overall bones were good - but parts of its fabric were crumbling and unsympathetic past repairs had left its facade painted over and with a generic, replaced front door that told nothing of the period building's tale.
Enter Powell and his team, who are not only locally based in Brooklyn but also have extensive experience in wider New York's period urban fabric renovations, especially in the residential realm. The architecture team embarked on a series of deep restoration actions which revitalised the old structure, bringing features and materials back to their former glory.
At the same time, they sought to bridge old and new, by restoring and reimagining the home to fit the owners' 21st-century needs and lifestyle. JPA write in their project statement: 'In that spirit, the owners were interested in creating sharp contrasts across the project, inspired by a god and goddess motif. A bright living room was juxtaposed with a dark dining room; a light bedroom with a moody bathroom.'
'The renovation has transformed the brownstone into a unique place of engagement between the owners, their guests, and their block. The juxtaposition of colours, and the eclectic mix of styles in the art and fixtures, were chosen to give this rowhouse a unique presence from the inside and out. JPA transformed this historic home into a modern residence that pays homage to its original design, and to [clients] Helen and XJ’s dynamic–light and airy, dark and earthy, in the now and honouring tradition.'
-
Wallpaper* January 2025 tips the Next Generation in design and beyondThe Wallpaper* January 2025 Next Generation issue is on sale now, celebrating emerging talents in design, architecture, art, fashion, photography and more
-
The year's most creative album artworkWhile the album cover may be less visible than it was in the age of the music megastore, it's still a vital part of the creative process. Here are our pick 2024's most inspired record sleeves.
-
Entelechy II: architect John Portman's majestic beach home hits the marketEntelechy II, architect John Portman's beach residence in Georgia, USA, goes on the market; roll up, roll up for a home that is as grand as it is playful
-
Entelechy II: architect John Portman's majestic beach home hits the market
Entelechy II, architect John Portman's beach residence in Georgia, USA, goes on the market; roll up, roll up for a home that is as grand as it is playful
-
First look: Honolulu's Victoria Place blends cosmopolitan living with Hawaii life and natureVictoria Place is a new residential tower at Honolulu's Ward Village; take a first look at its interiors
-
A look inside the home of George Homsey, one of the fathers of pioneering California modernist community Sea RanchGeorge Homsey's home opens for the first time since his death, in 2019; see where the architect behind some of the designs for Sea Ranch, the pioneering California modernist community, lived
-
The new Frederic Church Center at Olana complements its leafy Upstate New York siteTour the Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape, now open at Olana, a historic site in Upstate New York, courtesy of architecture studio ARO
-
On a sloped Los Angeles site, a cascade of green 'boxes' offers inside outside livingUnStack, a house by FreelandBuck, is a cascading series of bright green volumes, with mountain views
-
This New York brownstone was transformed through the power of a single, clever moveVoid House, a New York brownstone reimagined by architecture studio Light and Air, is an interior transformed through the power of one smart move
-
A new Texas house transforms a sloping plot into a multi-layered family homeThe Griggs Residence is a Texas house that shields its interior world and spacious terraces with a stone and steel façade
-
Light, nature and modernist architecture: welcome to the reimagined Longwood GardensLongwood Gardens and its modernist Roberto Burle Marx-designed greenhouse get a makeover by Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hildebrand in the US
