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
Grab A Drink At This Communal Coffee Shop In Oakland
Jones Haydu utilize a crown of concave timber slats and linear pendant fixtures to highlight the communal nature of The Caffè by Mr. Espresso.
Projects
A Downtown HQ By Gensler Channels The Spirit Of A Social Club
This Boston financial firm HQ by Gensler reimagines workplaces as a hospitality-driven third space, with a café crowned by a gold wire-mesh installation.
Projects
Improving Community Health At This Chicago Wellness Center
JGMA reimagines community wellness with the Humboldt Park Health Wellness Center, a color-saturated facility that pairs culture and health equity together.