{"id":3032,"date":"2024-09-22T04:48:53","date_gmt":"2024-09-21T20:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/2024\/09\/22\/a-rising-star-architect-casts-her-own-brooklyn-townhouse-in-pinks-greens-and-grays\/"},"modified":"2024-09-22T04:48:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-21T20:48:53","slug":"a-rising-star-architect-casts-her-own-brooklyn-townhouse-in-pinks-greens-and-grays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/es\/a-rising-star-architect-casts-her-own-brooklyn-townhouse-in-pinks-greens-and-grays\/","title":{"rendered":"Una arquitecta emergente dise\u00f1a su propia casa en Brooklyn en tonos rosas, verdes y grises"},"content":{"rendered":"

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What happens when two young architects get to be their own clients? Budget constraints are, of course, a given\u2014so things like learning how to hang wallpaper come into play. So does treating the house as a treasure hunt, and finding out what\u2019s hiding under the carpets and painted mantels. And, of course, experimenting with the transformative power of paint.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s but a sampling of what took place when, after a year of real estate hunting, Andrea Fisk and her partner, James Klauder, got to overhaul their own late-19th century townhouse in Brooklyn\u2019s Bushwick. \u201cThe structure had been barely altered since it was built, which was very appealing to us,\u201d says Andrea, pointing out its original plaster crown moldings, Eastlake-style door and window frames, and lavishly carved stair. But there was also much to do, including flipping the arrangement of the floors: to help pay their mortgage, the couple turned the garden level into a rental apartment. They restored the parlor floor as a living space\u2014it had previously been divided into bedrooms\u2014and reinstated bedrooms on the top floor.<\/p>\n

Andrea is co-founder with Jess Thomas of Shapeless Studio, a rising Brooklyn architecture firm with a focus on residential work, and James specializes in transportation and aviation designs at Gensler. Andrea took the lead on the project, and, as with Jess\u2019s own place\u2014see The Sentimental Minimalist\u2014the results serve as a showcase for the work they can do. Come see.<\/p>\n

Photography by Hagan Hinshaw of Blurry Hinge, courtesy of Shapeless Studio.<\/p>\n


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Above L: The couple tiled the entry in a pattern called Agadir from the Cement Tile Shop and painted the walls and door in Benjamin Moore Arctic Seal: \u201clighter colors make boundaries more visible, so going with a dark color in a small space can have the effect of dematerializing the volume of the room,\u201d explains James. Above R: A glimpse of the living room.\u201dDuring the construction, we found a funny foundation block signed \u2018Sam, Mike, Mickey, 1891,\u2019 so we think they were the builders,\u201d says Andrea, adding \u201c1891 makes sense because we have Eastlake Victorian details and also some touches of Arts & Crafts, and that year was right on the verge between those styles.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were first-time homeowners and right after our closing, I went down a rabbit hole of trying to learn everything I could about our house\u2019s history. It\u2019s so much older than we are and has seen several generations of New Yorkers come and go; I felt as if we had to respect that. In the 1900 census, the house was owned by a husband and wife who had been born in Ireland; they had five adult daughters and a son living with them, all of whom worked as bookkeepers and dressmakers. By 1940, there was a different family of six, and the father was a watchman for WPA projects. We\u2019re excited to be part of the house\u2019s story.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Above:  For Andrea the most magical moment of the renovation was \u201cearly on, when we stripped dozens of layers of paint from the three original fireplace mantels and a gorgeous green and pink slate emerged. This uncovered stone became the inspiration for our color palette: deep greens, dusty pinks, and cool grays.\u201d <\/p>\n

The room is painted Benjamin Moore Lost Locket\u2014and note that that includes the ceiling and crown moldings for an immersive effect. For cohesion throughout, the window and door frames are called out in white. All of the house\u2019s paints are from Benjamin Moore\u2019s Color Stories collection from its Aura line<\/p>\n


Above: The room is flooded with natural light thanks to its 7.6-foot-tall, 6-foot-wide window. \u201cWe wanted our furniture to have a very casual feeling; it gets constantly moved around depending on what we\u2019re doing,\u201d says Andrea. The Large Gray Round Pouf is by Ferm Living, and the Dune Sofa is from Industry West. The shelving is CB2\u2019s Stairway Bookcase.
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,Above L: The nuanced color of the slate mantels and their plant motifs served as inspiration for the whole remodel. Above R: The sofa is upholstered in green velvet.
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Above: The aforementioned crash course in wallpapering was for the powder room, now cloaked in Cole & Son\u2019s exuberant Singita pattern, one of the first elements selected for the house and an encapsulation of the colors used throughout. \u201cWallpapering is hard work,\u201d says Andrea. \u201cWe would hang two panels and then stop for the day; I think it took us six weeks to finish.\u201d <\/p>\n

The \u201cself-rimming\u201d sink is the Yeni Klasik from Nameek\u2019s, and the print is by Brooklyn street artist Pixote.<\/p>\n


Above: Each room is painted a different color\u2014\u201dthe palette all goes together, but each space has its own character,\u201d explains Andrea. The dusky purple TV room, shown here, is in Benjamin Moore Soho Loft. Hanging above the made-for-lounging Gray Sofa is a screen print called Ellipsis by British artist Dan Hillier. The rug is the Walkabout by Lori Weitzner, a discontinued West Elm design.
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Above: There\u2019s also a proper dining room divided from the living rooms by pocket doors. \u201cI\u2019m a big fan of separating the dining area from the kitchen when possible,\u201d says Andrea. \u201cI don\u2019t enjoy doing dishes, and I don\u2019t want to look at them while I\u2019m eating.\u201d,<\/p>\n

This room is in Benjamin Moore Lilac Hush, \u201cwhich seems to change from blue to pink depending on the lighting,\u201d says Andrea. The rug is an over-dyed vintage Turkish design from Revival Rug in a dark green selected to\u201dhelp the slate mantel pop, and to also tie the room to the living room\u2019s emerald sofa,\u201d explains Andrea. Ferm Living\u2019s Mingle Table in charcoal linoleum\u2014\u201dwe love linoleum\u201d\u2014and DWR\u2019s Note Chairs were selected to ground the space.<\/p>\n


Above: The couple added a kitchen to the parlor floor, framed here by moldings painted Benjamin Moore\u2019s Vanilla Milkshake, the color used throughout. They uncovered the pine subfloor by removing layers of vinyl, tile, and carpeting.
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Above: Shapeless Studio\u2019s go-to millworker, James Harmon of Workshop Brooklyn, built the cabinets, which are painted Benjamin Moore Blacktop and have a soapstone counter and integrated soapstone sink. Andrea says she\u2019s learned to leave the soapstone as is and allow it  to develop a patina\u2014\u201dbut it\u2019s taking some patience\u201d (see our post Soapstone Counters: Are They Worth It?) <\/p>\n

The pull-down faucet is the Delta Trinsic. The backsplash is Daltile\u2019s Keystone Mosaics, a 2-by-4-inch porcelain tile with a slight texture that gets picked out in the light.<\/p>\n

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Above: The couple saved by supplying Harmon with a detailed set of cabinet drawings, something he\u2019d ordinarily do himself. \u201cBut it was risky because if we got a dimension wrong, it would have been our fault,\u201d they say. \u201cJames installed them and then we took all of the doors off and painted them.\u201d <\/p>\n

The range is the Blomberg 30-inch Pro Style, and the vent, the Prestige Compact Insert, is built into the shelf that runs the length of the room.<\/p>\n


Above: \u201cThe woodwork on the staircase was one of the reasons we fell in love with the house,\u201d says Andrea. \u201cI hadn\u2019t ever seen a railing like this with all the horizontal pieces.\u201d To highlight its detailing, they painted the walls, as they did the entry, in Benjamin Moore Arctic Seal.
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Above: The palette shifts to paler shades upstairs. The master bedroom, shown here, is  in Benjamin Moore Picket Fence. Says Andrea: \u201cBenjamin Moore\u2019s Aura colors have more pigment\u2014they don\u2019t use any straight white or black to lighten or darken, it\u2019s all pigment, so there are really interesting undertones, especially in the lighter shades.\u201d,<\/p>\n

Andrea\u2019s father built the bedside tables. The Linen Duvet Cover is from Two Dawson.<\/p>\n


Above:  The mantel is one of the three that they stripped of many layers of paint\u201dusing a horrible, noxious goo.\u201d The pendant light was a Craigslist find. <\/p>\n

The room is in the back of the house and overlooks the giant hemlock tree in the yard.<\/p>\n


Above: The dresser is West Elm\u2019s Modernist Wood and Lacquer Three-Drawer design, currently available only in a pale wood.
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Above: Like the entry, the bathroom has a black-and-white floor of Agadir Cement Tile: \u201cIf I could change one thing, I would instead go with large-honed slate tile,\u201d Andrea tells us. \u201cAfter finishing our project, I discovered a few slate companies in Upstate NY and Vermont that sell the exact same green splotchy slate that our fireplaces are made of.  That would have been so lovely, especially with the mix of white wall tiles. Sometimes it\u2019s hard being an architect; I am constantly redesigning my surroundings in my mind.\u201d,

Above: The walls are tiled in Daltile\u2019s Metro Collection squares in a mix of glossy whites. James Harmon fabricated the vanity to the couples\u2019 design; it has a Corian sink by Grifform; all of the black plumbing fixtures are from California Faucets\u2019 Tiburon collection.
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Above: The west-facing guest room initially served as Shapeless Studio\u2019s office during the firm\u2019s first year. The bed is the Nesttun frame and the shelf is the Fjalkinge, both from Ikea.
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Above: The small space off the bedroom\u2014where Benjamin Moore Arctic Seal puts in another appearance\u2014is now Andrea\u2019s painting studio. The bedroom\u2019s pale walls are in Benjamin Moore\u2019s Grandma\u2019s China, which, Andrea says, \u201creally glows with orange undertones when the sun sets. On dark and rainy days, it looks a lot more greenish. I love living in a house that seems to experience the same moodiness I do.\u201d <\/p>\n

We recently featured a Shapeless Studio Kitchen Designed Around the Keywords \u2018Socal\u2019 and \u2018Minimal but Warm.\u2019<\/p>\n

Here are more architects\u2019 own quarters:<\/p>\n