b'Both Sides NowA restoration lends a carriage house purpose 125 years laterBY TIA SWANSONPHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIA MALOOF VERDEROSAArtist and designer Christine Llewellyn Ohemeng turned her carriage house into a two-story affair with an art studio on the first floor.W henNewYorknativefind a project that beckoned. Orange. The house,riage house that had escaped both the scourges and ChristineLlewellynThe family fell in love with an old shingle houseimprovements of time. It had never been used as a Ohemengandherabout halfway up Melrose Place, the winding streetgarage or a playhouse, never been messed with or up-husband,Kwameat the western edge of Southdated. It was empty, awaiting a purpose and a vision. Ohemeng,decidedwhich is of historic interest and somewhat uncer- Itwasawesomeandinteresting,Llewellyn todecampfromForttain provenance, was about 125 years old when theyOhemeng remembers. It had so much potential. Greene, Brooklyn for abought it that summer; previous owners had addedBy the summer of 2019, with the help of noted local house in New Jersey in 2017, she was torn. It wasntboth architectural distinction and welcome updates.architect brothers Josh and Christian Uhl, Llewellyn abouttradingthecityforthesuburbsshehadAll they really needed to do was unpack their bags,Ohemeng was well on her way to turning the ne-more than made her peace with thatbut aboutdecide which of the children should get the covetedglected carriage house into a studio, a workspace for what kind of house she wanted to buy. As a moth- turret bedroom (it went to their daughter Tina, theher burgeoning pattern design business.er of young children, she needed a place that wasoldest), and begin enjoying the space the house andThe Uhls have a modernist sensibilitythey are move-in ready. But as an artist and a designer, shethe suburbs provided. the designers of the new apartment building on Baker longed to be able to put her stamp on her home: toAt the back of the property, however, was a car- Street in downtown Maplewoodand their website 12/ matters magazine / hearth & home 2021'