Before they stepped foot inside the crumbling brownstone on a landmark block in Brooklyn’s Boerum Hill, artist Katherine Keltner and architect Douglas Gauthier had toured 30 homes and browsed more than 200 online. Neither of them expected to become instantly captivated by the 1869 Italianate townhouse, which was being sold in a stately yet dilapidated condition, having once served as a single-room occupancy (SRO) residence. But it happened nonetheless.
“This was the first one that had the bones that Katherine wanted,” recalls Gauthier, who runs the firm GAuthier Architects. “It follows the classic real estate rule of buying the worst house on the best block.”
Amy Barkow
Opal glass pendants from Lyfa hang in the kitchen extension, which also features Brutalist-style wooden dining stools.
The strategy paid off: Once their offer was accepted, the couple embarked on an 18-month-long odyssey that saw them jump through a series of hoops (preservationists; concerned neighbors; skeptical engineers) to completely transform the moldering pile into a creative haven for them to live, work, and raise their daughter.
A true joint-effort, Gauthier oversaw a modest two-story rear expansion and structural alterations, while Keltner took charge of spatial arrangements as well as color, pattern, texture, and artwork—much of it her own.
“It follows the classic real estate rule of buying the worst house on the best block.” —Douglas Gauthier
Once deteriorating, the interiors now have an easy elegance, with plaster walls, arched passageways, and curved corners that give the soaring ceilings an intimate feel. Pink takes an unexpected starring role, appearing throughout the parlor floor and also in the zellige-clad primary bath, but other adventurous hues like mint green and crimson also feature prominently. Capping it off is a plywood-sheathed office for Gauthier’s practice, allowing the family retreat to double as a place of creative inspiration.
Below, Keltner and Gauthier share their biggest lessons (and some “before” pictures) from the painstaking passion project.
Don’t Let a Gut Reno Scare You Off
Courtesy of GAuthier Architects
The old kitchen had dated appliances, peeling paint, and a view into an overgrown garden.
When the townhouse was converted to an SRO, it had been chopped up into at least 13 units and two kitchens, and few of the original decorative elements were still intact. A couple had bought it in the 1960s and made it a family home again and added an art gallery space. But by 2021, when Keltner and Gauthier first saw it, the house was in a state of severe neglect, with peeling paint, crumbling floors, ancient appliances—not to mention a 1,500-pound printing press in the studio (that the couple later preserved). Yet, Keltner and Gauthier saw an opportunity, not to recreate the past, but rather forge their own set of rules.
“The house wasn’t burdened with pristine historic details—our moldings were trashed,” says Gauthier. “There were a few things that we kept and celebrated, but to me, it was like a tabula rasa. We can just go in and make it ours.” Katherine agreed: “I feel like sometimes having to preserve things is more expensive than just starting clean,” she says. “And so I thought that was an advantage for us.”
Amy Barkow
In the living area, Gauthier installed an elliptical ceiling light installation that casts its glow upwards. The chairs are upholstered in a sangria fabric from Knoll. The installation on the right is by Keltner, while a green Albert Weaver canvas hangs in the stairwell.
Not having to be too precious with ornamentation allowed the couple to make a bold statement about crown moldings, eschewing tradition and installing curving corners and coved ceilings instead. Nowhere does the effect have more impact than in the parlor, where Gauthier devised a ceiling light in the shape of a giant oval that casts light upward rather than down. “I really like indirect lighting,” he says.
Courtesy of GAuthier Architects
The stair railing was one of the few preserved elements.
Crafted out of laser-cut plywood, the elliptical fixture is an abstracted homage to the ceiling medallions found in neighboring historic brownstones. “Some of them are incredibly ornate and beautiful, but they don’t really have any use—they’re just decoration,” says Gauthier. “Adding ambient lighting to the living space takes that historical reference in pocket.”
Use Constraints as Opportunity 
Amy Barkow
The rear addition holds the kitchen extension and opens to a newly built terrace.
Once they were through the process of changing the structure’s zoning from an SRO to a single-family home, Gauthier and Keltner had to contend with its landmarked status, meaning a series of approvals were required for any additions or exterior modifications.
The couple originally planned to construct a three-story extension in the back, but they ended up compromising on two floors. This expansion includes a bump-out for the parlor floor’s kitchen, leading to a rear deck that steps down to the garden. On top, a private terrace connects to the primary bath. “Instead of having that third story, we now have a deck off of our primary suite,” says Keltner. “It’s kind of amazing,” adds Gauthier.
Splurge on Radiant Heat
Courtesy of GAuthier Architects
Though both individually landmarked and set in a historic district, the 1869 Italianate townhouse was in neglected condition.
One decision the couple wrestled with mightily was whether to replace the original, 150-year-old pine flooring with ebony-stained white oak. “The floors were part of the reason we liked the house so much,” says Gauthier. But their contractor talked them out of keeping them. “It’s a lot of extra work for them,” says Keltner. “They have to take it up, save it, put something else down, and then put it back. I think we reached a point in time and money where we were like, Okay, fine.”
Amy Barkow
A vignette in the living room features a game table bought at auction and Biedermeier chairs. Art by Rosemary Taylor.
Another flooring regret was not adding underfoot heating. “I was pushing the mechanical engineers to do radiant heating and radiant cooling,” says Gauthier. “Radiant heat is really lovely—you have warmth under your feet all the time.” But the mechanics behind the system proved complicated and technically redundant, as the home was already configured with a forced-air HVAC system.
“In doing research and other projects, it’s clear that the cost-to-pleasure ratio would have been worth it,” he says now. “We regret not putting the warm floors in.”
Invest in Quality Windows 
Amy Barkow
Bathed in crimson hues and illuminated by skylight, the “Red Room” is primarily used for watching movies and reading.
While windows might sometimes be an afterthought, Keltner and Gauthier have advice: Go with triple-glazed. “Windows provide heat and cool insulation as well as security,” explains Keltner. “And they can define both the outside and the inside of a space.” The couple went with triple-glazed windows from Austrian-based firm Bewiso that come pre-wired for easy connection to alarm systems. “They’re almost like hurricane windows,” she says.
“You can’t break through three panes of glass,” says Gauthier. Due to the building’s landmark status, they had to use historic-style windows on the front facade. “We were able to get these old-fashioned type of windows that when you close them, they feel like you’re closing a Mercedes,” says Gauthier. “They completely silence the outdoors.”
Hire the Best Contractor You Can Afford
Amy Barkow
Inspired by Turkish hammams, the primary bath is sheathed in coral-toned zellige tiles from clé.
The final piece of advice is perhaps the most crucial: “Hire the best contractor you can afford,” says Gauthier.
“The typical advice is to get a few bids and throw out the lowest and the highest,” says Keltner. “People usually take the second lowest.” However, that could be the determining factor between an on-time project and one that drags. “You’ll end up paying the difference both in money and time,” she says. “It’s often hard for people to bite the bullet and go with the slightly higher price, but it really pays off.”
Before & After in Boerum Hill
Open Gallery
Geoffrey Montes is an associate editor at ELLE Decor with a serious love for all things real estate and design. Before that, he worked at Architectural Digest, Galerie, and Preservation magazines, covering everything from jaw-dropping listings to world-famous architects and design events like Salone del Mobile and Homo Faber.