At a busy, kinetic corner in Brooklyn’s dynamic Williamsburg neighborhood, a striking new residential building has risen from a remarkably narrow 25-foot-wide infill site. Completed earlier this year, the six-unit development serves as a tangible bridge connecting the area’s storied past with its contemporary present, meticulously crafted brick by brick to harmonize with its surroundings.
The project nods respectfully to the neighborhood’s richly layered architectural heritage while seamlessly extending it into the modern era, explains Sara Ianniciello, the lead interior designer for the project and the founder of Makers Collective Design. According to Ianniciello, the primary objective was to contribute something both contemporary and enduring to the block, acknowledging the specific site’s ongoing evolution while remaining firmly grounded in the distinctive architectural character that defines Williamsburg.
The context of the site heavily influences its design language. To the west, Union Street zips past in a blur of urban activity, representing a living palimpsest of commercial spaces, active workshops, and mainstay local diners with their nostalgic neon signage still glowing bright. To the south, a steady run of hard-working historic row houses shares the scenery with mature street trees that constantly jockey for patches of sunlight. The new residential building acts as an architectural pivot point between these two distinct urban rhythms. It is rooted firmly and audaciously in place, yet it simultaneously offers a quiet respite for its residents, utilizing rich interior finishes that evoke a sense of understated luxury and an enveloping, tranquil calm.
To achieve this delicate balance, Ianniciello drew heavy inspiration from the nearby factories and industrial workshops that have long defined the borough, adopting their structural proportions and raw materials as a kind of borrowed design language. Blackened metal, which remains profoundly prevalent across the neighborhood in factory windows, commercial signage, and heavy doorways, directly informed the specification of divided-light steel windows. These industrial-inspired elements create a dynamic, shifting interplay of natural light and sharp shadows within the residences throughout the course of the day.
Inside the homes, a palette of classic, time-tested finishes was selected for their inherently enduring character. Warm walnut wood, unlacquered brass, traditional wall paneling, and rich oak herringbone floors were chosen with care. Everything is deeply connected to the visual and material history of Brooklyn, yet executed in a way that avoids ever feeling overly thematic or heavy-handed, Ianniciello notes.
The site itself holds a peculiar and fascinating history that is worth pausing to consider. Prior to the construction of the new building, the narrow plot was occupied by a tumbledown, single-family house that had sat vacant for so long that a full-grown oak tree had managed to sprout up directly through the center of the structure. Over the years, the resilient tree had pushed the warped wood and deteriorating vinyl siding entirely out of its path. Before any construction could begin, the developer had to carefully arrange for the relocation of the mature tree, clearing the way for the new chapter of the property’s life.
Stepping inside the fifth-floor duplex, the entry hall opens dramatically into a soaring main living space defined by 20-foot ceilings, an architectural feature directly inspired by the classic artists’ lofts that still dot the surrounding streets. A graceful, sweeping archway leads from this voluminous gathering space into the kitchen, where the ceiling height gently steps down to 13 feet. This transition is visually demarcated by exposed walnut beams that provide a warm complement to the classic shaker millwork installed below. To ensure every square inch of storage is utilized, a rolling library ladder is thoughtfully enlisted to allow residents to reach the double-stacked glass cabinets positioned at the very top.
For the kitchen’s primary surfaces, swirling Calacatta Viola marble was selected for both the countertops and the continuous backsplash. The stone injects deep, dramatic purple and pink hues into the room, striking a deliberate and sophisticated balance with the patinated blackened steel used to clad the custom range hood—yet another subtle hat tip to the welding shops and heavy industry that historically powered the neighborhood. Just outside the windows, lush permanent planters wrap around the unit’s deep window sills, creating the verdant effect of a living wall visible to pedestrians in the bustling streetscape below.
Venturing up a slim, meticulously crafted oak staircase to the second level of the duplex, the influence of Ianniciello’s extensive background in hospitality design comes clearly to the fore. Each of the three bedrooms has been designed to be compact, yet they are so carefully planned for comfort and quiet that they evoke the refined atmosphere of a small, exclusive boutique hotel. The accompanying bathrooms maintain the same restrained discipline, repeating a sophisticated Nordic grey marble in various formats—utilizing a delicate mosaic tile inside the shower enclosure and large-format slabs across the walls and floors. This cohesive material strategy minimizes visual disruption, resulting in a moody, deeply relaxing, spa-like ambiance.
Spread out over a generous 1,400 square feet and snapped up by eager buyers in short order, the completed project stands as a testament not only to the neighborhood’s constant, restless evolution, but also to the growth of its designer. This ambitious residential building was the very first commission for Ianniciello’s firm, which is now three years old, and it remains a vital touchstone for her broader body of work.
After spending two decades working intensively in hospitality and residential design, primarily based out of San Francisco and New York, she ultimately decided to strike out on her own to get back to the core of hands-on design work and stay intimately close to the narrative of each space. Continuing that story-driven practice, her growing team of four is moving this month into new offices situated inside a historic former pencil factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn—a remarkably fitting and authentic backdrop for a designer so deeply attuned to the architectural past and present of the borough.
