Tour an 1870s Brooklyn Brownstone Remodeled to Let the Light In

By Deb Schwartz

Photography by Trevor Tondro

Styled by Dung Ngo

The brownstone was big and beautiful, but there was a darkness at its core. Not an existential darkness, not a spiritual darkness, but a literal one. Like almost all town houses, the 1873 Italianate structure in Brooklyn had windows just in the front and the rear, so light never penetrated to its center, and the lower floors were particularly gloomy. When R.A. McBride and her partner lived only in the top three floors while renting out the bottom two, this wasn’t much of a concern—the upper levels were bright enough. But by the time their third child arrived and they were resorting to dividing rooms with curtains in order to give everyone their own space, the couple realized it was time for a change. Time to take over all five floors and, finally, confront the shadows.

Living in a murky town house was particularly unappealing for McBride’s partner, who had grown up in one in Manhattan. Her family had occupied the parlor, garden, and cellar levels, a twilit existence she found depressing and had no wish to return to. Meanwhile, McBride didn’t want to have to climb four flights of stairs in order to remind a child to grab their backpack or come to dinner.

For solutions, they turned to their friend Oliver Freundlich. Not only had Freundlich, an architectural designer, been friends with McBride’s partner since middle school, he’d revamped the couple’s place on Fire Island—a deeply personal and collaborative undertaking. For their Brooklyn home, the Oliver Freundlich Design (OF/D) team went even deeper, carving into the center of the 5,500-square-foot structure that Freundlich called “a five-story pancake” to flood it with light and make it work for the entire family. Guided by lead designer Will McLoughlin, OF/D punched a 12-foot-long capsule-shaped skylight in the roof, removed the existing stairs, and, taking advantage of the unusually generous 23-foot width, carved out a funnel-shaped opening in which they installed a winding, sculptural staircase that draws light into the heart of the house and visually and sonically links the floors.

The entry vestibule’s minimal furnishings include a Viabizzuno pendant by Peter Zumthor, a Jeremy Dunklebarger bench, and an Uhuru coatrack. The walls are finished in Sydney Harbor lime wash, and the floor tiles are original to the house.

A kitchen wall is clad in wine-hued Craftsman tile by Pratt + Larson. Viking range; Dornbracht pot filler.

Little was lost—the excised floor space contained only bathrooms, laundry, and closets, easily replaced elsewhere—and much was gained. On a quotidian level, the renovation makes it much easier for the family to shout at one another. On a loftier one, it brings a great deal of beauty into their lives.

The skylight, its frame completely hidden, has a James Turrell–ish quality: Looking up, all you see is sky. Sunlight bathes the stairwell’s curving, limewashed walls, and changing shapes of light and shadow travel from one side of the house to the other as the sun traverses from east to west.

The staircase itself was crafted in North Carolina of rift and quartered white oak, a material that can “take a beating,” as McLoughlin puts it, that will gracefully absorb years of collisions with kids’ water bottles, sneakers, and toys and daily encounters with the oils from hands large and small. “We designed with an eye toward materials that would wear well over time,” says Freundlich. “This is a house for a young family that lives hard. We used white oak here and throughout the house to make it feel warm, organic, a little bit less austere.”

A new spiraling staircase clad in rift and quartered white oak rises five stories through the house. The runner is a custom design by Proper Rugs.

Countering austerity became a concern once the team decided to take a more modern tack. “We went back and forth with the clients about different aspects—should we save this profile, this moment?” says McLoughlin. Ultimately, reconciling the goals of modernizing the house to make it more functional and maintaining its original details (some of which were showing their age) proved too difficult. But no one wanted cold, angular modernity; they wanted warmth and interest in tune with the building’s roots. “The original crown and baseboard details have all of these decorative barrel shapes and stepped profiles that really carved light and shadow, and we were eager to find a way to do that in a modern language,” says McLoughlin. He devised kitchen counters with a thin, highlighted edge that falls away to shadowed, recessed pulls on the drawers below it, and a semi-recessed, beveled baseboard that responds to light with more flair than a straight surface.

The same attention to detail was extended to the functional needs and aesthetic preferences of the clients. There had to be storage, lots of it, everywhere. “There’s a drawer for some sort of toy in every room,” says Emily Lindberg, who led the interior design. “Our goal was to provide unfussy solutions to practical needs.”

An artwork by Jessica Dickinson hangs above an Urban Archaeology tub with Vola fittings in the primary bath. The walls are covered in dark-tinted tadelakt plaster, and the flooring is concrete tile from Mosaic House. Pinch pendant light from The Future Perfect.

Winey hues, a favorite of the couple’s, are also everywhere. The walls of the back parlor turned kitchen are finished in a rosy plaster, and the statement-making hearth is clad in custom-crafted tiles ranging from burgundy to a rich port. The furniture is uniformly low-slung, capacious, and nap-friendly, the fabrics and rugs casual, colorful, and hard-wearing. Some of the most distinctive accents, from the Annie Albers–style rug in the living room to the eye-popping wallpaper in the family room, were commissioned from women artisans, and the house abounds in unique finishes. “Not a lot of clients are interested in taking this much risk with color,” says Freundlich. “It gives it warmth and character and covers up a mess. Things need to be quite immaculate against a white background. But the animation of life looks quite good against a colorful one.”

This story appears in AD’s June 2023 issue. To see R.A. McBride’s home in print, subscribe to AD.

The entry vestibule’s minimal furnishings include a Viabizzuno pendant by Peter Zumthor, a Jeremy Dunklebarger bench, and an Uhuru coatrack. The walls are finished in Sydney Harbor lime wash, and the floor tiles are original to the house.

The mudroom is painted in Benjamin Moore’s California Hills. Coat hooks from Hem; rug by Kilim Studio; floor of purple slate.

Vintage chairs by George Nakashima surround a custom walnut table by Kate Duncan in the dining area. Artwork by Andy Warhol; Akari floor lamp by Isamu Noguchi.

In the living room Flexform sofas and Haute Living cocktail tables stand atop a custom rug by proper rugs. Artwork by McBride. JMW Studio pendant lights; vintage Knoll credenza; Ochre mirror (above fireplace).

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Mayer Rus

By Ariel Foxman

In the family room two B&B Italia sofas face off across a custom cocktail table by Rowan Shaw Jones. Chair and ottoman by Matter; toy hippo by Renate Müller; custom wallpaper by Cassie McGettigan.

Photographer R.A. McBride (on sofa) gathers with her family in the newly configured kitchen. The walls are finished in rose-tinted tadelakt plaster, and the paneling, cabinetry, and island are of rift and quartered white oak. Viabizzuno pendant lights; vintage Pierre Jeanneret stools from MDFG and broom stools from DWR.

A kitchen wall is clad in wine-hued Craftsman tile by Pratt + Larson. Viking range; Dornbracht pot filler.

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Mayer Rus

By Ariel Foxman

Recent photographs stand on a shelf in McBride’s studio. Vintage armchairs; Mosaic Boomerang Table by Vladimir Kagan.

A new spiraling staircase clad in rift and quartered white oak rises five stories through the house. The runner is a custom design by Proper Rugs.

A George Smith sofa, Ochre ottoman, and Alvar Aalto stool create a sitting area in the primary bedroom. Verner Panton hanging light; vintage dresser by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Mayer Rus

By Ariel Foxman

The primary bedroom features a bed by Kate Duncan, a quilt by M. Callahan studio, artwork by Nancy Andrews, and a Lindsey Adelman bubble sconce.

Through the doorway, Jill Malek’s Terrains wallpaper envelops an office’s walls. Custom desk by Kate Duncan; Studio Van Den Akker floor lamp; vintage armchair.

A massive skylight illuminates one son’s bedroom. Linoto linen bedding; Lulu and Georgia rug.

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Mayer Rus

By Ariel Foxman

An artwork by Jessica Dickinson hangs above an Urban Archaeology tub with Vola fittings in the primary bath. The walls are covered in dark-tinted tadelakt plaster, and the flooring is concrete tile from Mosaic House. Pinch pendant light from The Future Perfect.

A Moving Mountains chaise longue covered in Maharam mohair stands in front of a window in another office. A silver magnetic wall covering by Weitzner covers one wall and the others are painted in Farrow & Ball’s India Yellow. Minka-Aire ceiling fan; Nanimarquina rug.

Looking down the staircase from the top level.

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Mayer Rus

By Ariel Foxman

Architectural designer Oliver Freundlich in the entry.

By Sydney Wasserman

By Charlotte Collins

By Sarah Madaus

By Adrienne Jordan