When Lauren Snyder and Keith Burns renovated their historic brownstone in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, they knew exactly what they wanted, down to the hardware, the wall finishes, the built-in storage solutions—even the ventilation unit. It’s not all that surprising: Lauren owns the Brooklyn Heights (with a new NYC outpost) shop The Primary Essentials, and Keith is an architect. The first order of the gut renovation was making the 100-year-old brownstone energy-efficient: solar panels on the roof, new windows, spray-foam insulation, an energy-recovery ventilation unit, a rainwater collection system, high-efficiency radiant heating, and LED lighting throughout. (“At the end of the year, we pay almost nothing for electricity,” Keith says.) Then came the creative structural solutions and Primary Essentials–like decor. Join us for a tour.
Photography by Jonathan Hökklo, courtesy of Lauren Snyder and Keith Burns.
![lauren and keith opened up the parlor floor to bring the light in. “we t 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-2-733x489.jpg)
Before starting his own firm in 2013, Keith worked in large-scale commercial projects with New York firms ODA and REX. The brownstone renovation was a new challenge, working within the confines of a historical building and a rigid layout.
![a slab of palissandro blue marble is used for fireplace cladding behind the mor 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-3-733x489.jpg)
![the kitchen island is topped with a six by eight foot calacatta emerald marble 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-4-733x489.jpg)
![a liebherr 30 inch built in refrigerator is flanked with a bank of plywood shel 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-5-733x489.jpg)
![the parlor floor walls are plastered with standard usg plaster dyed with graphi 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-6-733x489.jpg)
![an open alcove on the second floor is one of two spaces framing the staircase t 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-7-733x1100.jpg)
![the second floor guest room is furnished with a vintage florence knoll rosewood 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-8-733x497.jpg)
![two bedrooms share an adjoining bath. the walls here (and throughout the house) 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-9-733x482.jpg)
![a bathroom with a silver gray corian counter, a kohler stillness bath faucet, a 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-10-733x1100.jpg)
![the alcove opposite the reading nook houses a jungle of potted plants. the floo 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-11-733x1099.jpg)
![the pendant lights on either side of the second floor are alvar aalto hand gren 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-12-733x1100.jpg)
![the top floor bedroom is designed with the concept of “objects defying s 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-13-733x489.jpg)
![the headboard, made of birch ply millwork by hub woodworks, is open at the top 29](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-14-733x489.jpg)
![a galley style closet with custom shelving painted benjamin moore marina gray. 30](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-15-733x1100.jpg)
![the top floor, keith says, was completely reconfigured. plumbing was moved and, 31](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-16-733x493.jpg)
![alcoves are a theme. here, a lineup of bath products sits above a pair of 32](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-17-733x489.jpg)
![also on the top floor is a home office with a laminate top packing table from u 33](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-18-733x1100.jpg)
![lauren and keith in their backyard. 34](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lauren-snyder-keith-burns-bed-stuy-brownstone-jonathan-hokklo-19-733x489.jpg)
Plans
![a view of the architectural plans. the garden floor is a rental unit, while lau 35](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/keith-burns-putnam-brownstone-renovation-733x489.jpg)
For more on Lauren and Keith, see our posts on their Brooklyn store and former kitchen in Fort Greene and visit the new Primary Essentials location in SoHo, New York.
- Household Essentials, Boerum Hill-Style
- Kitchen of the Week: A Young Couple’s Brooklyn Kitchen Reinvented
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