Frederick Tang Architecture Restores and Reinvents 'The Pink House,' a Brooklyn Brownstone originally built in 1899

Brooklyn, New York — Frederick Tang Architecture has completed the gut renovation and addition of a 2,700-square-foot Boerum Hill brownstone, originally built in 1899 and affectionately known as ‘The Pink House,’ for a creative couple with two young children.

The Brooklyn-based firm’s redesign highlights the building’s rich history by restoring historic detail and preserving aesthetic choices made by its imaginative former owners, while simultaneously expanding and refining the space with bright, sumptuous details and smooth, curvaceous surfaces. The project hinged on the ambitious conversion of the brownstone from a two-family structure with an oddly shaped rear addition into a one-family home complete with a new, light-filled addition spanning the lot’s width.

“This project was very different from our typical townhouse renovations. The location was special: on a short tree-lined block in Brooklyn with color faced homes, each adding to the character of this close-knit community. ‘The Pink House’ would become the neighborhood’s newest addition,” says Frederick Tang, founder and principal of Frederick Tang Architecture.

The brownstone’s facade sets the tone for Frederick Tang Architecture’s overarching approach to the project, which balances elegance with whimsy and historic preservation with modernization. The firm refreshed the building’s brick exterior by painting it blush pink (Benjamin Moore’s Heather Pink) and restored its graceful, street-facing arched windows, which had been squared off in a past renovation. The building’s wood cornice was also restored and painted a complementary vibrant maroon (Benjamin Moore’s Raisin Torte).

A new front yard features a salvaged brick patio, laid in a herringbone pattern, and a special zone built to accommodate a silicon planter by Paula Hayes, whose work is included in the MoMA’s holdings among other prominent collections. A trellis of climbing vines, designed by Brook Landscape, complements and softens the space.

“It is rare when a client has such a specific color preference, specifically a unique pairing: pink and green (and in all the shades!). We loved the color combination and used it generously, especially in unexpected areas like the leather wrapped island base or leather inset at the desk, the bold foliage wallpaper, and the exterior,” says Barbara Reyes, Director of Design and Interiors at Frederick Tang Architecture.

At the house’s rear, a previous wood addition, which jutted awkwardly into the backyard, was removed and replaced by a new addition of reclaimed masonry brick, which steps down from the street level to afford greater ceiling height. Just outside, a yard designed by Brook Landscape centers on a reclaimed brick patio, a cedar deck, and a semi-enclosed, brass outdoor shower with a rainhead. A vintage 1960s white fiberglass chair by Eero Aarnio punctuates the space, which is shaded by an expansive tree—one of the oldest in Brooklyn.

“One of the biggest challenges was the two awkward extensions on the rear which created a dark yard. Once we removed this and built an addition, the character of the garden level changed. The typical dark and low ceiling garden room was suddenly spacious and filled with light because of the large steel openings and extended space into the terrace. It's truly a moment bringing the outside inside,” says Tang.

Inside, Frederick Tang Architecture conceived the renovation and interior design of all rooms, simultaneously developing custom surfaces and built-ins, selecting a range of new furniture, and incorporating elements of the owners’ existing collection of furniture, contemporary art, and ephemera related to film and rock music history. Overarchingly, the interior plan is united by a geometry of soft plaster curves (fireplaces, skylights, hood enclosures, stairs, arched openings), as well as a consistent color palette of pale pink and dark green, and a material palette of aged brass, leather, and white oak. Says Tang of the choice of plaster: “We love all the soft, ‘meringue-like’ plaster curves throughout the house, which offer lightness, softness, and dimension to the space”.

The light-soaked main level features the living room, kitchen, and back terrace. Overlooking a quiet Brooklyn street bordered in brownstones, the living room is anchored by a vintage 1960s Edward Wormley for Dunbar sofa, reupholstered in Lee Jofa’s Cotton Candy pink textile, as well as a fireplace nested in smooth, arcing plaster. A custom-made, four-piece Lariat fixture in aged brass by Apparatus Studio suspends above a vintage 1960’s coffee table by Bertha Schaefer, which are placed atop a custom-made wide plank white-washed white oak floor. The client’s vintage movie poster of Mick Jagger in the 1970 film Ned Kelly, as well as their life-size cut-out of Rod Stewart, add a playful, pop cultural note to the room.

In the kitchen, which overlooks the rear terrace and backyard, cream lacquer cabinetry with custom curved, white oak handles, designed by the architect and fabricated by Tony Sandkamp, set the tone for the luminous, open-format room. Splashes of color and detail accentuate the space and include a British-racing-green range by LaCanche, a curved plaster hood, a backsplash of Moroccan Zelig tiles from Mosaic House, and custom leather stools in pale green and brass by Thomas Hayes Studio.

A dramatic, softly curving staircase leads to the upper level, where the master bedroom is accented with a large-scale, black-and-white seascape made by a celebrated Los Angeles-based photographer. This hangs above a custom white oak headboard with end tables wrapped in pink leather and hung from brass rods. White oak detailing in the master bathroom creates aesthetic continuity across the master suite and is enlivened with a deep-turquoise Moroccan Zelig tile floor and an octagonal mirrored medicine cabinet custom designed by the architects.

On the garden level, Frederick Tang Architecture has accommodated a guest bedroom, entertainment room, bar, and lounge, which opens onto the garden. Highlights include a lush, patterned wallpaper by Candice Kaye in the guest room with side tables by Ochre. The bar is custom-designed by the architects and features a mirrored brass shelf and fixtures by Vola in aged brass. This leads fluidly to the lounge, where a custom 12-foot-long built-in daybed, upholstered in dark green linen from Cloth Fabric, mingles with a chair and end table from Arne Jacobsen’s Charlottenburg collection and light fixtures by Apparatus Studio. Custom millwork, spanning the entire wall of the garden room, was designed to display the client’s collection of books, artwork, and memorabilia, while the room’s custom built-in desk hosts a candid black-and-white photo of a young Bruce Springsteen.

Photography by Gieves Anderson

Project Team:

Architecture: Frederick Tang Architecture, Project Team (Frederick Tang, Shirley Hsu)

Interiors: Frederick Tang Architecture (Project Team: Frederick Tang, Shirley Hsu, Barbara Reyes)

Structural Engineers: Silman

MEP Engineering: Vince Liotta

Landscape: Brook Landscape (some landscape by Crystal Gaudio)

Contractor: The Moon Group

Millwork: Tony Sandkamp

Additional Project Credits:

FIRST FLOOR

Garden Level Front Room (Guest Bedroom)

-- Custom wood shutters

-- Wallpaper by Candice Kaye

-- Matera Bed by DWR

-- Leather side tables by Ochre

Garden Level Bathroom

-- Gio Ponti sink manufactured by Rapsel Milano

-- Plumbing fixtures by Vola

-- Tiles are Morroccan Zellige tiles by Mosaic House

-- Martinique Wallpaper by CW Stockwell

-- Mirror by Bower Studio

Garden Level Bar

-- Custom bar with built in refrigerator and ice maker

-- Custom brass shelf

-- Stone by Stone Source

-- Plumbing Fixtures by Vola in Aged Brass

-- Sink by Waterworks

-- Switches by Forbes and Lomax

Garden Level Desk

-- Desk is custom white oak with integrated drawers

-- Leather top by EDELMAN leather in light green

-- Chair is the Murena chair by Claudio Lazzarini and Carl Pickering, with pink velvet upholstery from Pierre Frey

-- Sconce by Apparatus Studio

-- Photograph is the owner's

Garden Room

-- Custom 12'-0" long built-in daybed upholstered in dark green linen from Cloth Fabric

-- Chair and Endtable are the Charlottenburg by Arne Jacobsen

-- Light fixtures by Apparatus Studio

Garden

-- Vintage 1960s white fiberglass chair by Eero Aarnio

SECOND FLOOR

Living Room

-- Sofa is vintage Edward Wormley for Dunbar sofa from the 1960’s, selected for it’s length and reupholstered in fabric by Lee Jofa in Cotton Candy Pink

-- Coffee table is vintage 1960s Bertha Schaefer with a travertine top and a walnut frame

-- Pendant light is custom 4-piece “Lariat” fixture in aged brass by Apparatus Studio.

-- Leather chair is from the owner

-- Flooring is custom-made wide plank white-washed white oak by State of the Art flooring

-- Poster on the floor is from the owner’s collection

-- Painting is by Paul Davies

Kitchen

-- The range is by LaCanche in British racing green

-- The tiles are Moroccan Zellige tiles from Mosaic House

-- The cabinetry is cream lacquer with custom-made curved handles made of white oak, designed by the architect and fabricated by Tony Sandkamp

-- The hanging bar is custom-made in brass

-- The countertops are Imperial Danby stone from Vermont