Brooklyn
onfidential C
KATIE’S WORKSHOP
“Red Hook still feels like a secret,” says Katie Brown.
And even though she has a new retail space and
workshop in the neighborhood, she wouldn’t mind
keeping it that way just a little longer. Although IKEA
and Fairway Market have moved in, the neighborhood
can still be tricky to reach by public transportation—
there are buses but no subway—a fact that has kept
the waterfront area relatively industrial, with just a
smattering of smart new bars, shops, and restaurants.
Katie rides her bike to the storefront, which
features a mix of flea-market finds, her books, and
her wares for Meijer—candles, bell jars, outdoor
lights, and more. Her test kitchen and workshop
are in back of the shop; they’re a hive of activity,
especially when the team starts pre-production for
her TV show.
Although it’s only 12 city blocks from her Carroll
Gardens home, the shop at 254 Van Brunt Street
feels like a world away to Katie. “Within six blocks of
my house there are so many restaurants, you can’t
decide where to eat. But in Red Hook, if you need
a welder, there are seven places you could go,” she
says. “You can find people raising live chickens, an
ironwork shop, or pick up a fresh lobster for dinner.
It’s such a weird combination of things.”
Katie likes hot colors, which she
calls “shocking and delightful.” No
wonder she painted the outside of
her Red Hook shop-and-workroom
a cheerful orange and the inside
Pratt & Lambert’s Scarlett O’Hara.
The grand parlor floor, the heart of the house, is divided into three parts. The front is “what we call the pretty room,” Katie xplains. It is that, thanks to a neutral ground of pillowy white sofas punctuated with chic slipper chairs, handsome wood-and- metal furniture, and Oriental rugs. At the center, the lovely music room has mint-green walls with whimsical line drawings of animals on them. At the back is the dining room. So what’s the best thing about having parlor windows that stretch from the floor almost to your 11-foot ceiling? Light? Proportion? Sure. But the ultimate joy is that Hazel, Katie’s stan- dard poodle, can survey the neighborhood street life from her perch inside. And that’s what delights this anti-diva most—the whole family is having as much fun living here as she is. ➤
For more information, see sources on page 154
52 SEPTEMBER 2010
traditionalhome.com
