Ready to give their circa 1880s townhouse a face-lift but eager to preserve its original details, this couple sought the expertise of New York architect Ben Herzog and his team, who specialize in townhouse and apartment renovations and additions in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The four-story brick home in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights neighborhood boasts intricate plaster crown moldings, arched doorways and even a speaking tube — a kind of old-school intercom system. But it hadn’t been updated in decades and had an awkward layout, with the kitchen sequestered on the second floor. The homeowners and pros agreed: In addition to other structural and cosmetic changes to the home, the kitchen belonged on the first floor, and a room overlooking the rear garden was the perfect spot. While Federal style was the kitchen’s aesthetic starting point, the finished product reflects a variety of influences. “They’re connected with the arts world,” project manager and designer Ilva Skaraine says of the homeowners. “So they have kind of a quirky and adventurous taste, and they also like an old-world feel.” Perhaps the most striking element of the new kitchen is its colorful stained glass transom window, which the team found at a local architectural salvage yard. But everywhere you look in the room, there’s something to please the eye.

Victorian

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