This Williamsburg Townhouse Is the Ultimate Party Pad, With Nods to Classic NYC Hotels and French Farmhouses (2024)

At first, designer Oliver Haslegrave wasn’t sure about the project brief. His clients, a Brooklyn family living in a three-level townhouse in Williamsburg, had two specific requests: First, they love to entertain so they wanted two kitchens (easy enough), and second, they asked that the upstairs feel like a French farmhouse and that the downstairs take inspiration from prewar New York hotels. Reframing the design challenge as an opportunity, Haslegrave, whose interiors firm Home Studios had focused solely on hospitality projects until they tackled their first residential project in 2020, started to think of ways to connect the disparate spaces.

“We worked with two very different narratives on two different floors,” Haslegrave says. “It was an unusual pairing but a welcome one. We wanted a thread that made you feel like they were related but in a way that still allows each to be true to its inspiration. We used color, material, and details, such as custom lighting and the Lacanche range to create that thread.”

When Haslegrave first saw the town house, it was outdated but nondescript (having undergone a renovation in the ’90s), and the owners wanted a complete gut remodel of all three floors, the courtyard, and an existing outbuilding in the yard. “We left the plumbing infrastructure,” the designer says, “so the bathrooms remained in place, as did the kitchen upstairs. The rest we took back to the studs.”

Working with the three levels—the family-centric spaces (kitchen, living and dining room, two bedrooms) are on the second floor, the entertaining areas are on the ground level, and the primary suite is in the partially below-ground cellar level—Haslegrave designed the 3,000-square-foot residence with the idea of gathering and retreat in mind. “As big entertainers, when they saw the downstairs, I think they recognized the potential to have it flow into the outbuilding,” Haslegrave says. “So, even though it’s separate from the main structure, we looked at it as an extension of the house.”

For the top level, the clients requested an aesthetic reflecting the calm elegance of a European farmhouse. This is a space where the family planned to gather for meals each day and spend time together in the evenings. Here, Haslegrave chose a simple palette of light wood, white walls, and antique tile, all underscored by reclaimed oak flooring. A mix of furniture from different eras—1970s dining chairs, an 18th-century hutch, contemporary lighting and fixtures—creates a cozy, lived-in vibe with a shades-of-blue through line. In the kitchen, Tri-Lox Antique White Oak cabinetry complements 19th-century Portuguese façade tile (originally used for building exteriors) and a custom-designed island built from painted wood, topped with zinc, and adorned with antique Victorian brass hardware. The kitchen is open to a dining room, positioned under a sizable skylight (Haslegrave installed new steel-and-glass windows and doors to the terrace to let in more light). Various 1970s dining chairs surround a wood farmhouse-style dining table, and the 18th-century painted wood hutch sits in juxtaposition to a Thomas Barger collectible design piece.

The star of the adjacent living room, a contemporary B&B Italia Camaleonda Sofa by Mario Bellini (the brand reimagined the 1970s classic in 2020), brings a relaxed air to the space, inviting the family to plop down at the end of the day with a good book. Haslegrave paired the sofa with two vintage Bentwood Armchairs by Karel Kozelka & Antonin Kropacek (dating to the 1950s), their sensually curved arms giving a nod to the Camaleonda’s famously humped form.

The downstairs palette skews dark, emulating the moody, lounge-like settings once found in storied New York hotels. Reclaimed oak planks—used for the floor and to clad the ceilings and select walls—tie the ground floor level to the second floor, as do the second kitchen’s Lacanche range (chosen in black downstairs and blue upstairs) and the curved, over-island pendants. From the kitchen, black-and-white checkered Arto floor tile continues outside onto the terrace and up the steps to the brick-glass-and-steel outbuilding that Haslegrave converted from a backyard storage shed to a jewel-box entertaining space, complete with a screening area, hot tub, and custom brick pizza oven.

In addition to a new kitchen, the ground level also has a sitting area, with a rusty red L-shaped sleeper sofa and 54-S1 Armchairs by Gae Aulenti for Knoll clustered in front of a custom concrete fireplace. A glamorous custom wet bar with a copper top, designed by Home Studios, sits against the wall adjacent to the dining area, which features an antique farmhouse trestle dining table and a set of 1950s Ilmari Tapiovaara chairs.

Below the entertaining space is the primary suite, which includes a bedroom, lounge, and office, laundry facilities, and a bathroom doubling as a part of the primary suite and a water closet for guests. A custom bed with built-in shelves and headboard anchors the room, and the walls are encased in white plaster and light wood details. “The clients wanted a serene, relaxing space to escape,” Haslegrave says. The bathroom is another project gem, providing guests with a visual surprise. The room is covered in deep blue glazed zellige tile, with a striking freestanding copper tub in the shower cove.

It’s these contrasts and the careful balance of styles that make this project a success. According to Haslegrave, the clients have hosted dinners and get-togethers since moving in, but the real test will come this summer when the family can fully utilize the backyard connection between the house and outbuilding. “The outdoor space and its potential really attracted the clients,” he says. “They have a unique oasis in the middle of busy, bustling Brooklyn.”

Shopping

You’ll love these contemporary styles and budget-friendly price points

Architecture + Design

This family home, a joining of two apartments, is as welcoming as it is refined

Culture + Lifestyle

From the world’s tallest waterfall to one in a underground cavern, these incredible wonders are worth traveling for

Clever

Because you only get one shot at a first impression