Eric Rosenberg and Rosenberg Kolb Architects were my architects when I inherited an Italianate brownstone which had never been updated except for heat and three bathrooms, one of which was salmon colored. The house had lovely bones, and they modernized the house, but at the same time had enormous respect for its plaster moldings, plaster walls, sliding parlor doors, eight foot windows in the parlor floor, and its relationship to the garden which still had the fig tree my grandmother had brought over from Europe providing us with an August treat every year.
It is not often that a renovation is infinitely better than the original and yet completely loyal to the mid nineteenth century house it was. The gas fireplaces were changed to wood burning, the house’s new mechanicals – heating, air conditioning, plumbing – made the house totally comfortable.
We decided to add a floor which was designed by Eric, and it was in perfect taste. It related to the old house, and yet was not a copy. It was set back in front so that no one could mistake that it was an addition. It became a four bedroom house with bathrooms en suite and had a marble floored full basement that could be entered from the street and exited into the back garden. The house had been built when Bigelow carpets were the latest thing, so the floors were scrap wood. He designed all the new floors and made them relevant to the rooms they were in.
My architects designed the award winning tile patterns for the five full baths and one half bath.
The plaster moldings that were damaged in the renovation were replaced with new plaster moldings that were exactly the same. The moldings were created in the house itself by one of the few remaining artisans able to do this kind of work. The firm took the time to locate artisans necessary for all the renovations. They were especially heroic finding carpenters who could replicate the damaged spindles on the winding stair that went the length of the house and that were in the style of 1852 when the house was built..
The kitchen has clay tiles, a wood burning fireplace, a Garland stove, a subzero refrigerator, and a small set of outdoor iron steps leading to the garden. All designed by Eric and the firm.
On top of this, Eric and the RKA team were wonderful to be with. They weathered all my misgivings, changed anything I didn’t like even though I had approved it, supervised the work, and made the house beautiful beyond belief.
I was so satisfied with their work that I engaged them again to redesign my kitchen in my country house in Highland Mills, New York, prior to selling it, and when I bought a house in Bridgehampton, NY, Eric worked with me on general renovations throughout the house and converted four gas fireplaces into wood burning ones, and made significant structural changes to accommodate the conversion.
I have found Eric Rosenberg and his firm Rosenberg Kolb most helpful in the designs necessary, the installations, and the supervision given to the work even when it was being done outside New York City.
I recommend him and his firm without reservations.
Mary Rooney