Warren Street Townhouse

Japanese-inspired brownstone renovation

studio vural architecture firm design brownstone facade renovation

This 1880 brownstone in tony Cobble Hill has excellent bones but had been chopped up and disfigured over the years. Previous renovations had stripped historical details and cobbled together rooms, making a contemporary gut renovation a must. Studio Vural worked with interior designer Claire Hung to create a minimalist, Japanese-inspired home, seamlessly harmonious in form and finishes.
As a young couple, our European clients visited Japan and stayed in an authentic Japanese house. It was a memorable experience which became the driving force behind our design. Japanese architecture is more about absence than presence. Statements are made by harmony of simple parts coming together in a fluctuating rhythm. Unlike Western architecture, formal relationships are asymmetrical and atonal, if you will. This is the essence of our design.

Floor to ceiling glass bathroom wall for extra romance

We used hand-selected veneer sheets of European Oak, mixed-matched to our client's liking to create the undulating pattern. Beige travertine stone slabs blend with marble tiles and hand-poured concrete slabs on the kitchen counters. Glass floor openings were designed to function as offset skylights to bring natural light from the real skylight opening to the roof. An all-glass primary bathroom maximizes the depth in the bedroom and adds a little romance to the ambiance.
Warren Street Townhouse is a special project for us; we poured our hearts and minds into it, survived a pandemic, and came through transformed, more experienced architects. We thank everyone who worked collaboratively for a common goal.