Borgo: 8 Ideas to Borrow from the NYC Trattoria, Layered with Detail

Since 1998, Andrew Tarlow has been responsible for opening some of Brooklyn’s coziest neighborhood restaurants. His newest spot, Borgo, brings his signature warmth to Manhattan for the very first time—thanks, in part, to the historic double storefront it inhabits. “This was a restaurant called I Trulli for 25 years,” he says. “But based on New York City photos, people have been eating and drinking inside of at least half of this building for a hundred years, if not longer. You could feel it when you walked in. People had met their person here, people had gotten married here. There weren’t many touches of modernity at all.”


Andrew and his wife, Kate Huling, maintained that charm by restoring as many existing elements as possible, from the arches to the marble bar to the plaster ceiling. They then added their own layers of character with knotty pine wainscoting, tin walls, and glowy sconces—all of which were fabricated on-site by their own construction company, led by foreman Matthew Bernbach. “The handmade element of it creates so much of the romance of being in the space,” Kate says. “We have people that we admire and trust and respect who really know how to bring that for us. It’s an incredibly meaningful, creative, collaborative process.”


Here, eight ideas to borrow from Borgo for pulling off that layered, inviting look.


Photography by Martien Mulder.


1. Pick the color that speaks to you.


Above: For the façade, Drew Heffron of brand identity studio Practical People suggested a coat of eye-catching Duck Green by Farrow & Ball. “It’s so good,” says Kate. “It’s not hunter, it’s not forest, it’s not army, it’s not olive—it’s its own thing. You can’t walk or drive by without looking at the space. It really sticks out.”
Above: Andrew and Kate used Fine Paints of Europe Sign Enamel to ensure the green hue would withstand the outdoor elements.


2. Restore what’s special.


Above: To maintain the timeless allure of the space, the couple repaired and reconstructed existing features like arches and a plaster ceiling. “We kept so many of the details that were there,” says Kate. “We cleaned them out and redid them, but really with that same essence. The arches we absolutely loved. We loved the setup. The kitchen is in the same place; the bar is in the same place.”
Above: Cafe curtains and an open kitchen station in the front window.


3. Expose rough walls.


Above: During construction, Andrew discovered a rough paint-chipped concrete wall—and decided to leave it exposed. Now it forms the backdrop of this dining niche, with a piece by Remodelista friend Wayne Pate. The square candle holders are by artist Gabrielle Shelton.
Above: “I debated painting it or putting a mirror in it,” Andrew says of the rough wall. “Everybody who walked in would ask me what I was going to do with it. It became a talking point, so in the end, I left it. I thought it was beautiful. I thought it was a painting.”


4. Focus on the glow.


Above: To achieve the ideal radiance for the custom sconces and the cabinets behind the bar, Andrew approached a lighting expert from a movie crew that happened to be filming on the street. “She used this special color meter to check the warmth of the lights,” he says. “I bought the gels she recommended the next morning and it was perfect.”


5. Rethink knotty pine.


Above: Both aesthetic and practical reasons led Andrew and Kate to choose knotty pine for the wainscoting that wraps around Borgo. “We didn’t want it to feel too fancy or too rustic—it was a balancing act,” Andrew says. “If we had used mahogany, it would feel much more old-worldly, and there’d be a cost related to it. Pine is an American wood that’s very readily available to us at the lumber yard.”
Above: Andrew accidentally stained the wainscoting too dark at first—but he serendipitously ran into an old friend who saved the day. Jennie Schueler of J. Gordon Painted Finishes introduced him to Carol Pavitt, a wood whisperer skilled at lightening wood tones. And though the knots remained more pronounced, they’ve become a beloved quirk.


6. Incorporate sculpture.


Above: Andrew and Kate decorated the restaurant interior with framed pieces by local artists like Jane Swavely and Wayne Pate, but Borgo’s most dramatic art moment is a large Gabrielle Shelton sculpture in the backyard. “She is an incredible artist,” Andrew says. “She lived across the street from Diner when we first opened 26 years ago and has been very close to us for a long time. She made all the candlesticks, too.”


7. Try tin walls.


Above: Inspired by the existing tin ceiling over the bar, the couple installed tin walls, too. “I wanted that room to be a little glossy,” Andrew says. “I wanted a surface that can really hold that shine. It’s also a durable answer for a wall.”


8. Work with friends.


Above: The talented pals who contributed to the renovation made it all the more special. “We work with friends,” says Kate. “We’ve always done design and construction in a hands-on way with people that we have very long relationships with. As we walk around the space, we see all of the people who built it and who had these brilliant ideas.” Shown here: one of the many logos that Drew Heffron created for Borgo.


For more spots with textured walls, see:



* Layers of History: Dersou in Paris, Distressed Surfaces Included

* Davelle: 13 Ideas to Steal from New York’s Tiniest Jewelbox Restaurant

* Trend Alert: The Excavated Look, 15 Ways | bit.ly/3XLoEJb


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