All images of 81 Pierrepont Street via Douglas Elliman
In this episode of "Real listings, imagined lives", we feature a 6,000-square-foot Brooklyn Heights brownstone at 81 Pierrepont Street that has meticulously renovated by the family-run Brooklyn Home Company. The 25-foot-wide townhouse is currently the priciest listing in Brooklyn asking $14,500,000, Its meticulously-restored details, bucolic location, and gracious proportions surely explain why. Finished in 1845, the Greek Revival-style exterior hints at the ornate crown molding, arched doorways, and reclaimed Douglas Fir timbers/white oak floors found inside. The five-floor retreat has six bedrooms, four baths, a roof deck, and three exposures, including a primary view onto one of Brooklyn’s most beautiful streets. Take a spin around this beautiful historic property below.
In the series "Real listings, imagined lives," we take inspiration from real-life listings and overlay an imagined story. The traditional real estate listing descriptions are fictionalized to add fascination and a New York edge. The series envisions residents, neighborhoods, culture, and more around NYC homes for sale. New Yorkers are anything but ordinary, and so their home descriptions should not be either. So our stories take creative license and New York chutzpah to reveal the most interesting aspects of listings as we imagine the lives lived in these amazing homes and neighborhoods.
When I first became interested in cooking, I never imagined there would be such a thing as a celebrity chef. I mean, my Easy Bake Oven was amazing but didn't have the power of telling the future! Now, not only is there this insane category but I am one of them. And, being a woman, I am even rarer than Kobe beef. I’m rarer than sushi. I’m rarer than… okay, sorry, moving on, I don’t have a lot of time. I’m opening my newest restaurant near City Hall but I need to find a place to live and I’ve set my sights on Brooklyn Heights. I want to be closer to work but not too close. I want a peaceful refuge. And, I want a kick-ass kitchen! So off we go…
The broker meets us at the door. She swings the front door open and I gasp. The parlor and living room are drop-dead gorgeous. “Can all the furniture stay,” I ask the broker. She thinks I'm joking, but I have my serious face on.
The fireplace mantle looks like an exquisitely decorated wedding cake I had my incredibly talented dessert chef make for an elaborate wedding we once catered. I'm wowed.
I can see straight to the kitchen and my heart starts to beat faster. I quicken my step. “Check out this insane arched opening!!” I sing as I skip through to the kitchen and plop down in a bar stool. “Oh, we’re definitely keeping this furniture.”
I look over at the stovetop with the stunning open brass shelves, yep, I nod to myself.
“That ladder is totally going to be part of my party tricks,” I tell the listing broker. She smiles that knowing smile.
All of the stunning cabinets, the arched doorway framing my stage, and the view. Yep!
My friends are going to love this dining room. I can imagine drinks on the deck and then we all saunter in - because sauntering is what one does in a home like this- and I serve them a multi-course meal. Soak it in, my friends!
Room after room just gets better and better.
I race up the stairs, two at a time. The bedrooms are perfect (I MUST have that four-poster bed).
The master bathroom makes me tear up a bit. That soaking tub would cure any sore chef's feet immediately.
The library’s arched bookshelves will showcase my cookbooks perfectly. There's something about all the arches that is so soft and sexy. Amanda tells me I’m actually saying what I’m thinking. I mumble, “there’s no way,” look at her and smile.
The broker tells me about the history of this incredible and that it was built in 1845. “Eighteen WHAT?” I ask. I had no idea anything was that old in this city. It’s fate. I was just reworking my menu for the new place and found this incredible suffragette cookbook that modernizing recipes from the 1800s. It’s a sign that I need to buy this home. Right now!
Annie takes me out onto the rooftop deck. I tell her, “That’s it, this is it! I don’t need to waste anyone’s time. This is where I want to live. FOREVER!” She shakes her head, tells me I’ve totally blown any chance of negotiating a good price and I don’t care. Is it too soon to say home sweet home?
Contributing Writer
Michelle Sinclair Colman
Michelle writes children's books and also writes articles about architecture, design and real estate. Those two passions came together in Michelle's first children's book, "Urban Babies Wear Black." Michelle has a Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota and a Master's degree in the Cities Program from the London School of Economics.
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