apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Oak hall tree:
Hall trees, like this one carved from oak, were extremely popular in the late 19th century. The beautiful full-length mirrors weren't just eye-catching, they were also practical, serving as a spot where one could remove galoshes, hang up an overcoat, and primp before leaving the house. Think of it as the precursor to today's mudroom. The mirrors also served to make rooms and hallways appear larger.



From This Old House:
The side stair placement common to New York City rowhouses was intended to give the rooms as much square footage as possible. Stained-glass skylights, located directly above, illuminated most staircases.

Tiled fireplace surround.

In Progress from Gothamist (Photographs by Katie Sokoler)

The red paint has been stripped to reveal the stone.

Photos and historical information about the home's period details are here. The brownstone is being transformed into a three-family home, which will contain a duplex for the family on the middle two floors (connected by a spiral staircase they bought on Brownstoner), plus two rental units on the garden and top levels.

Besides the This Old House team which comes to Brooklyn from Boston every week or two, the project is being overseen by Brooklyn contractor Michael R. Streaman, whose own team includes plumbing contractor Erik Gitli from Aladdin Plumbing and Vincent Verderosa, from Super-Charged Electric. In total, there's a crew of almost 30 people working to get the house finished by late February, and the episodes for the Brooklyn project will start airing around on January 22 (check local listings). In the meantime, you can keep track of the brownstone's progress by checking up on posts at Old House, My House as well as the live 24-hour webcams on the site.

More in progress photos from Gothamist