An Interior Designer Spent 11 Years Slowly Renovating This 125-Year-Old Brooklyn Townhouse
“When we saw this home — with its east-west exposures and windows that could be seen on both sides — we were immediately sold,” begins Alison Jennison of this three-bedroom townhouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

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The home she had previously shared with her husband, Josh Jennison, was an East Williamsburg loft that was north-facing and very dark. The interior designer and owner of A Jennison Interiors described the space as “so depressing in the winter, and with two kids it was time for a new scene.”
“It was the third house we looked at, and we were so lucky the owner accepted our offer. It was a very competitive moment for home sales in the neighborhood, and the fact we were able to make it happen felt like a dream,” Alison continues.
Though the home’s amount of light was perfect for the family, which includes kids Decker, 15, and Margot, 12, as well as their two golden doodles, Nellie and Louise, Alison knew that the home would need a lot of work, writing that “everything would need to be replaced. That said we had a limited budget at the time and did what we could right away, but it has been a decade of thoughtful and slow renovations and I think I can finally say the house is ‘done.'”
“Honestly I love a slow and thoughtful renovation — we really learned how we would best live in the space — and with the kids growing from ages 1 to now 12 and 4 to now 15 our needs have grown and changed with them,” she writes.
Resources
PAINT & COLORS
- Doors/Trim — Benjamin Moore “Calm Satin”
- Walls — Benjamin Moore “Calm Matte”
- TV Room — Benjamin Moore “Pale Oak”
- Primary Bed — Benjamin Moore “Guacamole”
- Bedroom Wallpaper — Apparatus Studio
- Kitchen Cabinets — Benjamin Moore “California Redwood”
- Decker’s Room Floor — Benjamin Moore “Chantilly Lace” Matte Finish
- Decker’s Room Ceiling — Benjamin Moore “Frosted Petal” Matte Finish
- Margot’s Bedroom Walls/Ceiling/Trim — Benjamin Moore “Fairest Pink” Matte Finish
- Second Floor Wallpaper — Timorous Beasties
- TV Room Wallpaper — Eskayel
ENTRY
LIVING ROOM
- Sofa — Bludot
- Shelving — Atlas
- Coffee Table — Katy Skelton
- Side Table — Crump and Kwash
- Light — Workstead
- Lamp — Victoria Morris
DINING ROOM
- Table — Components purchased from a local woodworker, and we assembled
- Chairs — DWR
- Lighting — Token Lights
- Rug — Forsyth
KITCHEN
- Cabinets — IKEA
- Fronts — SemiHandmade
- Hardware — Rejuvenation
- Faucet — Waterworks
- Island — Boos Block in Walnut
- Counter — Soapstone
- Sink — Waterworks
- Counter Stools — M. Crow by BDDW vintage at this point!
SECOND FLOOR ENTRY
TV ROOM
- Sofa — Hay
- Pillow 1 — Eeskayel
- Pillow 2 — Schumacher
- Rug — Nordic Knots
- Window Treatment — Eeskayel
- Shelving — Vitsoe
- Poufs — Marrakech
PRIMARY BEDROOM
- Bedside Tables/Shelving — Custom
- Hardware — Sawkille
- Sconce — Blue Print Lighting
- Rug — Marrakech
- Chair — My Grandmothers 🙂
DECKER’S BEDROOM
BUNK BEDROOM
- Rugs — Vintage bought in Marrakech
- Lighting in Niche — Marrakech
- Desk — IKEA
- Shelving — Custom
- Sconce and Ceiling Lighting — Schoolhouse
- Bed — Oeuf
BATHROOM
- Vanity — Custom
- Faucet — Waterworks
- Shower Ludlow Collection — Waterworks
- Vanity Lighting — Rejuvenation
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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