Welcome to My Brooklyn Brownstone!

Restoring a Brooklyn Brownstone: Designing with History, Not Just Trends

Most New York interior designers love a clean slate—a blank canvas where every detail can be freshly imagined. But as a Brooklyn interior designer who lives in a 120-year-old brownstone, I’ve learned that starting from scratch isn’t always the most rewarding path.

Sometimes the most beautiful results come from honoring what already exists—both the physical structure and the emotional history of a home. Designing within those boundaries has challenged me in the best ways and taught me how to merge old and new in a way that feels personal, not trendy.

Designing Within an Existing Framework

Every day as an interior designer in New York, I face a series of creative puzzles: How do we make something fresh without erasing the past? How can we build a home that feels exciting but still familiar?

This mindset becomes especially important when clients bring years of memories, furnishings, or cultural references into the design process. Rather than discard what they already love, I see it as an invitation to build something layered—something that reflects who they are now, not just who they hope to become.

That’s one of the most rewarding aspects of interior design with existing elements: the chance to bridge gaps between what was and what’s next. And it’s exactly what I faced in one of the most personal projects of my life—my own historic Brooklyn brownstone.

A Brownstone With a Past—and a Future

Twelve years ago, I took on what would become my most meaningful (and occasionally maddening) interior design project: restoring a former crack den in Brooklyn into a livable, beautiful space.

The home, more than a century old, had no front doors and a haunting past. But I saw something else—a potential for transformation. Where others saw decay, I saw the origin story for the life I wanted to build with my partner.

As a Brooklyn brownstone interior designer, I knew the architectural bones were worth saving. What I didn’t anticipate was how much emotional excavation I’d need to do—digging through layers of neglect, peeling back physical and psychic damage, and rebuilding both the space and our sense of home.

Whne The Interior Designer and the Client Are the Same

Unlike with my clients, where I guide a vision from the outside, this time I was both dreamer and decision-maker. And that made everything harder.

When I work with clients, I help them balance new styles with pieces they love. But when it came to my own home, the stakes felt higher. I wanted to experiment with unfamiliar materials and layouts, while also preserving details that reminded me why we chose this house in the first place.

This is where my professional experience in historic home interior design made a real difference. I leaned on what I had learned from working on older homes in NYC—respecting original millwork, integrating reclaimed materials, and carefully selecting furnishings that would bridge periods without clashing.

Merging the Past and Present

Whether I’m working on a brownstone renovation or a modern high-rise apartment, the goal is always the same: to create spaces that reflect the people who live in them.

In this case, that meant finding peace with imperfection. Not every beam could be salvaged, and not every room could be “fixed.” But by weaving in both contemporary elements and pieces that nodded to the home’s history, we arrived at something deeply personal and livable.

Today, our home is filled with light and laughter. It’s far from perfect, but it’s full of soul—and that’s what makes it beautiful.

Final Thoughts: Interior Design Is a Journey

One of the things I love most about being a New York interior designer is the chance to build something lasting. Trends will come and go, but spaces rooted in history and personality endure.

Whether you’re working with a family heirloom, a beloved piece of art, or an entire historic brownstone that’s been through more than most, there is always room to grow something new—without discarding what came before.

If you want to learn more, check out this article on brownstones that details their history and architectural relevance.

Cheers!