The back parlor of this 19th-century Brooklyn townhouse was converted into a small kitchen a while back. Its new owners, a couple with a young son, loved its original features, especially the stone mantel and 10-foot pocket doors, but otherwise wanted a clean slate. Their architect, Shauna McManus, was given the challenge of preserving the old parlor look while fitting in a lot of hardworking elements, a dining table included, into approximately 325 square feet. To get the job done, she collaborated with kitchen systems masters Henrybuilt.
Photography courtesy of Henrybuilt.

Above: “We wanted the kitchen to be ?inserted? into the shell of the brownstone space?to be completely different from the historic details (which we took a lot of care to preserve), but we didn’t want it to be cold or sleek,” McManus told us. Her clients regularly host foreign houseguests; they asked that the new features allow for serious cooking to go on?hence the large work island?while looking more like furniture than kitchen components. Toward that end, McManus selected teak: “It’s warm and durable but different from traditional brownstone woods.”
Above: After considering many different floor plans, McManus and the Henrybuilt team slotted in the teak table at the end of the island, creating its own territory and preserving room to maneuver.
The table is one of five distinct areas that, as McManus explained, “are tightly woven into the exis...