“The living room is painted in the most beautiful blue,” designer Crystal Sinclair says of the Hoboken brownstone she revamped. “When you walk in, if you’re stressed, it just melts away.” Photo: Tim Lenz
Bad weather doesn’t usually bring good thoughts, but there’s something to be said for the hypnotic, calming patter of raindrops and the dark clouds that scoot us indoors, where we feel safe.
Storms can even elicit ideas for home decor. A photo of a city storm gave designer Crystal Sinclair the idea to propose that theme to clients who had hired her to redesign their Hoboken brownstone.
The clients, Maggie and Ryan, loved Sinclair’s idea to design each level of the 1901 brownstone as if they were looking at a different part of a storm, based partially on color palettes. The basement, for example, represents a rushing river (Hoboken is on the Hudson River) and is primarily teal. The main level puts them under clouds in rich blues with flashes of pink and gold, like those seen just before and after a storm. The third level, comprising bedrooms and bathrooms, is in the clouds in dark blues and blacks. The top level rises above the clouds with sky blues and sunny golds.
The color story is overlaid with textures and geometric shapes that help to bring the rooms alive. “I love mixing the softness of a circle with the hard edges of a square because they balance each other,” says Sinclair, whose firm is Crystal Sinclair Designs in Tuxedo Park, New York.
Because much of the brownstone’s character had been stripped away by previous owners, Sinclair designed extensive crown, ceiling and wall moldings, which lend a bit of Parisian atmosphere.
In addition to transforming the home’s existing spaces, it was enlarged at the rear to allow for a new living room on the main level, a primary bedroom above it, and a nursery on the top floor. The home now totals a little over 2,750 square feet. Sinclair, who joined the project when it was already in the framing stage, is quick to credit contractor Ridge Restoration LLC in Glen Ridge for accommodating changes to the floor plan and the addition of details that she knew would restore character while also meeting modern-day needs.
“When we first purchased the home,” owner Maggie recalls, “it had small windows, little closet space, only three bathrooms across four floors for five bedrooms, and dropped ceilings to provide limited AC and heat.”
She and Ryan, who were moving from a one-bedroom condo in Hoboken as they started their family, wanted to add bathrooms and storage and to carve out spaces for an office, gym and other uses. “We didn’t want to open up all of the walls on the first floor to make it a completely open floor plan. We tried to preserve the original arches in the old living/dining space, but relocated them to make the kitchen more central.” They also wanted color. “We’re so tired of seeing all white and neutral spaces,” Maggie says. “We wanted something moody and sexy, but inviting.”
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