BAAO Architects

10/18/2026

Design Milk with .repost
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A Brooklyn Brownstone Trades Restraint for Color and Character 💫

In New York City’s ever-constrained real estate landscape, transitioning from a sleek Manhattan residence to a historic Brooklyn brownstone often means more room to stretch out, greater privacy, and a slower pace. In this respect, Manhattan and Brooklyn really are in different time zones, as the adage goes. For one empty-nester couple, that shift meant leaving their urbane Tribeca townhouse for a landmarked 19th-century brownstone in Clinton Hill, where they found a richer, more characterful backdrop for their next chapter.

The couple’s core ambition was not merely to update a period house but to create a home that could gracefully balance an extensive collection of midcentury furniture and contemporary art with a warmer, more spirited material palette. They turned to Brooklyn-based practice Barker Architecture Office to update the four-story brownstone.

See more at the 🔗 in bio.

Photography by Gieves Anderson
Styling by Philippa Brathwaite

10/17/2026

A Brooklyn Brownstone Trades Restraint for Color and Character

In this Clinton Hill brownstone, preserved architectural details set the stage for saturated color, custom woodwork, and contemporary art. The result feels layered and personal rather than precious.

Read more at the 🔗 below.

https://design-milk.com/baao-brooklyn-brownstone-renovation/

09/29/2026

A few ways we’ve approached the townhouse stair.

Because life in a townhouse unfolds across several floors, the stair is both a daily route and a defining part of the interior. Sometimes the existing stair can be reinforced, repaired, and refinished; other times, we need to start from scratch. A new design might reinforce original detailing or shift toward more modern proportions, with railings that range from solid and sculptural to delicate and screen-like.



Photos 1, 3,4, 6,7, 8, 9 Francis Dzikowski

09/21/2026

Vida Physio is a physical therapy and wellness practice grounded in the belief that moving freely is essential to living fully.

The design brings together spaces for individualized physical therapy, weight and movement training, and yoga. Curved forms, warm wood, and softly shifting colors connects the different modes of care.On the lower level, illuminated reeded-glass openings and a sculptural ceiling fixture give the yoga studio a warm, ambient glow.

09/21/2026

Vida Physio is a physical therapy and wellness practice grounded in the belief that moving freely is essential to living fully.

The design brings together spaces for individualized physical therapy, weight and movement training, and yoga. A sequence of arches, curved forms, warm wood, and softly shifting colors connects the different modes of care. On the lower level, where natural light is limited, illuminated reeded-glass openings and a sculptural ceiling fixture give the yoga studio a warm, ambient glow.

Designed to support recovery, strength, and long-term well-being, the space reflects Vida’s integrated approach to helping people move with greater freedom and confidence.

09/02/2026

Designing at the scale of the child.

For young children, architecture is experienced through the body: a window becomes a place to sit, an opening becomes a place to hide, and a change in ceiling height can make a space feel intimate or expensive.

At BAAO, we approach preschool design as the creation of environments for exploration, movement, gathering, and independence. We look for ways the entire space of the school can participate in learning.

Child-scaled openings and built-ins create spaces for retreat and discovery. Half-heigh walls give children a sense of privacy and independence while allowing adults to discreetly monitor activity and intervene when necessary. Interior windows and shared spaces allow children to see activity elsewhere and understand how their school fits together. In dense urban settings, courtyards, backyards, and rooftops extend the classroom outdoors.

Different scales of space give children choices about how they move, where they gather, what they see, and when they find a place of their own.

08/24/2026

08/09/2026

Three townhouses. Three primary floors. Three sequences.

The design of a primary floor grows from the relationship between the existing house and the ways its inhabitants want to live. Does the bedroom want to be near the garden, or facing the street? Does the bathroom want natural light? How should spaces for sleeping, dressing, bathing, and working connect, or remain separate?

In Boerum Hill Brownstone, the bedroom and separate home office are positioned at the front. Closets line an arched passage to the bathroom at the back, with a large steel window overlooking the garden.

In Fort Greene Townhouse, the bedroom and home office share space at the back and open out onto a terrace. A center closet zone leads to a generously sized bathroom at the front.

Carlton Brownstone places the home office at the front, in a room with preserved window moldings and a salvaged mantel. The bedroom occupies an extension with a balcony overlooking the rear, and the bathroom and closet in between.

Images 1-8 Gieves Anderson with styling by Philippa Brathwaite

Images 9-12 Francis Dzikowski with styling by Bricey

08/09/2026

Three townhouses. Three primary floors. Three sequences.

The design of a primary floor grows from the relationship between the existing house and the ways its inhabitants want to live. Does the bedroom want to be near the garden, or facing the street? Does the bathroom want natural light? How should spaces for sleeping, dressing, bathing, and working connect, or remain separate?

Carlton Brownstone places the home office at the front, in a room with preserved window moldings and a salvaged mantel. The bedroom occupies an extension with a balcony overlooking the rear, and the bathroom and closet in between.

In Fort Greene Townhouse, the bedroom and home office share space at the back and open out onto a terrace. A center closet zone leads to a generously sized bathroom at the front.

Boerum Hill Brownstone reverses that sequence. The bedroom and separate home office are positioned at the front. Closets line an arched passage to the bathroom at the back, with a large steel window overlooking the garden.

Images 1-4 Francis Dzikowski with styling by Bricey

Images 5-12 Gieves Anderson with styling by Philippa Brathwaite