A Brooklyn Brownstone That Channels ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights'

New York Times

17-07-2025

When the writer Paula Fox's book 'Desperate Characters' (1970) was turned into a movie, she used the money from the film rights to buy a four-story brownstone in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. She wrote on a typewriter in her top-floor study, facing a wardrobe rather than the window overlooking the garden so she could focus. She lived there with her husband, the literary critic and translator Martin Greenberg, until her death in 2017.
Just 12 and a half feet wide, the 2,400-square-foot townhouse is unusually narrow though, by New York standards, it still contains ample space, with four bedrooms and a backyard. After Greenberg's death, in 2021, the home was put on the market and an actor couple who lived nearby were immediately intrigued. The timing felt right: they had two young children and were quickly outgrowing the one-bedroom apartment they'd rented for nearly 10 years. On a tour of the brownstone, which was built in 1899, they were charmed by Fox and Greenberg's decorating choices, like floral wallpapers and a not-quite-white paint that gave the rooms a warm, lived-in feel. They hoped to give the home some modern upgrades, including a new kitchen and additional half-bath, while retaining its personality. And so, after their offer was accepted, they turned to the Brooklyn- and Massachusetts-based designer Nick Spain.
Spain, 37, specializes in residential interiors and gardens and is known for his ability to mix and match styles. In early meetings, the clients shared photos of lush 16th-century paintings, including 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' by Hieronymus Bosch and 'The Ambassadors' by Hans Holbein the Younger, for inspiration. Spain has a background in theater and set design and encouraged the owners with his own references, including films shot in New York in the late 1970s and '80s, like 'Kramer vs. Kramer' and 'Moonstruck.' The guiding question, he says, became 'How can we express ideas of ornamentation and decoration, but in a way that feels a little more streamlined?'
Spain drew his color palette from the richness of the paintings and took cues from the brownstone's original Italianate detailing, ultimately leaning into a restrained kind of opulence. From the 20th-century movies, he embraced the worn-in texture and authenticity of their sets, which, he says, feel 'almost imperfect, and layered.'
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