The Insider: Total Gut for New Owners Transforms Landmarked Prospect Heights Townhouse

Photo by Jason Schmidt

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This landmark-block townhouse “used to look very different,” said architect Jeff Sherman of Dumbo-based Delson or Sherman, which he founded 24 years ago with fellow architect Perla Delson. The busy firm has become known for the comprehensive reinvention of antiquated townhouses, and this one was no exception.

“There was a lot to play with,” Sherman said of existing gingerbread moldings, wainscoting, stained glass, and mantels, among other vintage details. Of course, there was a big “but.” “Everything was chopped up into small rooms, and there was a dowdy old kitchen with no relationship to the backyard.”

And that’s not all. Though the basic layout of the four-story, one-family house remains the same, all that beautiful detail needed refurbishing, the stairs needed restoration, the front room’s working fireplace rebuilding, the existing bathrooms were hopeless, the windows cried out to be replaced with energy-efficient ones, and the house lacked air conditioning. The backyard was prone to flooding and needed to be thoroughly rethought.

On the parlor floor (top photo), which retains a wealth of original detail, Delson or Sherman did away with extraneous partitions and opened up the space. They left woodwork unpainted throughout, relocating and reusing parts of it as needed.

Under tight constraints from Landmarks, Delson or Sherman cleaned and resurfaced the brownstone exterior facade, re-created an ornamental window divider on the parlor level, and replaced all the windows with Marvin Ultimate double-hung ones. The architect also fashioned a new downstairs gate, along with a secure mail drop big enough for packages cut into the side of the building.

A decorative grill for the new central air system sits above the entry vestibule door.

At the rear of the parlor floor, a more casual family/sitting room has a bay window overlooking the garden.

A closet was converted to a wet bar with a stone backsplash.

The new kitchen is on the garden level, with walk-out access through big steel doors to the backyard. Floor-to-ceiling cabinetry lacquered high-gloss white, soapstone countertops, and new oak floors laid in a herringbone pattern distinguish the thoroughly contemporary space. The range hood is recessed to be flush with the ceiling.

“The house had a little extension the perfect size for a bathroom,” Sherman said, where a wall-hung sink now floats above a slim metal frame.

The stained glass windows were restored in the primary bedroom; the hearth stone and fireplace surround are new.

In the primary bathroom, a custom vanity with a stone counter sits beneath a mirror whose edges were sandblasted away to create light diffusers with LED bulbs behind.

The move represented a major lifestyle change for the new homeowners, who have two young children and were previously apartment dwellers.

A square tub set directly underneath a skylight makes a child’s bath time “feel kind of ceremonial,” Sherman said.

A guest room with an arched window and restored fireplace was made even more special with a long window seat.

A slatted wood screen under a big new skylight makes climbing the ladder to the roof much safer.

Laundry units hide behind a barn door.

The backyard was excavated and the pitch redone to slope to a drain in the middle of the yard. Materials include bluestone for a new patio and railroad ties for planters. The existing stone wall at the rear was painted gray.

[Photos by Jason Schmidt]

The Insider is Brownstoner’s weekly in-depth look at a notable interior design/renovation project, by design journalist Cara Greenberg. Find it here every Thursday morning.

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