This Victorian-era brownstone is deeply appreciated by its owners for its fine craftsmanship and age. “My clients respect the house for the same reasons I do,” says interior designer Deborah Mariotti, a transplant to Brooklyn from Italy. “We were responsible for its continued preservation, wherever it remained authentic. In areas where it was not original, though, we had no doubt that we would design contemporary space. It wasn’t even a question.”
An architect in her native Italy, Brooklyn-based Deborah Mariotti has worked as an interior designer since moving to the U.S. in 2005. On this project, a 19th-century brownstone in a historic district, she collaborated with clients raised in northern Europe. “We share the preference for preservation, and also the delight in juxtaposition,” Mariotti says.