Seeing the Light

Cool creatives Britt and Damian have converted a property previously owned by an order of nuns into a glamorous family home that’s pure design heaven.

- Jo Leevers

Not many people can say they bought their latest home from an order of nuns – the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, to be precise. But, then again, there’s little about this Brooklyn Heights house that’s run of the mill. As the gritty photograph in the dining room says, when you walk into this home, ‘Be Prepared for the Unexpected’.

‘Yes, it was an unusual situation, for sure!’ says Britt Zunino, who, with her husband Damian, transformed this former nuns’ residence into a glamorous and contemporary family home. When they bought it, the house had been divided into two sections: one was a flat (used by sisters passing through New York) and the rest of the building was used by a charity that helped adults with learning difficulties.

So the nuns’ loss was Britt and Damian’s gain? ‘Well, it worked for them too – we heard they used the proceeds to set up a women’s shelter,’ says Britt. ‘And we love that something very positive came out of the craziness of New York real estate.’

The couple were well placed to carry out the project, as they head up Manhattan design firm Studio DB. However, Britt admits, ‘The house was in very rough shape,’ with windows on one side bricked up and multiple staircases weaving their way up and around the house. ‘It was a maze of thick carpeting and layers of crusty old paint,’ she adds. But the nuns did leave some nice surprises too. ‘On an early foray down in the basement, we found the amazing original Italianate fireplace, which is now back in its rightful place in the living room,’ says Britt.