maya marzolf opened le grenier in greenpoint, brooklyn just before summer. the store is filled with antiques – both rustic and industrial – as well as a mix of newer housewares, but somehow everything seems to mesh perfectly thanks to maya’s well-refined personal aethetic, which was honed when she worked as fashion photography producer. maya also brings that eclectic mix of styles to her personal home. she unified everything by keeping the walls of her 1870 brownstone white – not only does this make the space feel brighter, but it also really lets her quirky finds take center stage! maya’s greenpoint brownstone has been a labor of love for 7 years and althought no self-respecting renovator is ever finished, she is finally ready to show it off! you can find additional images of maya’s home here. {thanks maya!} -amy
[I bought the house, which is located in the Greenpoint Historic District of Brooklyn, in 2002. It was built in the 1870s and there had never been any significant repairs or remodeling until I bought it; in it's original state there were 3 enclosed rooms per floor plus a bathroom, and considering how small the footprint of the house is (20' x 25'), you can imagine how tiny and dark those rooms were. The plan was to open everything up, and it was only once we started that a lot of other issues began to come to light -- sections of rotten subflooring, broken joists, roof damage, etc. It was a big project to repair the structure of the building (at one point you could stand in the basement and see all the way up to the roof, 4 floors above!), and the basic work entailed a significantly larger budget than anticipated... which meant that all of the finishing work had to be put off until a later date. In the end I've done most of the finishing work myself on a project-by-project basis, and now - 7 years later - it's "mostly" finished. There are certain things that I would now change if I could, in particular the configuration of the kitchen, but all in good time I suppose... For now the house is functional and comfortable, and is comprised of 2 duplex apartments - I lease out the 2-floor garden unit, and keep the top 2 floors and the roof terrace to myself.]
I found this alligator bench about 8 years ago in Bali; I found a lot of great pieces there, actually, including a great mismatched pair of 1920s carved teak chairs which I got for $20 apiece! All these items were crated and shipped and arrived in Brooklyn about 7 weeks later, and I was so very happy to see that alligator’s smiling face in my house.
The living room: coffee table – that’s actually a sand mold (my best guess is that it was perhaps for a train wheel, but I’m really not sure) from St Paul, Minnesota; sofa – 6-legged carved frame, early 1900s, bought in Holland; armchairs – that’s the Balinese pair, mirror – gray French carved frame with beveled mirror and gilt details, probably late 1800s or early 1900s; artwork – I have predominantly photographs in my house, most of which were gifts from photographers I worked with during my decade-long stint as a producer. In this room: above the sofa: Louis Armstrong by Eddie Adams and left of fireplace, a vintage glass negative printed by Alexandro Martinengo. On the coffee table is a copy of Robinson Crusoe that has a skull singed through the cover by Brooklyn artist Scott Campbell, bought at Future Perfect on N 6th in Williamsburg. I have skulls and skeletons (I’ve had a thing for them ever since I was a kid) sprinkled throughout the house, but the largest concentration of them is in the living room fireplace and they’ve been collected throughout my travels and also gifted by friends and family.
The stairs were in poor condition when I bought the house and they eventually needed to be replaced, much to my dismay; I tried to keep as much of the original curve as possible and was determined to reinstall the original banister (which is a really beautiful one and is still housed in pieces in my basement!) but was surprised to find how much I loved the open staircase once the banister was out. It sometimes makes people a little nervous, especially after a few glasses of wine, but it’s so open and airy that now I can’t imagine it any other way. The chandelier comes from one of my favorite antique dealers, on Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, and is re-purposed. The crystals are from the late 1700s, salvaged and restrung on a new frame in the early 1900s. I love the shape of this piece and that it’s feminine without being frilly, and I use it with a basic multi-filament bulb which creates a delicate and warm light. In the right corner is a vintage ice box from upstate NY, which makes a fabulous liquor cabinet! Above the dining table is Senegal reportage by Patrick Cariou.
CLICK HERE for the rest of Maya’s sneak peek (including all 20 images on one page) after the jump!
My ex-husband had the same gnome table, by Philippe Starck, when we were living together, and the truth is that I always hated it! It was a constant bone of contention in our household, we could never agree on a good place for it (he pushed for a prominent display and I always wanted it at least partially obstructed). Time passes, though, and tastes change, and the last time I was in Amsterdam I visited one of my favorite stores there, The Frozen Fountain (which has really great modern pieces), and when I came across their display of Starck gnomes I just had to laugh: suddenly I really liked the damned thing, it put a huge smile on my face. I think it makes a great plant stand, and it’s pretty cute next to the mushroom stool from A&G Merch in Williamsburg.
The fireplace mantel and inset were found separately in upstate NY. Inside the fireplace is a skeleton collection that includes skeletons from Mexico, Jamaica, New Orleans, Brazil… and FAO Schwartz!
This loft was built out of the stud wood we found in the walls during demolition at 19 Greenpoint Ave (where my store, Le Grenier is; I bought the building with my best friend — who lives upstairs — and we gutted the whole thing). I like using salvaged materials in my residential projects, both from an aesthetic and ecological perspective. The metal ladder is an 1800s fire escape ladder, which leads up to the sleeping loft! I love the way it all came together; the office beneath is a great little nook for working, the guest loft above has proved super functional, and the ladder is a much more comfortable climb than your typical straight vertical NYC roof access ladder. The shelving came from M Fine Lumber in Brooklyn, they have a great selection of salvaged materials; the wood for my store shelving came from there, too. And that sweet little sleeping beast is Grendel, one of my two cats.
