Historic Brownstone Renovation: Before & After Design Inspiration

Architects Jess Hinshaw and Andrew Fisk specialize in sensitive modernizations of old New York City structures: see, for instance, The Sentimental Minimalist, a tour of Jess’s own Brooklyn townhouse, and Andrea’s own Late-19th Century Quarters in Pinks, Greens, and Grays. The two run Shapeless Studio and one of the many designs of theirs that we’ve featured is A Kitchen that Celebrates Life’s Daily Details.

Set in an 1867 Italianate brownstone in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill, the project belongs to a young family of three who opted to remodel their two floors in stages: upstairs, containing the living quarters, was tackled first, followed a few years later by the bedrooms on the garden level. The couple—he works in the food business; she’s a landscape architect—wanted to gently update their rooms while, in her words, “creating a real connection to the outdoors, so that even when the house is closed, you never feel cooped up.”

Now that both floors are finished, we’re returning to take a full tour (scroll to the end for some Before shots). Note that this is a rare renovation that began and ended as a love fest: the owners found Shapeless Studio by admiring their work on Remodelista. And though they themselves prefer to remain anonymous, the owners asked that we pass on their praises for all involved, including contractor Pini Lipman and his team at Sunshine Renovations Management: “We could go on and on about the ways they showed up and went above and beyond, but we will just say that they are consummate professionals and really good people.” Adds Andrea, “In addition to being talented, honest, and kind, they was amazing at working within the irregularity of old townhouses.”

Photography by Hagan Hinshaw, courtesy of Shapeless Studio (@shapelessstudio).

The Parlor Floor

Above: The architects sanded and refinished the house’s original parquet floors and preserved the plasterwork. Built-in custom cabinets line one wall. The
Mags Soft Sofa and ottoman are by Hay and the pendant light is the Herman Miller
Nelson Apple Bubble Pendant.
Above: The Shapeless Studio team kept the existing flow of rooms but widened the passageways and introduced flush thresholds to integrate the spaces.