Interior Design: Jae Joo Designs
Architecture: BAOO
Photography: Nick Glimenakis
Words (source): Lidia Boniwell
Location: Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York
This Brooklyn brownstone renovation starts with a common New York condition: a 19th-century house that had been divided into smaller apartments and lost much of its architectural clarity over time. Jae Joo Designs and BAOO treat the project as a spatial reset, restoring the home's sense of sequence while keeping a contemporary point of view.
One of the key planning moves is the use of arches to reconnect rooms that previously felt isolated from one another. That softer geometry gives the house more visual continuity and helps each floor read as a complete environment rather than a chain of leftover compartments.
Materially, the design stays controlled but not flat. The kitchen layers shaker-profile cabinetry with darker metallic cabinetry and brass accents, pairing classic millwork language with more industrial surfaces and lighting. The result is a calmer palette that still carries some ornament and weight.
The staircase is handled with a similar balance: original detailing is retained, but the balustrade is finished in charcoal and tied to black steel-framed doors and darker fixtures elsewhere in the home. New mouldings and trim details are used strategically so the renovation feels rooted in brownstone traditions instead of detached from them.
In the living spaces, a scalloped plaster fireplace by Kamp Studios becomes a focal point, while the dining room keeps its original fireplace and introduces new panel moulding that references the house's period character. Upstairs, the long-and-narrow proportions of the brownstone are used to organize a generous primary suite with a private balcony, ensuite, and walk-in robe.
Overall, the project is a strong example of how to modernize a historic townhouse without erasing its identity: formal where it should be, edited where it needs to be, and consistently attentive to how rooms connect.
If you are planning facade or front-elevation work in Brooklyn, read this alongside the Brooklyn Brownstone Landmark Approval Guide: What Needs LPC Review? for approval sequencing.
