In Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, local architecture firm Studio Oh Song recently spearheaded a renovation of a townhouse. Initally, the project scope involved revamping the kitchen and primary bathroom, however, the design team was able to stretch and expand the budget to include all of the bathrooms, a new stairwell, and the entire garden level of the residence. For the newly updated Madison Street Townhouse, Studio Oh Song captured the warmth of staying home on a rainy night.

“Our client shared with us his favorite restaurants and bars in the city, and we began curating a material palette that felt inviting, calming, and at times playful,” Justin Oh and Ericka Song, cofounders of Studio Oh Song, told AN Interior together. They continued, “We began reminiscing about restaurants we had both visited during our childhood and that particular feeling of being indoors while it is pouring rain outside. […] We distilled it down to a few characteristics that were essential to their new home: soft lighting, natural materials, warm color accents, and an openness to shadows.”

Home to a chef, the kitchen was the main focus for the renovation. A curved entryway with vaulted ceilings, all coated in a green lime-wash paint, introduces the kitchen and emphasizes the moment of transition. This hallway cleverly hides the pantry with doors that blend into the walls and bathroom. Custom terrazzo shelves by local Brooklyn studio Osprey Studio were added to the hallway to amplify the unique scale of the space.

The shadowy hall gives way to a bright kitchen lined with wood cabinets and walls coated with Benjamin Moore’s Swiss Coffee paint. Oversized, cylindrical pulls are affixed to the drawers and cabinet doors. The hardware is complemented by light grey Perla Santana quartzite kitchen countertops from ABC Stone.

Red tiles from Zia Tile form a backsplash with a curved design that creatively breaks up the monotony of the otherwise white and wood backdrop.

At the back of the kitchen, floor-to-ceiling windows pour generous natural light into the room. A custom wood dining table by Simeon Beardsley placed in front of the windows takes advantage of the incoming sunlight. Beardsley’s handiwork also furnishes the bedroom, where a headboard and attached side tables add soft texture to the white walls.

“With the kitchen being the focus of the renovation, it was important that the rest of the townhouse feel cohesive. We had to be very selective about what to refresh, and how, in order for the material palette throughout the townhouse to feel united,” the cofounders continued. The custom wood stairwell adopts the curved forms found in the kitchen cabinetry. Additionally, custom terrazzo shelving by Osprey Studio and red tiles in the bathroom tie in elements showcased in the kitchen. A round porthole in one bathroom looks into the bedroom, another nod to a curvy design language.

Both Song and Oh described Madison Street Townhouse as “warmhearted.” It’s an apt description as the tone, textures, and lighting provide a comforting place to wait out any storm.