Room of the Day: A Double Parlor Hits All the Right Notes
This eclectic Brooklyn living and dining space in a Victorian townhouse is both sophisticated and child-friendly
When it came time to remodel the double parlor of their turn-of-the-last-century Brooklyn, New York, townhouse, the family of six living there had a few requests. They wanted the rooms to be chic, sophisticated and child-friendly, and they didn’t want gray walls. Bright neutral walls were chosen for the long, narrow space, and darker hues were chosen for the furnishings. The stylish rooms — designed for the whole family — feature a cozy seating area, a delightful dining area and an upright piano for four budding musicians.
In Bolognino’s design, safety and style go hand in hand. The double parlor’s seating area includes an eclectic mix of new and vintage finds. A pair of Robert and Mito Block club chairs from the 1940s, a new custom leather sofa and heirloom stools from eastern India surround one of the room’s two original marble fireplaces. The designer says the stunning Triad & Dyad chandelier from Apparatus Studios, with its sculptural satin brass arms and milk glass bulbs, provides “a statement from inside the room and from the street,” since its warm glow can be seen by pedestrians passing by the front of the house.
Historically, a double parlor refers to two adjacent living rooms, often with a pocket door separating the two spaces. Today, many double parlors are used to accommodate a living space and a dining area. With only two narrow windows at the front of the double parlor, Bolognino tried to keep the space as bright and open as possible. Smaller-scale furniture, a mirror above one of the fireplace mantels and a fresh coat of Benjamin Moore’s Timid White paint on the walls were selected to keep the long, narrow space from feeling too dark and cramped.
The upright Steinway piano creates an attractive and functional transition between the living and dining areas. The large black-and-white painting above the piano is entitled Smoulder and was created by British artist Saad Qureshi.
Yes, You Have Room for a Piano
Yes, You Have Room for a Piano
The design for the dining area began with the purchase of the six vintage Danish dining chairs. “The chairs added a little midcentury appeal to the mix, and they also fit into the rounded-corners approach to the project,” Bolognino says. The chairs are covered in a washable cotton-synthetic-blend fabric that’s great for cleaning up after a family of six. Bolognino custom-designed the dining table. The table has a leaf that allows it to seat up to 10 guests.
See more Rooms of the Day
See more Rooms of the Day
Double Parlor at a Glance
Who lives here: A family with four young children
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Size: About 500 square feet (46.4 square meters)
Designers: Elizabeth Bolognino Interiors and Baxt Ingui Architects
In a home with four young children, safe and durable furniture was an important consideration. “Creating a room where the kids could safely run from one end to the other was a necessity,” interior designer Elizabeth Bolognino says. To achieve this goal, most of the furniture, such as the coffee table, club chairs and sofa, has rounded corners to protect the little ones.