This Bright Brooklyn Home Was Inspired by Its Owners' Joyful, Celebratory Sephardic Jewish Culture — It Encourages Togetherness
A bar in the lounge, a cinema upstairs, and a kitchen in the garden — this Brooklyn abode is designed for bringing people together
Family life rarely arrives quietly; it announces itself in movement and mess. Yet within this Brooklyn home, everyday chaos has been translated into a space that feels deeply considered. The house belongs to a creative family: a fashion executive and his writer wife.
Together, they are raising their three children (aged seven, five, and three), along with their dog Jude. Designed to support the rhythms of all its inhabitants, this modern home feels responsive rather than prescriptive.
Its designer, Louis Lin, had a serendipitous meeting with his clients. They had attended a Shabbat gathering in a home he had designed, and the atmosphere resonated with them — enough to spark a conversation.
"I’m more interested in how people use living rooms than how they’re supposed to look; where a traditional space asks guests to sit up straight and behave, this one invites them to exhale," says the designer Louis Lin.
"Their original house was a 1950s collage of styles," says Louis. "Our discussions — often with Jude in attendance — centered on books, travel, and childhood memories. References ranged from a Shou Sugi Ban temple and Axel Vervoordt interiors to a Marrakech spa and a countryside retreat. Rather than reconcile them stylistically, I focused on what they shared emotionally."
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"Curvature, both in the softened corners and the furniture, introduces a sense of pliability, allowing the space to adapt with ease to different uses," says Louis.
Image credit: Jonathan Hokklo. Styling: Lauren Snyder. Design: Louis Lin
"In many cultures, particularly within Japanese bathing traditions, immersion is both physical and meditative; that philosophy resonated deeply with the clients, making the onsen the guiding reference," says Louis.
Image credit: Jonathan Hokklo. Styling: Lauren Snyder. Design: Louis Lin
That emotional thread is closely tied to the family’s Sephardic Jewish culture. Their holidays are loud and joyful, shaped by food and large gatherings, and this spirit became foundational to the spatial plan.
The open dining room flows into the living room, while the kitchen, anchored by an island, encourages shared moments. Even the third-floor home cinema prioritizes togetherness, with a custom sofa that transforms into a pull-out bed for guests.
"This space is layered with an auditorium-style built-in sofa, turning its limitations into a space for cozy movie nights," says Louis.
The living room and lounge bar are central to the home’s social life. Instead of upright, formal seating, with its low-slung furniture and lime-plaster walls, this space invites guests to exhale.
The transitional spaces, meanwhile, offer moments of narrative pause: for example, the hallway leading to the den features a commissioned installation of 28 ceramic spheres. "On closer inspection, no two are exactly alike," says Louis. "The variations spark imagination."
"Calling it a 'monastic lounge bar' felt right, because it balances restraint with indulgence," says Louis about this space.
"The colors are intentionally warm and grounded; the terracotta flooring was chosen for its patina, deepening in character with every scratch and embracing imperfection as part of its beauty," says Louis.
In the main bedroom, a custom-embroidered French bedspread depicts the owner napping alongside Jude, while a tiny dressing corner adds an intimate moment. "She jokes it’s the perfect vanity, even though she doesn’t wear make-up," says Louis. "She uses it instead as a ritualized corner to sit, reflect or unwind."
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"This was conceived as a hidden oasis: soft, earthy tones cultivate a calm atmosphere, where fabric pendants hang like clouds and a custom bedspread becomes both a textile and artwork," says Louis.
Summer shifts life outdoors, with barbecue nights turning cooking into a shared ritual. A shed houses an office — "their favorite spot," says Louis — conceived as a retreat for creative work and solitude and a useful counterpoint in a home that is otherwise shaped by connection, conversation and constant motion.
"Every element, from the pizza grill corner, dining banquette and central island to the surrounding greenery, was orchestrated to support shared moments, turning the outdoors into a space that is at once social, rejuvenating and quietly cinematic," says Louis.
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