Chef Romilly Newman’s Park Slope Home Is Like a Dutch Still Life

W hen one door closes, another opens, as the Alexander Graham Bell adage goes. This sentiment rang especially true when Romilly Dauphin Newman received a phone call earlier this year informing her that the owner of her building was selling. “It was like a knife in my chest, it really felt like my space and was very personal to me,” she shares. The home was a real estate catch – 12-foot ceilings, impeccable woodwork, and flooded with natural light. After spending four months searching for a new home (an infamously challenging feat in New York City), she landed on a 19th-century Italian style brownstone in Park Slope; a neighbourhood obsessed over for its historic architecture, tree-lined streets, and proximity to Prospect Park.

In retrospect, Newman now reflects back on the unexpected move through a new lens. “I think it was very beneficial for me because it’s kind of opening this whole new creative box,” she says. Part of the appeal of her former home was the structural beauty of the building, which thankfully her Park Slope space also shares. Among the standout original details include a farmhouse sink, black marble fireplace, exposed ceiling beams, and wide plank wood floors. “It’s very rare to find places in New York that still have those details, and I think it’s just oozing with personality,” Newman says, sharing that the owners of her current building work in the antique business and thus share an appreciation for restoring and renovating in thoughtful ways.

This love of old things speaks to a broader glance at Newman’s work as a chef and food stylist. “I always joke that I was born in the wrong era. I'm still very connected to the past and it's expressed through the way I dress, and the way I cook, and the way I decorate,” she says. Even from a young age she exuded these old world sensibilities. The born-and-raised New Yorker competed on the Food Network’s Chopped at the age of 13 and had a food blog and YouTube channel called Little Girl in the Kitchen. Fast forward a little over a decade and she’s now a frequently commissioned food stylist who’s sought after for designing trend-setting tablescapes and co-hosting dinner parties and events with the likes of Martha Stewart and big name fashion brands.

Unsurprisingly, Newman throws a good party in her own home, and this move to Park Slope required her to adapt her creative vision to a different space. “While my new home has so many beautiful details, there are, you know, certain things that I lost like that natural light,” she shares. The result? A shift in tone. “Rather than trying to create the illusion of airiness or brightness, I’ve been homing in on those moody tones to create something that feels a bit more cozy and country-like, a little bit sexier, and a little bit moodier.”

Among her chief inspirations is the Dutch still life genre, which she describes as a beautiful mess. “I often joke that I’m a Victorian broad or a gothic homemaker,” Newman says. “I do really find so much beauty in warmth and darkness; I think it can be incredibly welcoming and comforting to create spaces and tables that are dark, so this apartment has been a fun opportunity to do that.”

Adding to this air of nostalgia in her home is a robust collection of antiques from her grandmother (on her father’s side), who passed away when Newman was just six years old. “She was a huge collector and I’m so lucky that I’ve been able to inherit so many of her finds,” she says. “It’s a way for me to feel closer to her and connected to this person who I spent very little time with, but admire so much.”

On her mother’s side, her grandmother is revered for her impeccable hosting. “Her job was literally to, you know, throw parties at film festivals and curate an amazing mix of people and entertain them,” Newman shares. “So I think a huge part of what I do is kind of mixing these two schools and bringing both of my grandmothers and all of their teachings into my work.”

Now that she’s settled into her new home, there are certain areas she’s scheming to embellish for her next soiree. “I have this amazing clawfoot tub and it’s so exciting to me because that’s such a score in New York, and I really want to fill it with Champagne bottles,” she laughs. Her home is also on the garden level, which means when the weather warrants, she’ll be able to entertain in the garden. “Now that it’s winter, I can decorate the fireplace and light candles,” Newman says. “It’s very nice to entertain here because you can evoke a lot of different feelings and moods.”

Indeed, Newman has a knack for evoking a feeling through her work, and many of her tablescapes have garnered major attention as a result. When asked how she brings this originality to her craft, she points to nature. “I’ll often go to the farmer’s market and find one amazing fruit or vegetable and start building upon that,” she shares, adding that she’s also a huge proponent of high-low styling. “I love to do things that are a little playful and messy…I often like the way the table looks better halfway through the night than I did when it was set up.”

Currently in her dining room is a Mulberry tablecloth from Bed Threads. “I don’t typically go for a dark tablecloth but it brought this richness and vibrancy and it really set the tone for the space,” she says. Even when she’s not entertaining, these special touches are relished.

“We are the guest of honor in our own home, right? Every day I find that if I can just have that little sprinkle of magic or beauty it makes me feel more inclined to take on whatever I have to do,” she says.

Her bedroom is an extension of this, and an area of the home where she’s also experimenting with new palettes. “I went with the Cacao sheet set, which is a little bit unexpected but so luxurious and rich,” she says, adding that the deep tone feels very grounding. “It’s enticing and sumptuous, and looks really beautiful with the natural wood beams overhead.” The key to a note-perfect bedroom, in her opinion, is to not overcomplicate and keep it clean. “You want to feel like you’re retreating to a space that’s meant for decompressing and sleeping.” This perspective also extends to her morning ritual of lighting a special incense, brewing an espresso, and hopping back in bed to answer emails. “The longer I can kind of luxuriate, I will try.”