The 1860s brick row house in Brooklyn’s Boerum Hill had a lot going for it: tall ceilings, lacy moldings, marble mantels, and a gracious floor plan that had served its residents untouched.

Located in a Hampstead mews and discretely hidden behind a Victorian pub, Reciprocal House is a newly completed 280-square-metre family home that has replaced a nondescript, dilapidated 1860s cottage.