Crown Heights Brownstone by Brent Buck Architects

Brent Buck Architects has transformed a 19th-century brownstone into a bright and airy family home in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Restored in places and reimagined in others, it presents beautifully inside and out, celebrating its heritage in its newly minted condition.

Located on a narrow, deep parcel of land and bordered by side and rear alleys, Crown Heights Brownstone had great potential but was “in terrible shape,” says Brent Buck, principal of the eponymous architecture and interiors practice. He adds, “it was a total urban wreck, so much so that the roof was collapsing with a ton of water damage, and the masonry was shot.”

Clerestory windows and hidden openings allow light to filter in from unexpected places, while waxed plaster transforms the walls into tactile, reflective surfaces.

Extensive remedial work was needed, but the handsome masonry facade – with its rich, reddish-brown hue, historic steel-framed doors, decorative moulding and intricate ironwork – was restored to its former grandeur. “We stabilised it and repaired it but generally tried to keep the existing condition as much as possible,” says Buck. Rising from the small, lush front garden at its feet, the building now stands proud and polished, its heritage flourish firmly intact.

The light and space within belie the home’s compact footprint. Clerestory windows and hidden openings allow light to filter in from unexpected places, while waxed plaster transforms the walls into tactile, reflective surfaces. European white oak floorboards and pearlescent Omani limestone define the palette, contributing to the milky, soft, opaline hues that permeate the space. Buck describes the palette as “relatively minimal, neutral and restrained, but still warm”.

A sense of fluidity, seldom seen in terrace houses of this era, pervades the project, thanks to a considered reworking of the spaces.

In response to the clients’ way of living and their briefing requirements, the design becomes progressively more informal as one moves through the home. This is most apparent on the parlour level, where a formal dining and living area are positioned at the front. At the rear, an open-plan kitchen and dining space, complete with a casual banquette seat, overlooks a relaxed, double-height living area filled with oversized sofas. The space is made even more inviting by floor-to-ceiling steel-framed doors that open onto a landscaped terrace at the rear.

A sense of fluidity, seldom seen in terrace houses of this era, pervades the project, thanks to a considered reworking of the spaces. The internal layout, once carved into a series of “tiny rooms” over time, has been reorganised and simplified, enhancing the existing volumes. Additionally, the architects expanded the basement to include a “new apartment for extended family” that is entirely self-contained and can be accessed via the exterior side alley if needed.

Buck recalls visiting the home upon its completion and being struck by its immersive quality, feeling instantly transported to a calming, otherworldly place.

Buck recalls visiting Crown Heights Brownstone upon its completion and being struck by its immersive quality, feeling instantly transported to a calming, otherworldly place – an effect he admits is central to much of his firm’s residential work in New York City.

“I remember walking in the front door and seeing all the way through to the back garden,” says Buck. “The sun was coming down the main stairway from the skylight above, and as the light bounced off the waxed plaster, it occurred to me that it didn’t feel like Brooklyn; it felt like someplace else. A place to come home to, yes, but one that also transports you elsewhere.”

Architecture and interior design by Brent Buck Architects. Build by Andrew Zalewski.