Architectural Digest visuals director Michael Shome and Corcoran real-estate broker Justin Dupree decorated the top two floors of their Brooklyn townhouse over the span of more than a decade. “Designing our home was a very slow process,” says Michael. But then the couple decided to renovate the garden level—a cluster of claustrophobic rooms outfitted with linoleum floors, cinder block walls, and drop ceilings—in one fell swoop. “It’s really difficult when you have such a large space that you need to furnish all at once,” Michael admits. “So, Justin and I approached it as: This is a different floor. The main floor and second floor work together in terms of them being vintage eclectic. The garden level is more of a modern take on things. For us, that meant it was okay to get everything all at once.”
” data-type=image data-reactid=146> The best surprise happened during demo: The drop ceilings had to go because they made the garden level feel even more basement-like. But demo-ing them revealed another game-changing design element: original wood beams. “When we saw them, that’s when we were like, ‘Oh, can we keep those?’ Optically, they elongate the room. It’s almost shiplike,” says Michael.
” data-type=image data-reactid=164> What they couldn’t remove, they hid in plain sight: “The fact is, this is a garden level with a lot of electrical things. You can only move so much,” says Michael. Unfortunately, the ugly electric meter near the front windows had to stay where it was. A folding screen would’ve concealed it…and also called unwanted attention to that corner. No thanks. “Against our grain, we found some artificial plants that look really real,” Michael explains. “The key thing is to mix them with real plants.” Now, the meter fades into the background.