A Williamsburg Duplex Draws From Brooklyn’s Industrial Past

At a busy corner in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, a new residential building rises from its narrow 25-foot-wide site, bridging the area’s past and present, brick by brick.

Completed earlier this year, the six-unit building nods to the area’s richly layered heritage and extends it, says Sara Ianniciello, the project’s lead interior designer and the founder of Makers Collective Design. “The goal was to contribute something contemporary and enduring to the block, acknowledging the site’s evolution while remaining grounded in Williamsburg’s architectural character.”

Modern living room with a white sectional sofa, large grid windows, views of city buildings, wooden dining table with red chairs, and an open kitchen under exposed wooden beams.

Photography by Giada Paoloni

To the west, Union Street zips past, a palimpsest of commercial spaces, workshops, and mainstay diners with their glowing neon intact; to the south, a run of hard-working row houses share the scenery with mature street trees jockeying for sunlight. The new building acts as a pivot point between the two, rooted firmly in place while offering respite, too, with rich interior finishes that evoke luxury and an enveloping sense of calm.

Modern living and dining area with large windows, light wood floors, a round dining table, upholstered chairs, a marble kitchen island, and potted plants. Natural light fills the room.

Photography by Giada Paoloni

To achieve it, Ianniciello looked to the nearby factories and workshops, using their proportions and materials as a kind of borrowed language, she says. Blackened metal, so prevalent in factory windows, signage, and doorways, informed the design of the divided-light steel windows, which create an interplay of light and shadows in the residences throughout the day.

Modern kitchen with marble island, minimalist decor, three pendant lights, and large windows letting in abundant natural light. A sofa and dining area are visible in the background.

Photography by Giada Paoloni

Classic finishes like walnut wood, unlacquered brass, traditional wall paneling, and oak herringbone floors were chosen for their enduring character. “It’s all connected to Brooklyn, but without becoming thematic in any way,” Ianniciello says. (The site’s own history is worth a pause here: It was previously occupied by a tumbledown, single-family house that had sat vacant for so long that an oak tree had grown up through the center of it, pushing the warped wood and vinyl siding out of its path. The developer carefully relocated the tree before breaking ground.)

Modern kitchen with wooden cabinets, marble countertops and backsplash, three pendant lights, green barstools, and high ceilings with exposed beams.

Photography by Giada Paoloni

In the fifth-floor duplex, the entry hall opens to a living space with soaring 20-foot ceilings inspired by the lofts that still dot the area. A graceful archway leads into the kitchen, where the ceiling lowers to 13 feet and is visually demarcated by walnut beams that complement the classic shaker millwork below. (A ladder is enlisted to reach the double-stacked glass cabinets at the top.)

Open wood shelf with a black bowl and two stacked white bowls. Below, a ceramic vase, two bowls, and a teacup on a wooden board, all set against a marble backsplash and countertop.

Photography by Giada Paoloni

Swirling Calacatta Viola marble, selected for the countertops and backsplash, injects deep purple and pink hues that strike a balance with the patinated blackened steel used to clad the rangehood, yet another hat tip to welding shops and industry. Outside, lush permanent planters wrap the unit’s window sills, creating the effect of a living wall in the streetscape below.

Modern loft with large floor-to-ceiling windows, a round dining table with red chairs, a marble kitchen island with stools, and a white sofa in an open, sunlit space.

Photography by Giada Paoloni

Up the slim oak staircase to the second level, Ianniciello’s background in hotel design comes to bear. Each of the three bedrooms is compact, yet carefully planned for comfort and quiet, like that of a small boutique hotel. The accompanying bathrooms are equally restrained, repeating the same Nordic grey marble in various sizes—mosaic in the shower, large-format ion the walls and floors—to minimize visual disruption and create a moody, spa-like ambiance.

A sunlit bedroom with tall windows, a made bed with white and beige bedding, a plant, framed art on the wall, and shadows cast on the walls and floor.

Photography by Giada Paoloni

Spread out over 1,400 square feet (and quickly sold), it is a testament to the neighborhood’s constant evolution, and its designer’s, too. The project was the first for her now three-year-old firm and remains a touchstone for her work.

After two decades working in hospitality and residential design mostly in San Francisco and New York, she struck out on her own to get back to design work and, she says, “stay close to the narrative.” This month, her team of four moves to offices in a former pencil factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn—a fitting backdrop to a story-driven practice.