Picture perfectBY JAN TYLERSpecial to NewsdaySeptember 28, 2006
Try as they might, future generations of architecture buffs will find nary a smidge of historical provenance for the ornate plaster crown molding that fuses ceilings to walls of this Brooklyn brownstone's newly renovated living room.Well, perhaps just a smidge.


Owner Timothy Griffith admits to borrowing from the classics the egg-and-dart banding and the acanthus leaf motif on the corbels that march around the space, but, he says, "I put the parts together to suit my own taste and found a mold for the flourish at the lower edge that I call 'Tinker Bell Drops.'"Griffith can be forgiven his fanciful venture into reinventing a centuries-old decorative art, not just because of the delightful results - the foot-wide molding is a tour-de-force of wedding-cake plaster concoctions - but also because of the integrity that governed the entire project in which the living room now serves its usual function while doubling as a showcase for art.The 1872 Italianate brownstone was built in what is now the Stuyvesant Heights Historic District. Gentrification of Bedford-Stuyvesant has transformed the area into a mecca for owner-renovators such as Griffith and his wife, attorney Denise Michauax, who bought the house 18 years ago. Inspired by period details such as the 12-foot ceilings, tall, narrow windows and doors, and arched portals, the couple embarked on a top-to-bottom renovation and restoration that culminated in the second go-round for their formerly conventional living room."Tim and Denise had to compromise on the daily use of their new living room," says Linda Lindsay of Design Schemes at Home in Brooklyn. Lindsay, an interior designer, met Michauax at a recent designer showhouse that featured a room Lindsay had decorated. "These are two very strong personalities with their own identities, and it was important that the new space worked for them as individuals as well as a couple. Denise wanted a soothing background, a restful place to unwind, but her husband had other ideas."Tim has strong feelings for design," she adds. "He likes bright colors and, most importantly, he is an avid art collector." A registered nurse by profession and "a budding developer" (as he puts it) by avocation, his passion is the color-field paintings and sculptures of a trio of contemporary African-American artists: painters Frank Bowling and Arlington Weithers and sculptor Donald Locke. He intended the new living room to become a private gallery for his growing collection.Ceiling spotlights eliminate glare on the paintings' surfaces. Walls are skim-coated with a textured linen finish in a soft, lemony hue that doesn't fight the colorful paintings while also satisfying Denise's desire for a calming retreat.So committed was he to protecting the works from the destructive effects of improper light and interior air quality that Griffith took some drastic steps as part of the renovation: He retrofitted the original steam heat equipment with a modern system that controls temperature and humidity to create museumlike conditions, and he replaced the old windows with reproductions fitted with low-E plus argon glass to help control light, temperature and humidity."It's comfortable enough in here even for humans now," Griffith quips, "but actually, the paintings come first. I want to become known as a serious patron of the arts."