Gimme Shelter: The Homes of 8 Brooklyn Professionals
Jonathan Butler (founder of Brownstoner, Brooklyn Flea, and Smorgasburg) and his wife, writer Kira von Eichel, moved into their five-story Clinton Hill townhouse nine years ago, and have been lovingly restoring the former-SRO bit by bit. “We both grew up with parents who loved falling-apart houses with good bones,” Von Eichel says, “so we felt like we could tackle it, even if it was going to be over the long haul.” The most recent renovation was of the parlor floor, which has golden parquet floors (once covered with linoleum!), original marble mantelpieces (once covered in paint!), and high ceilings, letting in a flood of sunshine. As you might expect from the person behind the Brooklyn Flea, there are plenty of vintage treasures decorating the home. “We have both had to temper our addiction to flea market finds and strange family heirlooms and tchotchkes or we might have been labeled hoarders,” she says. “But we need them. They’re totems of experience, and each thing evokes moments in life, even if you’re just walking past it on the way down the hall. The same goes for art, books and our records.” After all, these are the things—even more than the perfect wallpaper or original casement windows—that give a living space personality. They are, says von Eichel, the most essential things of all, “the signs of life.”
Photos by Emily Howe
