Brooklyn, NY

The owner of Artist’s Brownstone wanted to refresh the house’s old garden apartment. We agreed it was best to open up the entire low-slung space. We wanted to preserve the warmth of the space while lightening and opening it. The owner has an extensive collections of books and objets d’art. The solution was to create an extended millwork creation from treated pine. The cabinet doors and shelving is from Reform, a Danish manufacturer which recycles offcuts from Dinesen flooring into dynamic wood panels. The millwork defines a kitchen, living area, and bedroom area, stopping short of contained rooms.

The lighting was critical, because there’s not much sunlight. We recreated the ceiling moulding, but we designed the profile to match LED strip lenses. So the moulding zips around the space, seamlessly illuminating the millwork and the spaces. The colored lights are color-changeable by the owner.

To create a special bathing experience, we brought out the tub into the bedroom area, giving a garden view without feeling shut in. The owner loves color, so the bath area is a festival of color tiles on the wall with meandering hexagons on the floor.

The result is a stimulating, colorful space that feels warm and responsive because of all the wood and bright without feeling overwhelming.