architecture by: Brent Buck Architects
interiors by: Studio Sugahara
builder: Andrew Zalewsky
photography by: Christopher Sturman
via: Brent Buck Architects
Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, New York
Brent Buck Architects' 2022 Boerum Hill Townhouse begins with the kind of New York condition that can easily push a renovation toward either sentimentality or total erasure. The house had been operating as an S.R.O. and had fallen into disrepair, but the surviving plaster moldings and oversized wood casings still hinted at the scale and formality of the original 25-foot-wide building. The project takes that residual character seriously. It is a gut renovation and expansion, but one that tries to restore architectural legibility rather than flatten the house into generic open-plan luxury.
The major planning move is a full-width rear addition that brings daylight and garden connection deep into the plan. On the main level, an oak kitchen and breakfast nook open toward large rear windows, while an interior oak stair drops to a family room wrapped in green plaster below. An exterior deck and stair extend that sequence into the garden, so the rear facade works as an actual living edge rather than just a wall of glass. Upstairs, bedrooms and bathrooms are kept proportionally aligned with the older envelope, which helps the project avoid the over-scaled feeling that often creeps into townhouse expansions.
Materially, the house is tightly edited but not cold. European white oak carries through cabinetry and flooring, Italian white marble sharpens the bathrooms, and waxed plaster gives the walls a dense, soft finish that feels richer than paint. The custom brass hardware and plumbing fittings are where the project gets more specific: they pick up the restored detail language without tipping into decorative nostalgia. The custom vanity, with its curved face frame and brass legs, reads more like furniture than bath millwork and says a lot about the level of control in the interiors.
What makes this project work is restraint. Buck and Studio Sugahara do not stage old and new as a dramatic contrast. They keep the original townhouse proportions visible, then use joinery, stair geometry, and material consistency to make contemporary family life feel embedded in the house rather than inserted into it.
Tags: Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, Brent Buck Architects, Studio Sugahara, Andrew Zalewsky, Christopher Sturman, New York, Townhouse, Renovation
