Architect and designer Jenny O’Leary transformed a kitchen inside a late-1800s brownstone in Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn, N.Y., into a modern, functional space while still preserving historical charm. The challenge was more than updating and preserving an old house, but designing a kitchen a couple could comfortably share on the daily.
Another challenge was the fact that O’Leary’s clients had two opposing design styles. While one liked darker tones and strong lines, the other preferred softer elements. O’Leary aimed to renovate the kitchen to feel classic and calm for each of them, designing the kitchen to look like it had always belonged to the brownstone home, just with a modern touch. She worked with Isla Porter on the cabinets, using mostly warm oat-milk fronts to soften the room, balanced by a darker wood on the island, a nod to the family’s heirloom furniture. The wall of dual-finish cupboards is meant to read like original built-ins.
Photo Credit: Julie Goldstone
