Architecture Wednesday: Transformed 5-Floor Brooklyn Townhouse

This 20-foot-wide 1880 brownstone sits at the end of a tree-lined block in Brooklyn, opening to soaring ceilings and miles of antique wood detailing. Wood and steel collaborate to maintain its period allure while adding new, highly functional bathrooms and a dug-out basement gym.

The designers brought in custom walnut millwork, bespoke British radiators, Fireclay tile and bold wallpapers to create a bold, bright new version of the old.  The living room features original millwork, mile high ceilings and custom cabinetry. Next is the dining room with its own fireplace and bold wallpaper and windows that look out over the back garden.

Down one level is the chef’s kitchen that opens onto a deep wildflower garden and features Reform cabinetry, a custom concrete island and terrazzo counters. Off the kitchen is a family room with herringbone wood floors and a splash of color. Go down to the dugout basement for the gym and bathroom with its radiant-heated floors

The full-floor primary suite has its own fireplace and walk-through dressing room, plus an elaborate en suite bath; upstairs is an office space and two additional bedrooms that share a bath.

It’s a home filled with the original, historic details, but with modern twists in design and color and can be yours for just $2.95 M.

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The Spaces

Ain't That America XXX ... or Triple X-rated Thanks To Kid Rock

Another week and the upside is that no Americans were murdered by the ICEstapo, even though we have a few hours left in the weekend. But still it’s been a week of grifter and tax dodging, and billionaires getting rich while the rest of us pay their share of taxes and higher prices for nearly everything, and of the so-called president proving yet against that he is a blatant racist.

Oh America …

Over there in Milan, after getting booed at the opening Ceremonies of the Olympic, JD Vance found another way to piss people off … JD Vance’s nearly forty car motorcade Milan delayed multiple athletes and staff heading to their events; Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu was among those caught in the disruption, as the athlete nearly missed her skate after the vice president’s oversized convoy blocked access to the Milano skating venue.

Seriously, can anyone tell me what JD does during his time in office other than vacationing and getting booed?

And why forty cars? How many love seats does a CouchFucker need?

 

Cankles is renovating the Kennedy Center to the tune of $200 million at a time when the economy is in the toilet and people cannot buy food or healthcare or heat. Of course, since no one wants to perform there and acts keep cancelling now would be a good time for a refresh. But do we really need another gold-plated tribute to the Fat Bastard’s ego?

That was a rhetorical question.

 

Remember when the GOP swore that the Democrats would take your guns? Well, in another case of Every GOP Accusation Is An Admission, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Box Wine Pirro has vowed to arrest anyone who comes into DC  with a gun, regardless of whether or not you have a license in another district or are a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else.

 

One of Cankles’ lap dogs, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, has been named on a flight manifest found among millions of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein showing that he flew in 2006 from London to New York on Epstein’s private plane.

Pedophiles stick together.

 

An overtly racist video clip of the Barack and Michelle Obama was posted on Cankles’ Truth Social. The clip, which portrayed the Obamas as apes, used a centuries-old trope against the first Black president and first lady in U.S. history during the first week of Black History Month.

The White first blamed a staffer, suggesting that Cankles doesn’t do his own posting, but that was denied. And the good “christian” KKKarolyin’ Leavitt dismissed criticism of the video as “fake outrage.”

Racism is fake outrage? I guess, perhaps yes, to racists, like Leavitt who also said:

“This is from an internet meme video depicting [Cankles] as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from [T]he Lion King.”

Let’s be clear … Cankles is a racist fuck; he lobbied to have five young Black men executed for a crime he did not commit; he was found guilty of refusing to rent his apartments to people of color;  he suggested Barack Obama is not an American, though Cankles himself has been married to two immigrants, both arriving here illegally.

When they show you who they are the first time, believe them.

 

The NYC Health Department announced that it has joined the World Health Organization’s [WHO] Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network [GOARN], becoming the first municipal health department in the United States to join this worldwide network of public health organizations after the U.S. withdrew from the WHO in January 2026.

GOARN provides international public health information and resources to control outbreaks and public health emergencies across the globe. The NYC Health Department follows California and Illinois health departments in joining GOARN.

New York will be safe, I guess, but the rest of the country? Not so much.

 

Mikey Weinstein, the president and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said the nonprofit received reports from eight bases around the world that U.S. military members were being “pressured” to see “Melanie: From Whore House to White House.”

Cimon!!! These people put their lives at risk and now they are forced to watch this crap? Many are saying they preferred water-boarding.

 

If you wonder why Jeff Bezos shelled out $75 million to make “Melanie: From Whore House to White House”—with $40 million going directly to the Slovenian Hooker’s bank account, please note that Republicans’ tax cuts shaved billions off Amazon’s tax bill. Last year the company says it ran a $1.2 billion tax bill, down from $9 billion the previous year, even as profits jumped by 45% to nearly $90 billion.

Huh, you make $90 billion more last year than the year before and yet your taxes go down $8 billion.

Stop trusting the GOP and for the love of the goddess stop buying from Amazon.

 

Gus Kenworthy, a freestyle skier who will compete for Team GB at the 2026 Winter Olympics after defecting from Team USA, urinated a political message in the snow:

He later admitted it was urine and I will say this about Gus: he has great penmanship, er penismanship.

 

Tennessee GOP Senator Marsha “I Don’t Own A Brush” Blackburn has urged Chief Justice John Roberts to launch an investigation into liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson because … wait for it, it’s stupid like Marsha … Brown Jackson attended the Grammy Awards last Sunday … because she had been nominated for a Grammy for narrating the audiobook version of her memoir, “Lovely One.”

Blackburn is angry that others at the awards show made anti-ICE jokes:

“While it is by no means unheard of or unusual for a Supreme Court justice to attend a public function, very rarely—if ever—have justices of our nation’s highest Court been present at an event at which attendees have amplified such far-left rhetoric.”

Fuck off, Marsha, you’re just mad Brown Jackson wrote a book and you’ve never read a book.

Oh, and on the flipside Blackburn is facing allegations that she and her campaign engaged in “flagrant violations” of federal and state law by using donations from her Senate campaign for her gubernatorial race.

Has the entire GOP turned into a bunch of grifters?

 

Franklin Graham, one of those so-called religious hacks who haven’t a fucking clue what they are talking about, released this statement about Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show:

“Like most Americans, I’ve enjoyed watching the Super Bowl. But the halftime shows began pushing moral boundaries and have become more and more sexualized. This year, they’re having Bad Bunny perform. The NFL leadership is pushing this sexualized agenda. Thank you, TPUSA and Erika Kirk for providing an alternative—The All-American Halftime Show with the agenda of celebrating family, faith, and freedom!”

Graham’s complaint comes one day after critics resurfaced the lyrics to a Kid Rock song entitled, “Balls In Your Mouth” … I will give you the first few lines of this All-American Classic:

Cruising through town in my jacked up truck
Eyes open ’cause I’m scopin for a big butt slut
One that I can take straight back to my house
And have suck my dick and put my balls in her mouth

Graham is naturally getting slaughtered on social media for being an utter asshat.

Y’all know what to do; when they come for Free Speech and the Free Press, when they show themselves to be racist and misogynistic, when you see the grift right before your eyes, trust that it’s true and vote them all out …

Architecture Wednesday: Jessica Chastain’s Gilded Age Manhattan Apartment

Once you enter the opulent lobby of the Osborne cooperative ... built between 1880 and 1885 ... you are transported back in time with its magnificent turn-of-the-century details … marble, mosaics, gilded surfaces and leaded glass, glistening carved wood details; the Tiffany glass was created by Louis Comfort Tiffany and is reputed to be Tiffany's first decorating job.

So, let’s head upstairs to 4B, the meticulously renovated crown jewel of the Osborne which has been renovated, updated and revived. The move-in ready four bedroom home’s Gilded Age details set the stage for a lifestyle of unparalleled luxury and sophistication. The sun-drenched living room has restored mahogany paneling, elaborately carved doorways and windows, and a very special bay window with Tiffany Studio-created leaded glass transoms. Additional details include plaster crown moldings, oak parquet floors, fourteen-foot ceilings, and one of five wood-burning fireplaces in the home. Adjacent, the parlor room evokes the grandeur of bygone days with a spectacular framed oak doorway with pocket doors and period hardware. Here is another of the five wood-burning fireplaces, this one with a more modern marble surround and wall treatment.

The living room, library and dining room all have raised and fielded paneling that accentuate the architectural beauty of the space including restored original wainscoting, pocket doors, leaded glass transoms, gorgeous oak flooring, original, restored plantation shutters, and much more.

The eat-in kitchen has a soaring fourteen-foot ceiling, a rolling ladder that’s both practical and a fun design element, plus a custom central island that provides a pop of color and functions as the kitchen’s main gathering space. Incredible storage is available in the custom quartersawn oak cabinets; top-of-the-line appliances are integrated with custom panels.

The en suite primary is a romantic space with another of the five wood-burning fireplaces and a wall of mirrored closets and a bespoke copper-soaking tub. The fully tiled bathroom includes a water closet, double sinks, walk-in shower and built-in vanity. Down the hallway are two additional bedrooms and full bathroom with large soaking tub. The sunny east-facing bedroom has a trio of windows with views to Carnegie Hall.

Apartment 4B has had an illustrious provenance, with previous tenants including Adam Guettel, composer for musical theater; Bobby Short, American cabaret singer and pianist: and Leonard Bernstein, iconic composer, conductor, and educator—a lineage perfect for the buyer who loves the aesthetic of Old Hollywood and the Gilded Age.

The Osborne is across from Carnegie Hall, one block to Central Park, proximate to Broadway theaters, the shops at Columbus Circle, scores of the best restaurants in the world and multiple subway and bus lines. Amenities include a newly renovated gym, building and bike storage, 24/7 doormen, resident building manager and a landscaped roof terrace with open city and Central Park views.

And for just $7.5M 

As always, click to emBIGGERate ...

Dwell

Meme Dump and Happy Veterans Day!