Located in the center of New York City’s first historic district, the 2026 Brooklyn Heights Designer Showhouse is set in a grand 25-foot-wide residence that stands as a stunning example of nineteenth-century urban architecture. Open to the public through November 1, the exhibition invites design enthusiasts and history buffs alike to explore a remarkable multi-year restoration that bridges Brooklyn’s storied past with contemporary interior design.
Originally built in the Greek Revival style for New York merchant Samuel Bell, the historic home at One Monroe Place was later enhanced in the 1860s with its distinctive Mansard roof, reflecting the changing architectural tastes of the post-Civil War era. By the 1890s, the property had become home to the Weirs, an iconic Brooklyn Heights family whose floral business was a neighborhood fixture for decades and continues to operate to this day. Over the course of the 20th century, the building transitioned from a wealthy private merchant’s household and a celebrated florist’s residence into a multi-family apartment house, accommodating more everyday Brooklynites before undergoing its most recent transformation.
Following a multi-year gut renovation that relied heavily on archival imagery to inform the painstaking historical restoration, the sprawling 9,525-square-foot home now boasts nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a private rooftop terrace. Its exceptional natural light and meticulously preserved historic character provide an inspiring, voluminous setting for this year’s full-house transformation, executed by a carefully curated roster of top-tier designers and landscape professionals.
The exhibition opens outside with the front garden, designed by Field Form to work harmoniously with rain management systems, support diverse plantings, and connect New York’s deep history to a contemporary approach to material and ecological reuse.
"This house has stood in Brooklyn Heights since 1852 – first serving as a wealthy merchant’s household, later as the home of a celebrated florist and gardener, and finally the residence of more ‘everyday’ Brooklynites as a 20th Century apartment house," said Lara Birnback, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Heights Association. "The neighborhood has watched the restoration of One Monroe with great interest and curiosity, so it’s a thrill to be able to welcome people from Brooklyn Heights and beyond to witness this next iteration of such a historic property. I can’t think of a better host for the Brooklyn Designer Showhouse and a place to support and celebrate the critical work of the Brooklyn Heights Association."
Inside, the home’s interior spaces unfold as a masterclass in balancing historic preservation with bold, modern interior interventions. The entry and living room, handled by design studio Unionworks, treat the front of the house as one continuous story. Honoring what the studio describes as the "checkered history" of the house, Unionworks built a space that feels accumulated over decades rather than hastily assembled for a single exhibition moment. Traditional and modern elements, sophisticated and playful details, and familiar yet surprising textures sit comfortably side by side, resulting in an environment that feels deeply inviting, eclectic, and unmistakably woven into the cultural fabric of Brooklyn Heights.
That layered aesthetic quality comes largely from the studio’s extensive network of collaborators. Calico wallpaper designed by Lindsey Adelman sets an early, atmospheric tone in the space, while Found Collectibles contributes important vintage pieces by Pierre Weckx, Joaquim Tenreiro, and Jose Zanine. The Future Perfect rounds out the room with new works by Lindsey Adelman, Karl Zahn, Willett, Floris Wubben, Bari Zipperstien, Ateliers Février, Rahee Yoon, Time & Style, Anthony Guerrée paired with De La Espada, and Nilufar, alongside contemporary pieces from USM and Apparatus Studio.
Moving deeper into the residence, the Drawing Room Cellar Studio offers a striking reinterpretation of a classic domestic typology. Traditionally conceived as a formal room for receiving guests after dinner—dedicated to quiet conversation, reading, music, and rest—this modern Drawing Room reimagines the domestic ritual for contemporary life. Designer Llewellyn Chupin introduced a continuous, low banquette that wraps the entire perimeter of the room, effectively dissolving the hierarchy of conventional furniture arrangements so that guests face one another rather than a single focal point like a television or fireplace. Given the room’s modest footprint, Chupin chose to embrace its scale rather than fight it, treating the space as one immersive environment rather than a set of discrete furniture groupings, where the banquette becomes an architectural element wrapping the room into a single continuous gesture.
The kitchen, designed by Sugarhouse Design, takes a deliberately restrained approach to One Monroe Place, aiming to honor the authentic bones of the 1850s Greek Revival house without staging a rigid period piece. The kitchen features a quiet, sophisticated palette with a strong focus on raw materials: a dark metal hood anchors the range against warm lime plaster finished in JH Wall Paints’ new Lime Butter treatment, while Artistic Tile’s Melange Marble and handcrafted ceramic tiles thread subtle color throughout the room. For the backsplash, Riwal Manufaktura translated the dining room’s floral wallcovering into 36 custom ceramic tiles, successfully reinterpreting the exact same botanical motif from delicate paper into durable clay.
On the upper levels, the home’s private spaces showcase an equally high level of craftsmanship. The powder room, designed by Innerform, uses a Drummonds vanity topped in Verde Guatemala marble to set a deep verdant tone. This mood is echoed by Schumacher’s Psalm 3 mural, which wraps the intimate room in an immersive botanical canopy. Hand-chipped Avanti Verde Green mosaic tiles underfoot add rich artisanal texture, while Farrow & Ball’s Beverly paint color unifies the stone and wallpaper, deepening into a rich emerald in the shadows. Brass hardware and curated accessories complete the space, transforming it into an intimate jewel box.
At the top of the house, Innerform also tackled the newly reconstructed primary bathroom, taking a softer and more ethereal design approach. Calico Wallpaper’s Arcadia introduces fluid, abstract botanicals against traditional architectural details, with its gentle blush undertones echoed in Calacatta Monet marble and a classic checkerboard floor. Farrow & Ball’s Stirabout ties the sweeping mural and natural stone together, while a reconfigured double vanity and polished chrome fixtures round out a luxurious five-fixture sanctuary designed for daily relaxation and ritual.
The 2026 Brooklyn Heights Designer Showhouse is presented with the generous support of numerous industry leaders and sponsors. Gold Sponsors include Farrow & Ball and Silverlining. Patrons feature California Closets, Drummonds, Janus et Cie, Momeni, Remains Lighting Company, TileBar, Wovn Home, Hunter Douglas, Schumacher, Citypoint, Hearth Cabinet, and Kantha. Friends of the showhouse include Bang & Olufsen, Doyle Auctioneers & Appraisers, Kravet, Pooky, New York Design Center, Rug & Kilim, Steering House, Studio Samuel, and The Hudson Company.
The Brooklyn Heights Designer Showhouse remains open to the public through November 1. Tickets and additional information regarding visiting hours and special events can be found on the official event website.
