Alexandra Barker designs a Brooklyn townhouse with bold materials, furniture and colour

Architect Alexandra Barker, director of Barker Associates Architecture Office (BAAO), has renovated a townhouse designed in Italian style, originally built in 1868, for a couple who fell in love with the home. The 2,991 sq. ft. house, located on a quiet tree-lined block in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, is spread over four floors.

The intense and varied colors, along with the sculptural forms featuring texture, dotted with marble elements showcasing pronounced veining, define the spaces of this home, designed for enjoying family life, leisure, and welcoming guests.

The green walls of the entrance and the checkerboard floor with traditional black replaced by green already hint at that intense color palette. A striking feature in this space is an asymmetrical curved mirror that reflects the arch of the doors leading to the staircase. This redesigned curved staircase culminates on the upper floor in a foyer sculpted by natural light.

The architect has designed each space with its own personality, defined by the materials, furniture, and color. In the living room, with a tranquil palette, the golden yellow relief by artist Andrew Zimmerman stands out, along with the sculpture Cloud Support by Mike Hansel, positioned above the classic fireplace, alongside characterful furniture pieces like the custom walnut sideboard, the curvy Julep sofa from Tachini, two marble tables, the hand-knotted Loop rug from the Indian brand Hatsu, and the original Galatea armchair from Malabar, handcrafted by Portuguese artisans in one of its multiple versions with marble and wood elements.

From the living room, a deep striated plaster arch, crafted by the artisans of Superstrata, frames a bar area lit by vintage French smoked-glass sconces, leading into the kitchen-dining space, illuminated by natural light from a large glass wall.

Alongside the spacious storage cabinets and the island painted in a earthy and neutral Jitney color, the marble Calacatta Vagli Viola stands out, adding an artistic touch to the soothing color from Farrow & Ball.

The dining room features the light oak table from Maiden Home, the Giraffe chairs designed by Juliana Lima Vasconcellos, available through Invisible Collection, and the stunning sculptural hand-blown glass lamps from the Phenomena collection by the Czech brand Bomma.

In the multimedia room, it is the intense eggplant color that gives character to an open space leading out to the exterior terrace, featuring large glass windows. Here, one can enjoy a visually striking bar area thanks to the Calacatta Monet marble front chosen by architect Barker, as well as a relaxation zone consisting of a modular sofa and a curved armchair upholstered in mint green velvet, framing a custom-made curved walnut coffee table. The vintage Italian resin lamp and curved perimeter lighting provide illumination from the ceiling.

On the second floor, a gentle lavender gray adds character to the  master suite , highlighted by custom-made hanging nightstands in stained oak, illuminated by wall sconces featuring patterned linen, the still life framing the headboard, and the vintage resin lamp that hangs from the ceiling.

The main en-suite bathroom, featuring the same lavender gray, is accessed through an archway from which the freestanding bathtub can be seen, basking in natural light and overlooking the garden thanks to a pivoting steel window, all within a serene atmosphere flanked by a large shower wall clad in green onyx and pink aurora macchia vecchia.

In this room, architect Barker has also designed a home office that features forest green walls, custom LED sconces for lighting, and a white oak desk with a custom-made roll-up shutter door.

In the guest area, the bedroom features a bed upholstered in green velvet, flanked by custom travertine nightstands and a trio of hanging clay lamps that reflect the hues of the wool rug covering the floor. The guest bathroom is adorned with stunning marble on the walls halfway up and on the floor, contrasting with the pink aurora stone tiles that line the tub with skylight and the shower nook.

Outdoors, the terrace and the garden steps are finished in travertine chessboard.

Project: Boerum Hill Townhouse.
Interior Architecture: Barker Associates Architecture.
Architect: Alexandra Barker.
Location: Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, New York.
Area: 278 m².
Completed: 2023.
Photography: Gieves Anderson.

Alexandra Barker

Alexandra Barker earned her master’s degree in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where she received the Templeton Kelly Award and the Clifford Wong Housing Award for her thesis work. She completed her undergraduate studies in Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude.

With over 20 years of experience as a licensed architect, Alexandra Barker is the founder and director of BAAO. Alexandra is also an associate professor and interim chair of the Master’s in Architecture program in the Graduate Department of Architecture and Urban Design at Pratt Institute, where she has been teaching since 2001. At Pratt, she has received national grants to integrate practice and education, as well as sustainable principles, into the graduate architecture curriculum.

Barker Architecture Office is an award-winning international studio based in New York, focused on exploring spatial and material approaches that adapt to the changing relationships between inhabitants and the built environment. Led by Alexandra Barker, Barker Architecture Office has worked in both the public and private sectors on a range of projects, including educational and commercial initiatives, private residences, and interiors in the New York area, as well as regionally and internationally.

Source: Barker Architecture Office y V2com.

Project by Alexandra Barker