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Brooklyn firm Barker Associates Architecture Office renovated a four-story, landmarked brownstone in Clinton Hill for a couple moving from Tribeca. The design combines surviving period features with saturated colors, contemporary materials, the owners’ art collection and spaces tailored to daily life. The source describes the completed project but gives no construction dates or budget.
Brooklyn-based Barker Associates Architecture Office (BAAO) has renovated a four-story, landmarked brownstone in Clinton Hill for an empty-nester couple who moved from a Tribeca townhouse, reshaping a house once divided into short-term rentals into a colorful home for their furniture and contemporary art. The project pairs a small number of surviving historic details with modern interventions, according to a report by Design Milk.
The owners wanted more than an update to a period house: they asked for a setting that could accommodate a collection of midcentury furniture and contemporary art while introducing a warmer, more expressive palette. Design Milk reports that the building had lost much of its original ornamentation when it was divided into short-term rentals. BAAO preserved the architectural features that remained and placed them alongside cleaner, contemporary additions.
Color establishes the sequence from the entrance onward. Olive front doors open to a terracotta vestibule, with a yellow-painted central staircase and a red runner visible beyond. On the parlor floor, diagonal white oak floorboards refer visually to historic parquet patterns. The living room retains its plaster crown molding and fireplace, which has been refaced with textured porcelain tile; an expressive chandelier by Richard Tuttle hangs from a restored plaster rosette.
The kitchen wraps around the room’s perimeter, using white oak cabinetry, soapstone counters and lilac marble. Rather than a conventional island, the designers put a dining table at the center, beneath vintage aluminum pendants sourced in France. Downstairs, the garden level divides between a bright family room opening onto the garden and a dark-paneled library with custom walnut shelving and Hans Wegner chairs.
How the Rooms Serve the Owners
The renovation shows how a historic home can be adapted for contemporary living without making period restoration its only design goal. BAAO’s approach, as described by Design Milk, uses the surviving architectural fabric as one part of the composition, while color, furniture and materials give the rooms a distinct present-day identity. That balance matters in a building whose earlier conversion had removed much of its ornament.
The layout also responds to the owners’ specific routines and collections. A dining table creates a gathering point in the kitchen, the garden level offers both a shared family room and a separate reading space, and the art and furniture are placed throughout the house. These choices make the project less a display of decorative finishes than a reorganization of a home around how its residents intend to use it.
For readers interested in renovation, the project provides a concrete example of working within a landmarked structure while introducing contemporary elements. The report does not describe approvals or construction methods, so it cannot establish how particular regulatory or technical challenges were handled.
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From Tribeca to Clinton Hill
The couple moved from a Tribeca townhouse to a 19th-century brownstone in Clinton Hill. Design Milk frames the move as a shift toward more space, privacy and a different pace of city life, but those descriptions are the report’s characterization rather than quantified comparisons. The property is identified as landmarked, placing the renovation in a historic setting.
BAAO’s design retains what the report calls the few surviving architectural elements and combines them with contemporary work. The visual references are specific: diagonal oak flooring recalls Victorian-era parquet, while restored plaster, a fireplace and the central staircase connect the rooms to the building’s earlier character. The project’s newer features—including custom cabinetry, colored tile and modern lighting—are presented alongside those elements rather than as a reconstruction of a fully intact original interior.
The home’s upper levels reflect the family’s current needs. The primary suite uses russet, ochre and moss green, with a hand-painted landscape mural, a reading nook and a private terrace. The top floor has three bedrooms for the couple’s adult children, arranged around a skylit lounge. Design Milk reports that BAAO worked with the owners on furniture choices and the placement of their art collection throughout the house.
Project Details Not Reported
The Design Milk article does not give the project’s completion date, renovation budget, construction schedule or contractor. It also does not identify specific landmark approvals, explain the technical work involved in relocating the staircase, or state which original features were lost during the home’s conversion to short-term rentals. The article describes the design outcome but does not provide independent assessments of cost, performance or the owners’ experience after moving in.
The reported project details are attributed to Design Milk, which credits photography to Gieves Anderson. The source does not include direct, extended statements from the homeowners or a separate account from the architect beyond its description of the firm’s work.
No Further Milestone Listed
The source presents the renovation as a completed residential project and does not announce a future construction phase, public opening or follow-up milestone. BAAO’s design is documented through descriptions and photographs credited to Gieves Anderson. Any additional information about the schedule, costs or preservation approvals would need to come from the owners, the architecture firm or relevant city records; none is provided in the report.
Key Questions
Where is the renovated brownstone?
It is in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Design Milk describes it as a landmarked 19th-century brownstone.
Who designed the renovation?
The project was designed by Barker Associates Architecture Office (BAAO), a Brooklyn-based practice, according to Design Milk.
What is distinctive about the interior?
The design combines surviving historic details with modern materials and vivid color. Examples include a terracotta vestibule, yellow staircase, lilac marble kitchen backsplash and a dark-paneled library.
What happened to the house before the renovation?
Design Milk reports that the brownstone had been divided into short-term rentals, a conversion that removed much of its original ornamentation.
How much did the renovation cost, and when was it completed?
The source does not state the project’s budget or completion date. It also provides no construction schedule.
Source: rss
