Living in NYC comes with its own challenges. First, you have to find an apartment and then turn it into a home you love. Crystal Sinclair, one of the design pros at Homepolish, an NYC-based, end-to-end, residential and commercial design service, shares how she brought this 19th-century townhouse in Sunset Park into the 21st century without sacrificing any of its historic charm. Book a free consultation with a Homepolish designer to create your own dream space, too.
BE FLEXIBLE
With the start of this project, Crystal fulfilled her wish of redesigning an NYC brownstone, but since this was her first NYC solo renovation, patience, and having an open mind were a must. “We didn’t really know exactly what to expect until we started the demo,” she says.
Working carefully with the demo team throughout the renovation, Crystal was able to rehabilitate the home’s ceiling trim and molding details, while repurposing other unexpected design surprises, including an antique relief that had been covered by wallpaper in the vestibule. Crystal said, “It had to be highlighted!” So the piece was brought to life with a coat of polyurethane and remained where it was found.
Other changes to the home included gutting the home’s entire third floor, including turning the kitchen into a master bathroom and converting a den on the parlor floor into a kitchen. “We worked with what we had and in the end, I think it turned out great!”
MIX THE OLD AND THE NEW
Before undertaking the renovation, Crystal and her clients determined that one of their main priorities was creating more light and space in the home without sacrificing the home’s original details. It may then come as a surprise that one of the home’s focal points — the living room mantle and bookcases — were new additions designed by Crystal.
By creating the pieces from scratch, the space was truly able to able to meet the family’s practical and design needs: “They needed a lot of storage for their many books and loved the idea of a mantle, a place for stockings and seasonal cards,” she says. The new structural additions fulfilled both by adding much-needed depth plus storage space to the room while evoking the home’s past.
GO BIG (OR GO SMALL!)
Even with major renovations, some of the home’s most dramatic changes came from some very small projects. “The floors were in pretty bad condition, so they were painted with a fresh coat of paint that added instant freshness and brightness,” says Crystal.
Other small alterations included painting the “over-pollied” banisters with black paint to contrast against the white walls and floors and installing a minimalist wallpaper in the entryway, a change that became one of her client’s favorite. “They LOVE their entire home” Crystal shares, and “they feel it reflects them and is functional to their specific needs.”
Visit Homepolish to view more photos of Crystal’s townhouse redesign
Photos by Seth Caplan for Homepolish
Design by Crystal Sinclair
* From Homepolish: Homepolish will offer 10% off your entire Design Package now through October 31, 2017 11:59PM PDT when you use code “hpxstreeteasy10” when signing up for your free consultation online or at checkout. Your Design Hours must be purchased before December 31, 2017 11:59 PDT in order to redeem this offer. Offer is valid one time only and cannot be applied to previous purchases, future purchases, retail purchases through our shopping concierge, gift cards, combined with other offers, or redeemed for cash. Some exclusions apply.
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