May 3, 2019

Idan Naor Thinks Horizontally for a Brooklyn Brownstone

From the Source stools gather at the custom horizontal walnut grain island, lit by Foscarini pendants. Photography by Cheng Lin.

The archetypical Brooklyn brownstone is a study in verticality, with a few stories of narrow corridors and dark rooms piled atop each other. However, when the local Idan Naor Workshop got the chance to reprogram a gem from the 1920s into a 5-unit apartment building, they decided on a different direction: horizontal.

This 2,350-square-foot apartment jettisons the piles of hallways and instead utilizes a gallery to connect public areas to the three bedrooms. Ample natural light floods the expansive open plan. And everywhere founder Idan Naor turned the usual orientation of things on its head. “The flower nook in the guest bathroom is leftover space from a vertical mechanical chase and allows for much-needed counter space,” he notes. Subway tiles are installed in herringbone patterns. “We flipped the grain direction in the kitchen millwork to amplify the composition,” he says. “And even the Sub-Zero fridge doors are flipped from the typical orientation to better accommodate traffic flow in the kitchen.” It’s a cool idea.

An AllModern floor lamp further brightens the sun-drenched master bedroom, with a Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams chair. Photography by Cheng Lin.
In the master bath, a custom teak and limestone vanity supports a Duravit sink and Watermark faucet; behind the MTI soaker bathtub is a wall of Stone Source’s chiseled limestone. Photography by Cheng Lin.
AllModern’s table lamps rest on vintage side tables in the second bedroom. Photography by Cheng Lin.
A rug from Safavieh defines the third bedroom. Photography by Cheng Lin.
Subway and penny tiles from Lazer Marble clad a second full bathroom, with a Toto toilet. Photography by Cheng Lin.
A Louis Poulsen Snowball pendant hangs above a vintage dining table, above herringbone floors of rift and quartered white oak. Photography by Cheng Lin.
Vintage Barcelona chairs boast custom refurbished cushions in the living area, around a vintage Paolo Piva coffee table and DWR sofa. Photography by Cheng Lin.

Recent Projects