Jeff Madalena and Jason Gnewikow are the sort of creative couple who seem to have numerous design projects going on at any given time (they describe themselves as ?creatively restless?). When they set out to remodel their 1910 brownstone two years ago, they came up with a design of their own and hired an architect friend, Michael Almon, to sign off on the plans. Jeff, cofounder of New York?based clothing company Oak, and Jason, a partner at design studio Athletics, have a shared penchant for graphic drama (the two recently launched a fragrance line, Carlen Parfums, with branding that follows suit).
“We were seeking light and the illusion of exaggerated space,? on each of the brownstone?s four floors, they say. Other than some structural changes to the parlor floor?closing off a hallway for more square footage in the living room and a gut renovation of the kitchen?Jeff and Jason kept the brownstone mostly intact. Their first order of business" Whitewashing the walls and twice bleaching the parquet floors that were revealed when they ripped up the old carpet. Photography by Poul Ober, courtesy of Jeff Madalena and Jason Gnewikow, except where noted.

Above:  The couple painted the interiors a uniform shade of Benjamin Moore?s Super White. ?For a space this size, changing paint color from room to room just tends to break the space up and make it feel smaller,? says Jeff. The floors were sanded, bleached, bleached again, finished with a transparent white s...