Looking to bring a bit more gray into your life? Husband-and-wife shop owners Paul Gross and Sophie Yanacupoulus-Gross stand ready with suavely minimalist tableware and furnishings in the perfect palette. Having spent the past three decades in the retail furniture business across Europe discovering and developing designers, the two recently made the leap to NYC. “New York imposed itself, as it does,” says Sophie. With their two kids, they’ve relocated to Brooklyn and quietly opened the borough’s best new housewares shop, Home Stories.
The usual mix of reclaimed wood furniture and locally made pottery this is not. Paul, who is German and French and was raised in the UK, studied sculpture and got his start at London manufacturer and retailer SCP, where he helped launch a generation of British designers, including Jasper Morrison. Sophie is Swedish and Greek and grew up in Switzerland; she studied interior design at the Geneva School of Decorative Arts. Together they ran Atmosphere, a concept shop/showroom/interior-design studio in Geneva, filled with their own work and favorite pieces by others. They’ve transplanted this well-honed vision to what was formerly a comic book shop in Brooklyn Heights. Paul designed the space, including the Italian-built custom cabinetry and shelving, all painted in a flat gray. The neutral palette extends to the gray-stained wood floors and the merchandise. Have a look.
Photography by Pascal Perich, courtesy of Home Stories.
Above: The second-story window, facing Montague Street, displays an all-white group of stools and lanterns.
Above: The Belgian look comes to Brooklyn: Inside the store, the Gross’s own made-to-order furniture is arranged alongside upholstered seating from Paola Navone for Gervasoni and 19th-century Chinese ceramic stools.
Above: Black dishes by Nelson Sepulveda for Dutch company Ay Illuminet, and Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa’s paper wallets. The rattan basket lights are also from Ay Illuminet.
Above: A sampling from Sepulveda’s seven-piece matte-black collection.
Above: Bird’s Nest Set pendant lamps by Sepulveda hover over a table arranged with linen scarves and more of Fukasawa’s paper designs.
Above: The matte gray custom shelves are stocked with industrial stools, Fog Linen Work baskets, and French canvas bins.
Above: Reissued French industrial stools from Nicolle are available in a range of colors, from $268 to $375.
Above: Rolls of natural hemp kilim rugs.
Above: Ceramics from British designer Daniel Smith come in subtle shades of gray and moss.
Above: A linen-slipcovered Gervasoni sofa and armchairs surround 19th-century Chinese “peasant benches” on a coffee table.
Above: Custom sliding doors in the back of the shop lead to a light-filled studio. Paul and Sophie had all the matte-lacquered cabinetry and shelving made in Italy to their specifications and shipped over.
Above: Gervasoni tall-backed chairs in gray and white stand alongside a bed layered in linen. Home Stories is located at 148 Montague St. (between Clinton and Henry) in Brooklyn Heights.
For more of our favorite NYC discoveries, including design shops and well-designed restaurants and hotels, consult our New York City Metro guide. On Gardenista, Erin presents Brooklyn Heights’ Most Beautiful Roses.