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Brooklyn-based Barker Architecture Office renovated a landmarked 19th-century brownstone in Clinton Hill for a couple moving from Tribeca. The design combines surviving historic details with colorful finishes, contemporary materials and spaces shaped around the owners’ art and furniture.
Brooklyn-based Barker Architecture Office has renovated a four-story, landmarked 19th-century brownstone in Clinton Hill for a couple who moved from Tribeca, according to a report by Design Milk. The project preserves the building’s remaining historic details while introducing vivid color, contemporary materials and rooms arranged around the owners’ furniture and art collection.
The homeowners, described in the report as an empty-nester couple, wanted more than an update to a period house. Their aim was to make room for midcentury furniture and contemporary art while giving the interiors a warmer, more expressive palette. Design Milk reports that the building had previously been divided into short-term rentals, a use that had removed much of its original ornamentation. BAAO retained the architectural elements that survived and placed them alongside restrained modern additions.
Color appears from the entrance onward: deep olive doors open onto a terracotta vestibule, while a yellow central staircase has red trim and a runner. On the parlor floor, diagonally laid white oak boards refer to Victorian parquet patterns. Original plaster crown molding remains in the living room, framing a fireplace finished in textured porcelain tile. A Richard Tuttle chandelier hangs from a restored plaster rosette.
The kitchen wraps around the room’s perimeter rather than centering on a conventional island. White oak cabinetry, honed soapstone and a lilac marble backsplash provide contrast, while a dining table beneath vintage aluminum pendants serves as the gathering point. Below, the garden level pairs a bright family room opening to the garden with a dark-paneled library. Upstairs, the primary suite uses russet, ochre and moss green; the top floor has three bedrooms around a skylit lounge for the couple’s adult children.
Color Recasts the Historic Interior
The renovation shows how a historic home can accommodate contemporary collections and family routines without relying on a uniformly neutral interior. In BAAO’s design, the contrast between surviving plasterwork and modern finishes is part of the organizing idea: existing features remain visible, while color and material distinguish rooms and give them individual character.
The layout also reflects the owners’ stated priorities. A perimeter kitchen and central dining table favor shared meals and conversation; a separate, darker library offers a quieter setting. On the garden level, a family room opens to the landscaped garden. Those choices make the project relevant beyond its decorative details: it is a specific example of adapting a historic townhouse to a household’s present-day use while retaining selected elements of its past.
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From Tribeca to Clinton Hill
The Design Milk report describes the move as a change from a Tribeca townhouse to a landmarked Brooklyn brownstone, giving the couple more room and a different architectural setting. The source does not provide a project address or a detailed account of the home’s condition before renovation. It says the earlier short-term-rental arrangement had stripped away much of the original ornamentation, leaving BAAO with only a few surviving period features to preserve.
The firm worked with the homeowners on furniture selection and the placement of their art throughout the house. Works identified in the report include pieces by Alfred Stieglitz, Inez Nathaniel Walker and Amy Sillman, as well as tattoo artist Stoney St. Clair. The article characterizes BAAO’s approach as combining clear spatial organization, color and material contrasts with respect for historic context; that characterization is the report’s description of the firm’s design approach, not an independently measured outcome.
“The project sought to balance an extensive collection of midcentury furniture and contemporary art with a warmer, more spirited material palette.”
— Design Milk report
Project Details Still Unreported
The source does not state when construction began or finished, what the renovation cost, or whether the work required specific approvals beyond those associated with the home’s landmark status. It also does not identify the property’s exact address or provide direct comments from the homeowners or architects. The account describes the design and materials, but does not include evidence about energy performance, construction methods, or how the finished spaces have functioned over time.
Descriptions such as “more room,” “better flow” and “a consistent light environment” are presented in the design report as project aims or design outcomes. No measurements, post-occupancy study or independent evaluation are supplied, so those descriptions should not be read as quantified findings.
No Further Milestones Listed
Design Milk’s report presents the renovation as a completed project but does not announce a future construction phase, opening or follow-up event. No next milestone is specified in the available source material. Further details about the project’s timeline, costs, landmark approvals or the owners’ experience would require additional reporting from the homeowners, BAAO or relevant city records.
Key Questions
Where is the renovated brownstone?
It is in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. The Design Milk report does not publish the property’s street address.
Who designed the renovation?
The work was carried out by Barker Architecture Office, also known as BAAO, a Brooklyn-based practice, according to Design Milk.
What was the main design brief?
The couple wanted a home that could accommodate their midcentury furniture and contemporary art while using a warmer, more expressive palette. The design also retains the historic details that survived earlier changes to the house.
What happened to the brownstone’s original features?
The report says the building had been divided into short-term rentals, which removed much of its original ornamentation. BAAO preserved the few surviving architectural elements, including plaster crown molding and a restored plaster rosette.
When was the renovation completed, and what did it cost?
The source does not give a completion date or project cost. It describes the renovation as a completed transformation but supplies no construction timeline or budget.
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