a tree in the courtyard surrounded by a winding wood staircase — Photographer_Frank Frances, Agency_Art Department, Digital Tech_Olivia Demetros, Stylist_Naomi de Manana

February 2, 2024

Old Meets New in This Updated Brooklyn Carriage House

2023 Best of Year Winner for Small City House

Mass timber has been gaining traction as a more sustainable alternative to concrete and steel, which emit large amounts of greenhouse gases in their production. The engineered product has made headlines when used in skyscraper construction, but it has also been deployed in small-scale projects, as witnessed in this 1870’s carriage house in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, outfitted with a new 3,100-square-foot interior by Schiller Projects. When the building was stripped to its shell, structural beams were salvaged and milled locally for the flooring. Glue-laminated Douglas fir was utilized for the staircase and second-floor bridge. And everything was designed so that sometime in the future the parts can be removed for repurposing yet again.

See Interior Design’s Best of Year Winners and Honorees

Explore must-see projects and innovative products that took home high honors.

2025 WINNERS

a historic brick facade with curved windows

PROJECT TEAM

aaron schiller; Colin Cleland; Alberto Rodriguez; Sophie Hodges.

Projects
Discover A Meditative Museum Dedicated To Self-Reflection
Explore the Aatma Manthan Museum by Sanjay Puri Architects taking visitors on a spiritual journey via zigzagging mirrors and a cavelike foyer.
Projects
How Mayan Construction Shapes a Luxury Condo Complex in Mexico
See how this 160,220-square-foot condominium complex in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, by Sordo Madelono nods to the region’s pre-Hispanic history.
Projects
Picnic in This Meadow Atop Chicago’s Old Post Office
Stroll through the sprawling 3 ½-acre rooftop garden designed by Hoerr Schaudt that tops Chicago’s Old Post Office, creating a truly unique alfresco amenity.