Step inside the latest project from London and New York City-based designers nune; a reconfigured ‘Belgian-inspired’ brownstone in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill.  

The typical New York townhouse averages around six metres wide, so you can imagine design studio nune’s delight when a nine-metre wide, double-fronted Brooklyn brownstone landed on their desk. Described by founder Sheena Murphy and partner Tor Sauder as an incredibly rare find, the interior designers worked with local architects (and previous renovators) Baxt Ingui, modifying the home’s layout to make the 1899 townhouse work harder for the growing family who live there.

In line with the client’s affinity for minimal Belgian farmhouses, the framework of the existing staircase was retained and kept in place, now clad in polished plaster with a gently-rounded balustrade. This subtle curve repeats itself in small yet powerful structural elements throughout the home, including the custom kitchen cabinetry and island bench, the living room walkway and the built-in upstairs vanity. Imperative accents of black dot the neutral interior, seen most prominently in the smaller architectural details like the tapware and door hardware.

Sheena describes each space in the home as ‘classic and quiet’, with an emphasis on storage, be it through bespoke built-in joinery or flush-fitting wall cabinets. “Studio maxed out on storage to ensure the clean aesthetic was easy to maintain throughout the house,” Sheena states. A curated palette of marble, Travertine, oak, walnut, wool and linen reinstate this ‘clean’ aesthetic. Alongside a lineup of contemporary lights, Sheena says the palette “allows the eyes to rest as you move through the house”.