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.’