Page 44 - Designing Ways 275

COLOUR
TRICKS

Kitchen
Photo credit: Katherine Marks

Ditmas House

Brooklyn, United States

hakespeare Gordon Studio presents language for their later renovations of
Ditmas House, the renovation of a the home’s two main floors, a striking
Shome in New York's historic Ditmas template for the process of reimagining
Park neighborhood. their family’s home. Amy and Mark’s bold
When Amy Shakespeare and Mark reorganisation of space, which upended
Gordon, Principals at Shakespeare the conventional turn-of-the-century
Gordon Studio, purchased this home layout, informed playful design choices
in the historic neighbourhood, they throughout Ditmas House.
knew they were taking on a challenging The primary bedroom suite in the
project. The large, historic structure had attic serves as a case study of the choices
been divided into many smaller rooms that characterise the design logic of this
and dark, uncomfortable spaces over project: a cohesive, flexible backdrop
the course of its life. Still, they surprised punctuated by bursts of colour and
themselves by deciding to start their definition that reinforce function. The
redesign in the attic, from the top down. main part of the attic, which spans the
Attics are often underutilised spaces width of the house, is clad in a mix of
in traditional homes. Located up several white shiplap siding on the underside of
sets of stairs, and with challenging spatial the roof and ends of the gables. Solar-
geometries, they frequently remain as controlled operable skylights introduce
a leftover space that is mainly used for natural light and air into spaces that
storage. Attics can be an afterthought had previously been very dark. Exposed
when renovating a home, and the last natural plywood panels blanket the
places to receive makeovers. balance of the walls and dormers, and are
With Ditmas House, however, Amy also used to create custom storage closets,
and Mark realised that the attic might be a dresser, bookshelves, and a desk for
the best place to begin. In transforming Mark’s home office. These interventions
the dreary warren of small attic spaces create a light, airy space that is elegantly
into a light-filled primary suite for malleable, with a range of subtle, cohesive
themselves, they established a new visual built-ins to support that flexibility. Kitchen
Photo credit: Katherine Marks

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