Brooklyn Family Blends Historic Row House With Modern European Design

A Park Slope family now shares a home that merges century-old Victorian details with bold, modern European aesthetics.

The renovation of this turn-of-the-century row house created a distinct split between the lower floors. The original front parlor remains a family room, retaining its historic fabric including original moldings, doors, a mantelpiece, and a tin ceiling. In contrast, the garden floor is a completely new construction featuring a skylit extension and a modern kitchen.

The couple had occupied the house for some time before beginning the project. They first hired Leo Sguera of LOSAI Studio Architecture to design the garden-level expansion. Sguera intentionally avoided competing with the vintage parlor above. He selected sleek custom millwork with minimal oak detailing, whitewashed brick walls, and large-format porcelain tile floors. New doors on the garden level open completely to the outside garden.

Architect and interior designer Natasa Tuohy of Greenpoint took charge of unifying these disparate spaces. Tuohy, who was born in Yugoslavia and earned her architecture degree from the University of Florence in Italy, established her New York studio in 2012. She sourced nearly all furnishings from the French brand Roche Bobois, which manufactures in France and Italy. Tuohy specified custom fabrics, finishes, and decorative details for each piece.

"My aim was to bring those spaces into a coherent whole through furniture planning, lighting selections, rugs, art placement, and styling," Tuohy said. "It’s Italian style in a Brooklyn townhouse, minimalist, chic, colorful, and bold."

The front parlor enforces a "no screens" policy and features a patterned rug and a foosball table. New seating includes a curved, plum-toned sofa facing two turquoise '50s-inspired Sputnik armchairs and a red Apex ottoman. Tuohy noted, "I developed the seating around conversation rather than television."

A hyper-reflective chandelier made of polished copper polycarbonate from British lighting designer Tom Dixon hangs in the front hall. On the garden floor, a deep blue upholstered sofa sits with coral-colored Astrea armchairs. Tuohy added Apex and Essential ottomans in various colors to extend seating capacity for family gatherings of varying sizes.

The central dining area features Globe Trotter Operette chairs designed by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders surrounding a long wood table. Three 12-foot-long glass panels in the new skylights allow direct sunlight into the space year-round. The breakfast room contains a pale rounded table and pistachio-green upholstered Kasuka chairs that do not obscure the view.

The project utilized a restrained palette of white and oak for the structural elements on the lower level, beginning with a new staircase designed by LOSAI Studio Architecture. Coin cocktail and occasional tables with quiet gray lacquer surfaces and fabric borders sit throughout the space. A slender Flou floor lamp provides illumination without visual heaviness, while artwork from the clients' collection complements the room's modern mood.