A 183-Year-Old Brooklyn Brownstone Had Its Character Stripped Out - So a Designer Brought It Back

"Over the years and through several owners, many of the apartment's original details had been stripped away - most notably, the generous proportions that parlor floors typically offer. The typical striking architectural features seen in brownstones, such as crown molding and ceiling medallions, had all been removed. What we adopted was a series of choppy rooms, with several varying ceiling heights, and all the finishes were gray and white, making the space feel very sterile and dated."

"The creative couple - Jila is a landscape architect and interior designer whose work often explores the relationship between interiors and exteriors, and Scott is the founder of Ensemble, a hospitality design and strategy studio - renovated nearly every inch of the apartment. Part of that work involved restoring an original Italianate fireplace mantel, with a hearth updated in matching marble, turning it into a recurring motif that moves quietly through the living spaces."

A 1,600-square-foot, 183-year-old Brooklyn Heights brownstone apartment underwent extensive renovation by owners Jila Keshavarz-Miller, a landscape architect and interior designer, and her husband Scott Miller, founder of a hospitality design studio. The apartment had lost much of its original architectural character through previous renovations, including lowered ceilings, removed crown molding, and stripped ceiling medallions. The space featured choppy rooms with varying ceiling heights and sterile gray-and-white finishes. The renovation restored the apartment's grandeur by removing the lowered ceilings, restoring an original Italianate fireplace mantel with matching marble hearth, and making key architectural changes including removing dividing walls to open up the kitchen, dining, and living areas.

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