Instead of Brightening This Gilded Age Penthouse, the Designer Went "Dark and Sexy"

"The couple's home occupies the top two floors of a 19th-century, Italianate townhouse, once owned by Austin K. Sheldon, a hardware merchant and skilled musician who later became the president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. What was originally a combination of billiard room and maids' quarters now resolves into a richly detailed penthouse, with floor-to-ceiling wood paneling, intimate nooks, and layers of intact Gilded Age craftsmanship."

"When the couple decided it was time to refresh the rest of the apartment, Gleizer seized the chance to play up the home's distinct features without sanding down what made it special. "We wanted to embrace this unique historical charm while bringing the space into the modern era," the designer says. That approach centered on the great room, a lofty space where the couple gathers with family and entertains friends."

"Given its frequent use, the stakes, Wade says, were high. "It's a big, giant square room with a big, giant fireplace and a bar and this little tower," she recalls. The challenge, she explains, was figuring out how to make it "sing-and still be practical." Reconfiguring the room meant embracing its quirks, including a small turret-nicknamed "the tower"-and a partially enclosed, full-service bar. "It's really five distinct zones that all need to relate to one another," Wade notes."

The couple occupies the top two floors of a 19th-century Italianate townhouse once owned by Austin K. Sheldon, a hardware merchant and musician who became president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Original billiard room and maids' quarters have been transformed into a richly detailed penthouse with floor-to-ceiling wood paneling, intimate nooks, and intact Gilded Age craftsmanship. Gleizer emphasized preserving historical charm while introducing modern elements. The renovation focused on the great room, balancing frequent family use and entertaining needs. The space was reconfigured around a large fireplace, a partially enclosed full-service bar, a small turret, and five interconnected functional zones.

Read at Architectural Digest