Jennifer Suhr, a filmmaker and screenwriter, and Michael Curtes, a digital product designer, purchased a 1900 three-family home for them and their two children in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York. The duo envisioned an enduring home that unfolds with the shifting needs of a family, from accommodating young ones to hosting gatherings to eventually housing the in-laws full-time. They looked to Studio Fabian Lorenz, a young, local firm, to oversee the renovation and design that unfolds and compresses with the various stages of the family.
Due to water damage, a full gut renovation was necessary. The renovation changed the layout into a two-family home with a unit atop. The top-most unit will first operate as a tenant unit but will eventually transition into quarters for the grandparents. The units can be connected, or even turned into one single-family residence, via the tenant staircase.
As the units are flexible so too are the elements inside. The first floor is defined with a wall of custom cherry millwork that stretches north and south along the length of the plan. a guest room ccan be set up on the fly courtesy of a Murphy bed and a sliding wall that pull out from the millwork.
The millwork continues deeper into the home, where it also extends into a dining table. A bench was built into the millwork, upholstered with an orangey red fabric from Knoll. The natural materials alongside pops of color extend the desire for an enduring residence—and tie in Suhr’s film background. Kogonada’s After Yang and Spike Jonze’s Her were inspirations for the clients ideal domestic atmosphere, which is to say something serene, quiet, organic—the antithesis of a high-tech dystopia.
Studio Fabian Lorenz translated the cinematic references into a material and color palette of organic materiality, color, and tactile textures. As the millwork stretches to the rear of the home, it establishes a kitchen, enlivened by a teal backsplash. New sliding doors that connect the home to the garden bring natural light into the kitchen as it opens into the living room. A dandelion-colored Luva sofa by Herman Miller acts as a punch of brightness.
Upstairs, the layout accommodates a shared room for the children, designed to separate into two when older and then recombine as one library space when they’ve moved out. A play area, a blue and beige bathroom depicting abstract clouds, and office-cum-guest-room also make up the floor. When the kids are older and come back to visit, this office space and first floor guest room are designed to welcome them back.
The tender design is not without its moments of play. A powder room is hidden behind a secret door. Iridescent glass surfaces recall the cinematography of After Yang, while more unexpected color punctuates the space. Other bathrooms are drenched in bright orange. A skylight sits atop of the shower to bring in natural light and enrich a built-in sun-ledge holding plants in the shower. The delightful and unexpected elements instill a sense of presence, even as the home plans for the future.