Wood, tile, and carefully considered color create an atmosphere that speaks to the client’s tastes.
A round of renovations in a three-story townhouse — encompassing a reimagined garden floor, 3.5 new baths, and a brand new staircase — began with a poetic concept for the garden-level kitchen. True, it had little counter space and an inefficient layout, which was especially irksome for the new homeowner, a professional chef. But more than that, said architect Justin Oh, a partner with Ericka Song in Studio Oh-Song, a young Bed Stuy-based architecture and design firm whose first completed Brooklyn project this is, the main aim of the redo was to “create a new identity that spoke to the client’s tastes.”
A prior renovation had replaced old mechanical systems but stripped away vintage character, so aesthetically speaking, Studio Oh-Song was starting from scratch. In an early meeting, the client shared a vivid childhood memory that became a touchstone for the project. “We were talking about this vibe he wanted to create, of being inside looking out during a thunderstorm, cozy and warm inside when there’s chaos outside,” Oh recalled. They also took design cues from their client’s favorite restaurants: soft lighting, warm woods, a single color accent.
In a key architectural move, Studio Oh-Song introduced a pair of wide, flat archways on the garden floor, which had previously been completely open, between a sitting area at the front of the house and the kitchen at the rear. “A lot of people think open floor plans are great because they feel spacious,” Oh said, “but we wanted to create definition between the two spaces and make each feel more special.”
Under-counter cabinetry provides an abundance of storage. “We opted to have all storage below the counter to make the space feel more open, since the garden level doesn’t have much ceiling height,” Oh said. White oak veneer with uniform graining and simple wood pulls “don’t add visual clutter or complexity to the space.”
Studio Oh-Song conceived the kitchen’s cylindrical range hood, fabricated by Faber, as “a really simple sculpture,” Oh said. “Often range hoods are concealed in drywall, but given that the cooking area is in the middle of the room and we needed ventilation, we decided to make it a feature reminiscent of industrial kitchens, with a contemporary look.”
Pearlescent gray quartzite for countertops was chosen for its warmth and softness. Rounded shapes appear in the archway radius and red tile backsplash, which comes down to meet the floor. The same palette of stone, wood, and tile carries through to other parts of the project.
The transitional space between the two new archways, containing a new pantry and new powder room, is lime-washed green “like vegetation,” Oh said.
The powder room, replacing a full bath from which a shower was removed, is tucked out of the way behind a pocket door. The quirky terrazzo shelf was sourced from Brooklyn’s Osprey Studio.
Studio Oh-Song scrapped the existing stair. “It was one of those 2000s staircases with a floor-to-ceiling glass guardrail and metal hardware — very sleek and modern, but not Brooklyn townhouse language,” Oh said. “We extended the palette of warm white oak to the stair, and gave the handrail a round wood profile for softness.”
The oak handrail was crafted of straight sections plus custom-fabricated curved pieces, put together “to feel fluid, like one continuous piece of wood,” Oh said. The balusters are off-the-shelf vertical wood dowels.
The primary bedroom’s porthole window brings natural light into the bathroom behind. Fluted glass reads as different colors throughout the day.
The bed, as well as the dining table in the kitchen, are the work of local maker Simeon Beardsley.
The primary bath was “covered in porcelain tile floor to ceiling, and felt very cold and hard,” Oh said. Now it benefits from warm lighting, a wood vanity, and red tiles from Zia.
Two skylit top-floor bedrooms each have an en suite bath. Studio Oh-Song replaced fixtures but kept them in the same locations to avoid unnecessary plumbing. Crisp tiles from Zia form bold blocks of color, used for bathtub aprons as well as floors.
Manhattan-based Concrete Collaborative made the playful terrazzo sinks.
[Photos by Max B Photo]
Got a project to propose for The Insider? Contact Cara at caramia447 [at] gmail [dot] com
The Insider is Brownstoner’s weekly in-depth look at a notable interior design/renovation project, by design journalist Cara Greenberg. Find it here every Thursday morning.
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