HOME TOUR | Old World Brooklyn Brownstone with pops of Coastal Grandmother

People come to me because they know that I love a maximalist aesthetic, but one that is versatile and timeless and can work from project to project, home to home, and it's really timeless investment pieces that work for each client's needs. With clients that tend to steer more into a minimalist vibe, I will show them pops of color more so in tones that are not so dramatic like blues and greens and pieces that you're not going to necessarily get sick of or feel that it's too vibrant and dramatic, but still elevates the space. A mixture of antiques and contemporary pieces are definitely one of my signatures. I love to layer different time periods and provenances. My name is Christina Nielsen, and I am the founding designer of Christina Nielsen Design, based in New York and London. Today we're in my home in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. I wanted to kind of make this space an ode to old world Brooklyn, New York character, purchase and decorate with pieces that maintain that English aesthetic, but also had a contemporary twist. In terms of a brownstone, obviously you have the beautiful bones and character, but at the same time that comes with a lot of work. We luckily did not have to do that much work in terms of overhauling the space. It was more cosmetic, but I would say that the number one issue in brownstones is very narrow spaces. So you have to be very in tune with that and work off of a floor plan prior to purchasing anything, because it can very easily become cramped. I wanted this home to feel just very welcoming and warm, where people could come because we entertain often with family and friends. And I think that also is very important, not just in my own home, but in all of my projects. This is my first home with my partner, so I felt like it was great to kind of start from scratch. I really started with bare bones. I sold all of my furniture from my previous apartment, which I lived in with my sister, so it was very much a bachelorette pad. I found this sofa. This is our first purchase at an estate sale, and it was falling apart. I could see that it had the roller arms and the wooden legs and the brass casters, and it had very much that George Smith feel, which I love. So this is the first purchase, which I then reupholstered, which is the case with a lot of pieces in this apartment. Just estate sale finds, reupholstered, making it my own. I knew I wanted the living area to be closer to the windows where there's natural sunlight, and I wanted the dining area to be closer to the kitchen. I also wanted to create a divide and have the fireplace act as the divider between the living area and the dining area. When you first glance into the living room, everyone loves the rod that holds the three different pieces of artwork in a vertical line. They also love the antique Egyptian architectural prints over the green sofa. Because there's such high ceilings, it really elevates your eyes so you can appreciate the height of the space. The trickiest thing for me in designing the space is finding something that could function as a media console, but also didn't look so overtly like a media console. It was one of my favorite antique dealers in Maine. I was lucky enough to purchase this from him. I love it so much because it has the marble top, so it doesn't feel as precious as just like an all-wooden dresser. At the same time, it's very versatile. I can store my tableware in there, linens, plus it hides all the awful TV wires. The kitchen, since it's a rental property, I was not allowed to make any changes outside of cosmetic ones. So luckily, the cabinets were already painted a really nice charcoal gray with acrylic knobs. So I really just wanted to elevate the space and bring in some more color. I also wanted to purchase bar stools that I knew were not too precious or delicate, and when I'm entertaining and people are spilling and drinking wine, eating, I never had to worry about stains. So I actually found the bar stools on Amazon, which is another secret goodbye. I wanted to layer the space with antique prints, which I collected on either side of the fireplace. There's three total. And even though they're all different heritages and provenances, they all come together because they're very vibrant and colorful. So this is one of my tried and true maximizing storage solutions that I use not just for myself, but a lot of my clients. It is a console that actually opens up in the center to store those ugly appliances that no one really wants to look at on a daily basis. So for example, I have my microwave here, and then on this side I have a wine refrigerator. I make sure that it's Velcro so you can easily open and close if needed. The garden outside, that was really another blank canvas. I wanted to kind of create a private space upstairs where you can go and have coffee or drink and feel like you really are in your own garden. Primary bedroom doesn't have as much natural sunlight. It's not just my home, so I decided to just layer patterns and fabrics in order to enliven the space. The main piece that I purchased for the primary bedroom was a set of silk screens that were framed. The office was an interesting space, being a place where I can store all my samples and office supplies without things feeling cluttered. So this piece was another great use of storage in an office that I also wanted to make sure was organized looking and decluttered. My mom actually passed this down to me. This was my childhood armoire, and it was originally painted in a very whimsical white with painted florals on it. So I stripped the paint and I pickled the wood, and I like that you can see different grainings in the woods, which kind of makes it very unique and original. I found this panel of fabric that I had the upholsterer install behind the chicken wire, and little do you know, you can open it up and it exposes all of the madness. But on a daily basis, you do not need to see the chaos. I would summarize the end results of my home as something that is very much me. It is layered with pattern and texture, and it's very fun. Nothing is too precious. Every time I come home at the end of the day, I can really just put my feet up and feel like I'm in a cozy English study, which is exactly how I want it to feel.