Ditmas Park Victorian

The clients contacted our firm at the end of 2020 looking to restore the home’s original wood elements, upgrade their mechanical and electrical systems, and add fresh finishes and millwork. While the floor plan remains largely true to the original, we made thoughtful updates to the kitchen and reimagined the sunroom above to better suit the owners’ needs.

Originally, a powder room was located off the main stair landing, which protruded into part of the kitchen, and intersected the sunroom above. Removing the powder room allowed us to reconfigure the kitchen, making space for a new banquette in front of the existing leaded glass windows, a coffee bar, and ample cabinet space. This also freed up space in the sunroom adjacent to the primary bedroom. We reallocated part of the sunroom to serve as an en suite primary bathroom, and the remaining space became a secret den area accessed by a secondary staircase added in place of the old powder room, which the owners requested be concealed by a mirror door. This space was the only place in the house where contemporary finishes were used, with Scandinavian influences helping to create a warm, quiet retreat to nap or listen to music.

The primary and guest bathrooms feature custom mosaic floor patterns and other fixtures and finishes designed to seamlessly blend with the home’s existing elements. A custom bed surround in the primary bedroom and bookshelves in the front office were added, but the remaining spaces in the upper two floors were mostly untouched, with minor paint and fixture updates. The GC did an excellent job restoring the existing elements, paying attention to even the smallest details, and celebrating the home’s historic charm.