This Historic New York Home Was Dismantled, Moved, and Rebuilt Piece by Piece – See How Danielle Rose Design Brought It Into a New Era

A house move is stressful enough without having to take the entire building with you. But for this historic Queen Anne home in Roslyn, New York, a change of address was more than just admin. Originally built in 1898, the house had fallen into disrepair before being dismantled and rebuilt piece by piece across town at the base of a duck pond in the early 1990s. It's a surprising backstory for a house that is clearly worth all the effort of saving.

Decades later, its owners called on Danielle Rose Design to help write the next chapter. Having lived in the house for 12 years, they wanted to preserve the character they'd fallen for while making it work for modern family life. 'We wanted our contribution to feel like a thoughtful next chapter,' explains. The result is a home that feels connected to its surroundings spot but refreshingly unprecious, pairing original architectural details with earthy colors, natural materials and a little playful personality. Or, as Danielle puts it, 'warm, collected, and rooted in tradition, with a little playfulness.'

A historic home can have all the beautiful moldings and original windows in the world, but it still needs to work on a Monday morning with a growing family in full swing. When Danielle came on board, the owners already knew exactly what they loved about it. What they needed was a little more breathing room: a generous kitchen, a dedicated home office, and comfortable spaces for everyone to spend time together.

Getting there, however, meant navigating a year-long architectural review, with the homeowners and architect Matthew Korn working through four rounds of revisions to secure approval from the local historic board and the Roslyn Landmark Society. 'That commitment speaks to how seriously they took the responsibility of caring for this house,' Danielle says. It was a careful process, but one that gave the project a clear direction. 'We let those practical needs and the existing architecture guide each other,' she explains, rather than treating the house's history as an obstacle to modern living.

The kitchen is perhaps the best example of that thinking. Its original footprint no longer suited the family, so Danielle reworked the layout, taking inspiration from the existing floor-to-ceiling windows flanking the range. New windows echo their design, while a vaulted ceiling and white oak details bring a sense of space to the extension. 'We could improve how the room functioned while allowing its original architecture to continue setting the tone,' she says. Elsewhere, the living room layout was largely left alone, with a once-awkward alcove turned into a game area with a custom banquette and table. Part of the porch became the new office overlooking the garden, too, making use of the home's connection to the outdoors. As Danielle puts it, 'The house already had so much personality; our role was to help the family enjoy more of it.'

When it comes to renovating an older home, knowing what not to change can be just as important as deciding what to update. 'We looked at each element for both its architectural value and the role it could play in the family’s life,' says Danielle. The original windows, moldings and casings were all deemed worth keeping, but the staircase needed a little more intervention. Years of mismatched repairs had taken it far away from its original craftsmanship, so the team dismantled it and recreated each component, right down to the individual spindles, before refinishing it in rich dark oak. Unlacquered brass toe kicks and stair-runner rods add a subtle modern touch. 'There is something meaningful about putting that much care into a feature they touch and use every day,' Danielle says of the painstaking repairs.

Crucially, she didn't treat this old house like a museum. New V-groove paneling and millwork throughout take their cues from the original architecture, while elements that no longer worked in their original setting were given a new purpose. The former kitchen cabinets, for instance, now bring character to the laundry room, painted in Farrow & Ball's De Nimes and topped with soapstone counters. 'Sometimes the right answer was careful restoration, and sometimes it was finding a new place for something that still had plenty of life left in it,' Danielle explains. It's a practical, refreshingly unfussy approach to a historic renovation – and one that ensures the home's history is part of everyday life, rather than something simply admired from a distance.

With the groundwork carefully laid, Danielle could turn her attention to the details that give the house its personality. The owners were drawn to earthy colors, traditional prints, natural textures, and statement stone, with room for a few unexpected choices. 'The Queen Anne architecture gave us a foundation of beautiful proportions and detail, and the homeowners’ love of earthy color and natural materials helped us make it personal,' she explains. Walnut, mohair, floral wallpapers, and unlacquered brass bring plenty of texture and that playful energy they were seeking. It's polished, absolutely, but not too precious to be lived in.

Color does much of the work, too, but not in quite the same way from room to room. 'We approached color as part of the home's architecture,' Danielle says, using softer neutrals and materials to connect the spaces before letting individual rooms have a little fun. The pantry is boldly plum, with matching marble countertops and wallpaper overhead; the powder room is wrapped in deep green; and an earthy red mohair sofa gives the living room a rich focal point. Brass, walnut, and marble checkerboard flooring recur throughout, so even the more dramatic spots feel part of the same story. There are contemporary flourishes, too, including a sculptural glass light in the office, where a landscape mural wallpaper by Isidore Leroy echoes the pond below the house. It's a clever nod to the setting without resorting to anything too literal. 'We wanted richness without formality,' Danielle says, creating spaces 'where you notice the details but still feel completely at ease.'

Thanks to its now-larger footprint, the kitchen is light and generous with a vaulted ceiling complete with white oak beams. Below, the custom inset cabinetry is painted in Benjamin Moore's Natural Cream, while deep walnut details and marble countertops bring patina and movement to the traditional design. A generous island gives the family a place to gather, lined with upholstered counter stools. The pantry, meanwhile, tells a different story. Farrow & Ball's Brinjal on the cabinetry meets matching deep eggplant marble countertops, with a House of Hackney wallpapered accent ceiling overhead. 'The pantry is the home's boldest small space,' Danielle says of this confident space. 'Brass details, grates, and gallery rails add warmth, and the striped café curtains and marble checkerboard floor tie the room to the foyer.'

Just off the kitchen, a tucked-away coffee nook keeps the morning essentials close at hand, with walnut open shelving and a hammered unlacquered brass sink and gallery rails that tie it neatly into the main space. The dining area makes family meals center stage, with a generous oak table, upholstered chairs, and a built-in banquette that create an inviting spot for the entire family. An ornate brass light adds a little glamour overhead, while a vintage rug brings warmth beneath the furniture. It's a mix of tailored pieces and more relaxed details that feels collected rather than overly coordinated. 'The overall vibe they were after was warm, grounded, and intentionally designed – something that felt both elevated and easy to live in,' Danielle adds.

The mudroom has so much charm for such a practical space, with furniture-style cabinetry, marble countertops, and unlacquered brass hardware giving everyday storage a charming finish. More V-groove paneling, striped cafe curtains, and the marble checkerboard flooring that runs through the house keep things feeling cohesive, while sweet lighting adds a decorative flourish.

The powder room, meanwhile, is moody, intimate and layered with deep green millwork, Morris & Co. floral wallpaper and a petite mosaic floor. 'The room is dramatic but inviting, a small space that leaves a lasting impression,' she says. Danielle explains how she likes to think about how a 'house unfolds as you move through it', adding that 'each room has something of its own to offer, but the transitions feel natural,' she explains. 'The colors feel grounded, with a softness that works beautifully alongside the home’s historic details.'

The bedrooms bring a softer note to the home, with each tailored to its occupant while keeping that same balance of comfort and character. In the primary bedroom, delicate floral wallpaper creates a backdrop for a calm, neutral scheme, while out of sight, Danielle has styled pink mohair lounge chairs with fringe detailing to sit beside the bay windows. The children's bedroom is naturally more playful, with hand-painted checkerboard floors and subtle wallpaper that adds to the 'storybook feel', while a custom built-in bed and desk make clever use of the space. Blush accents, shelves for favorite books and treasures, and a scalloped chair add personality without overwhelming the room.

Not every renovation needs to start with a skip and a shopping list. Sometimes, the best thing you can do with an old feature is find it a new purpose. A spirit of reusing and recycling runs throughout this home, where preserving its history has meant looking at what can be kept, reworked and given a new chapter in the story. 'In a house that was once dismantled and rebuilt so it could have another life, giving those pieces a new purpose feels especially fitting,' Danielle says. Perhaps that's what makes this restoration so successful: it doesn't try to freeze the house in time, but allows its history to keep evolving.

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