Brooklyn Heights Showhouse A “Huge Success”

By on October 8, 2017 1:20 pm in Architecture

Following the cancellation of the Brooklyn Heights house tour because the age of ubiquitous social media made homeowners uneasy, the Brooklyn Heights Association is presenting Showhouse at 32 Livingston Street from 11 am – 5 pm every day except Monday through November 5. Last entry is at 4 pm.

Showhouse features the work of more than a dozen designers, along with products for the home, wallpaper, furniture, and fixtures, many of them created right here in the borough. The admission price of $40 ($35 for BHA members) will include a journal. Reservations are not required, and you can purchase tickets here.

Architect and designer Glenn Gissler moved to Brooklyn Heights about five years ago after nearly 30 years in lower Manhattan. A long-standing attraction to historic homes and historic districts, and his decades-long involvement in historic preservation make him a perfect fit for the project.

“I love the rich neighborhood architecture and the ‘pride of place’ the residents of Brooklyn Heights have about their neighborhood,” wrote Gissler in an e-mail. “I jumped at the opportunity to help out the BHA, meet more people from the neighborhood, and work with my colleagues at New York Cottages & Gardens.”

Taken with the “remarkable scale and proportion of the rooms, and the amount of original detail still intact,” Gissler designed the living room at 32 Livingston.

GrossAndDaley_GGSH_x_06

Photo credit: Gross & Daley

“Respecting the architecture of the grand-scaled room, we applied a subtle Farrow & Ball striae wallpaper on the walls and a wallpaper with gold bee silhouettes on the ceiling,” he wrote. “A perfectly scaled antique Khorassan carpet from Nazmiyal anchors the floor and reinforces the history of the home. We added a complex but understated mix of mostly vintage and antique furnishings and accessories from exemplary New York dealers, and a selection of bold 1950-60’s works of art from Berry Campbell Gallery – all sourced from 1st Dibs!”

The space also features the work of Heights resident Jennifer Eisenstadt, whose room is pictured at the top. (Photo courtesy of the BHA.)

Showhouse opened on September 29 and was, said Gissler, “a huge success, with lots of positive energy from BH neighbors and my industry colleagues.”

 

 

 

 

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  • Banet

    While I’m deeply sad to see the house tour go (I probably attended over a dozen times) I have to say, the show house was a wonderful experience.

    I strongly encourage everyone to attend… and to join the BHA of course.

  • Cranberry Beret

    Agreed.

    Also, just a point of clarification (which might be obvious to long-timers who follow news of the house tour, but not so apparent to anyone first hearing of the issue from this post):

    The house tour wasn’t “cancelled” (which makes it sound like it was scheduled and then called off)…instead, after many successful years, the BHA decided it no longer made sense to keep going. “The age of ubiquitous social media made homeowners uneasy” was certainly a reason (and makes a good soundbite), but wasn’t the only, and not even necessarily the most important. After dozens of years of hosting 5-6 houses annually, in a relatively small neighborhood, there’s just a finite supply of houses that are suitable for a tour. “Going back to the well” was an issue even before Instagram came around. Keeping the interest of the community with something fresh and interesting is the driver of this new program, which is why it’s an exciting development.

  • Teresa

    Thanks for the clarification– if you want to ID yourself or point me in the direction of someone to BHA to make it official, I’m happy to amend the post.– you contact me at teresa@brooklynbackstretch.com

  • Banet

    I disagree with your statement “After dozens of years of hosting 5-6 houses annually, in a relatively
    small neighborhood, there’s just a finite supply of houses that are
    suitable for a tour.”

    If anything, we’re in the middle of a boom of high-end creative renovation the likes of which the neighborhood hasn’t ever experienced.

    What renovation boom you might ask? Just off the top of my head:

    — The carriage house next to the fire house that’s currently under renovation.

    — That Jared Kushner renovation on Sidney Place.

    — That $16MM renovation on Willow Street.

    — At least 4 gut renovations currently underway or recently completely on the one block of Garden Place.

    — The entire Standish on Columbia.

    — The house that recently sold on the corner of Hicks at Joralemon.

    — A $19.5MM place for sale in 1 Brooklyn Bridge.

    — 10 other properties listed for sale at Compass Real Estate for North of $6MM — any one of which would likely be a stunning home.

    — That carriage house on Grace Court Alley with all the pumpkins at Halloween.

    — That carriage house on Grace Court Alley that’s currently for sale for $8MM.

    But alas, for whatever reason, these homeowners just aren’t interested in opening up their homes the way people once did.

    Fortunately the BHA very cleverly pivoted to a different way to show off the creativity and house pride of our neighborhood. I wish them well.

  • Cranberry Beret

    Actually many of those houses have been on the tour before, just not after the most recent renovations (which in many cases ripped out the historic detail that made them tour-worthy in the first place)

  • Banet

    I would disagree that “many of those houses have been on the tour before”. In looking through the list I posted:

    “The carriage house next to the fire house that’s currently under renovation.” — Hasn’t been on the tour in the 15 years I’ve been going and it’s in the middle of a full gut renovation that will transform whatever is there to a brand new home.

    “That Jared Kushner renovation on Sidney Place.” — Was previously many apartments so it’s essentially a brand new home.

    “That $16MM renovation on Willow Street.” — Also a full high-end gut.

    “At least 4 gut renovations currently underway or recently completely on the one block of Garden Place.” Some of these may have been on the tour at some point in last 30 years but I don’t recall any of them being on the tour and again, full renovations.

    “The entire Standish on Columbia.” — Obviously never been on the tour.

    “The house that recently sold on the corner of Hicks at Joralemon.” — Never been on the tour.

    “A $19.5MM place for sale in 1 Brooklyn Bridge.”– Never been on the tour.

    “That carriage house on Grace Court Alley with all the pumpkins at Halloween.” — Never been on the tour.

    “That carriage house on Grace Court Alley that’s currently for sale for $8MM.” — Also never been on the tour.

    …so, I’m not sure what you mean when you say “Most of the houses have been on the tour before since, well, essentially NONE of them have been on the tour.