Last spring, Paula Greif and her daughter, Anna, left behind their 4,000-square-foot, five-story townhouse in favor of a 900-square-foot triplex in Cobble Hill’s Warren Place Mews. Despite the radical downsize, the charming cottage is Greif’s dream house. Photo: Wendy Goodman
Greif personally updated the interiors. She took advice from her paint-expert friend Eve Ashcraft and freshened up the original stairway with Benjamin Moore’s “White Dove.” Greif trained as a graphic designer and started her career working in the art department at Rolling Stone. She went on to similar roles for Barneys and Richard Avedon before a stint directing rock videos and TV commercials (in her rock-and-roll days, she used to hang out at CBGB’s and the Mudd Club). About three years ago, while visiting Anne Kennedy Nadin and her husband, Peter Nadin, at their Old Field Farm in Cornwallville, N.Y., Greif began making ceramics and became the farm’s summertime potter-in-residence. Photo: Wendy Goodman
The living room is furnished with a coffee table Greif found at a yard sale in Sag Harbor. She got the armchair from the old Tepper Galleries; the sofa is from Depression Modern. The crafty potter covered both with washable white-cotton slipcovers. The working fireplace provides ambience and warmth on winter evenings. Photo: Wendy Goodman
The dining room boasts a wood table from Joel J. Mathieson Antiques and an armchair and ottoman by Ethan Allen via a Housing Works thrift store. Photo: Wendy Goodman
A previous owner installed the stone floor, marble countertops, and kitchen cabinets, which Paula repainted gray, another of Ashcraft’s trusty tips. “She said, “Don’t fight it, go with it, and chose a color that will blend in with the stone and marble,” explains Greif. Photo: Wendy Goodman
At dinnertime, mother and daughter enjoy dining al fresco. This outdoor space is part of an open garden alley that used to be paved in cobblestones. The mews still has a villagelike feel. “Everyone has each others’ keys,” says Grief. “We all take care of each others’ pets.” Photo: Wendy Goodman
Greif’s rescue cat, Ella, enjoying a nap by the bedroom window. Photo: Wendy Goodman
Greif’s office on the parlor floor. Photo: Wendy Goodman
In a corner of the living room, a papier-mâché papaya rests inside one of Greif’s ceramic bowls. The jug is by her mentor and “clay comrade” Natsuko Uchino. Photo: Wendy Goodman
A view towards the entrance of the house with an antique doorbell on the left. Photo: Wendy Goodman
