{"id":301535,"date":"2026-07-21T06:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/301535\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T06:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:30:17","slug":"this-brooklyn-brownstones-best-kept-secrets-are-a-sculptural-skylight-and-double-height-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/301535\/","title":{"rendered":"This Brooklyn Brownstone’s Best-Kept Secrets Are a Sculptural Skylight and Double-Height Kitchen"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Architect Gerry Smith<\/a> initially had reservations about the narrow 16-foot width of this brownstone in the leafy Brooklyn neighborhood of Clinton Hill. But its prospective owners\u2014a creative couple with two children and dogs\u2014had already spent years living comfortably in a much slimmer house. They knew exactly which small-space strategies worked for them and where their next home could do better.<\/p>\n

\"exteriorThe brownstone set on a leafy corner of Brooklyn. <\/p>\n

\"foyerParadiset Black Wallpaper, Svenskt Tenn<\/a>; Breakfast Room Green Paint, Farrow & Ball<\/a>; Midnight Cement Floor Tile, Zia Tile<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Over the course of a three-year gut renovation, Smith transformed the four-story brownstone and rear garage by directing attention upward and outward, plus giving plenty of attention to each and every room.. \u201cThe biggest struggle was working within the existing width, trying to get more natural light into the house where it was lacking, all while maintaining a sense of openness and flow,\u201d says Smith.<\/p>\n

The most dramatic solution is the double-height kitchen at the rear of the garden level. Smith removed a section of the parlor floor and added a corresponding two-story opening to the back facade, pulling sunlight deep into both levels while establishing sight lines to the courtyard and garage roof garden. An elongated range hood and slender pendant emphasize the room\u2019s newfound height.<\/p>\n

\"kitchenBarn Hex Cement Floor Tile, Cl\u00e9 Tile<\/a>; Purbeck Stone Upper Millwork Paint, Farrow & Ball<\/a>; Pierre Lime Plaster, Domingue<\/a>; Grain Drum Pendant Light, Ravenhill Studio<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"livingShenandoah Taupe Stair Stringer, Newel Post, and Handrail Paint, Benjamin Moore<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Even the refrigerator and wall ovens contribute to the architecture. They\u2019re tucked into a freestanding, wood-clad box-like structure that also contains storage and a full bathroom. Similar central elements organize every floor: a wallpaper-wrapped walk-in closet anchors the primary suite, while an immersive playroom sets the tone on the children\u2019s level.<\/p>\n

\"diningAnders Pendant Lights, Pinch<\/a>; Pierre Lime Plaster, Domingue<\/a>; Concentric Wall Sconces, Allied Maker<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"applianceFragments Agate Wallpaper, Calico Wallpaper<\/a>; Sulking Room Pink Millwork Paint, Farrow & Ball<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In the parlor-floor dining room, a lowered slatted ceiling both conceals HVAC equipment and creates a border around the custom oak table by Fort Standard<\/a>. The narrow boards overhead echo the home\u2019s original fluted window casings and stair balusters; the motif reappears outside in the garden fence, skylight cladding, and bridge connecting the area to the garage roof.<\/p>\n

That bridge originates at the renovation\u2019s greatest gamble: a new bay window overlooking Pratt Institute\u2019s sculpture garden across the street. Because the house sits within a historic district, the modern reinterpretation of a traditional oriel window, a type of cantilevered bay window, required a public hearing before the Landmarks Preservation Commission. (The proposal was unanimously approved.) Now the angled perch captures additional rays and provides front-row views of the neighborhood\u2019s roses and artwork.<\/p>\n

\"officeAura Mula Wallpaper, Calico Wallpaper<\/a>; Setting Plaster Wall Paint<\/a> and Red Earth Skylight Enclosure Paint<\/a>, Farrow & Ball; Scantling Wall Sconces, Marset<\/a>; Ada Sconces, Ravenhill Studio<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Across the courtyard, the former garage has become a studio, but its low ceiling initially posed another spatial puzzle. Instead of raising the entire roof, Smith inserted a sculptural skylight through its center. From the studio, it frames flashes of plants and sky; upstairs, it rises from the greenery like an art installation and glows like a beacon after dark.<\/p>\n

\"outdoorA lush area outside for dining and enjoying the surrounding sights. <\/p>\n

Landscape designer Susan Welti of Foras Studio<\/a> reinforced the connection to the neighboring sculpture garden with plantings that feel robust and slightly wild. Mostly native grasses mingle with blueberries, milkweed, and verbena on the sunny, windswept roof, while camellias, Christmas ferns, and sedges lend lushness to the shadier brick wall and courtyard below.<\/p>\n

Wallpaper provides another through line across the property, popping up in closets, vestibules, and across ceilings. Floral Josef Frank prints animate the public spaces and some private moments; atmospheric Calico<\/a> patterns envelop smaller rooms. In one of the children\u2019s bedrooms, the transition from paint to bird-covered wallpaper marks the position of the original, lower ceiling. By extending the paper overhead, Smith made it appear as though the old ceiling had blown away to reveal a sky full of birds.<\/p>\n

\"tealThe primary bedroom. Yukutori No. 4303 Wallpaper, Farrow & Ball<\/a>; Akari 95EN Pendant Light, Noguchi Shop<\/a>; Dix Blue Paint, Farrow & Ball<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"closetEldblomman Red Wallpaper, Svenskt Tenn<\/a>; Bobber Small Ceiling Light, Blu Dot<\/a>; Breakfast Room Green<\/a> Ceiling and Floor Paint and Babouche<\/a> Millwork Paint, Farrow & Ball. <\/p>\n

The primary bathroom offers an equally transporting scene. Formerly a bedroom, the sunlit sanctuary is organized around its original working fireplace, with a soaking tub angled toward both the flames and a window overlooking the roof garden. \u201cThe ability to take a bath in front of a fire just seemed so lovely,\u201d says Smith.<\/p>\n

For the homeowners, the house\u2019s custom architecture is made more personal by pieces created by friends, including lighting by Brendan Ravenhill<\/a> and a pendant by Ladies & Gentlemen Studio<\/a>. The result isn\u2019t simply a clever response to an unusually slender structure\u2014the home embraces its artistic surroundings both inside and out.<\/p>\n

\"blueCompton Verney Wallpaper, St. Jude\u2019s<\/a>; Marlboro Blue Ceiling Paint, Benjamin Moore<\/a>; Shelving, Vits\u0153<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"narrowA small bedroom tucked away on the third floor. Yukutori No. 4301 Wallpaper, Farrow & Ball<\/a>; Bonbon Pendant Light, Hay<\/a>; Red Earth Paint, Farrow & Ball<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"blueA desk nook in another third floor bedroom. Polarn No. 6292 Ceiling Wallpaper, Bor\u00e5stapeter<\/a>; Monocle Wall Sconce, RBW<\/a>; Parma Gray Paint, Farrow & Ball<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"basementThe laundry room is in the cellar level of the brownstone. Chess Multi Wallpaper, Eskayel<\/a>; Babouche Millwork Paint, Farrow & Ball<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"powderThe parlor-level powder room. Jaipur Cement Floor Tile, Zia Tile<\/a>; Wood Cylinder Pendant, Allied Maker<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Zo\u00eb Sessums is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in Architectural Digest, Sight Unseen, Bon App\u00e9tit, Epicurious, and New York Magazine. Over nearly a decade in media, she\u2019s covered everything from home tours and renovations to product guides and newsletters. She has a background in journalism and creative writing and is motivated in roughly equal measure by good design, good pizza, and a very solid pair of shoes. She lives in Midcoast Maine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Sign Up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,15981,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-301535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-core-home","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}