Cobble Hill Italianate, No. 2

Over the 150 years since this mid-19th-century Italianate rowhouse was built, it had been subdivided and lost significant ornamental details that defined the style. When our clients acquired it, they found a structurally compromised building that had been cut off from natural light—a common fate for rowhouses converted to multiple apartments. They wanted to restore both its architectural integrity and its function as a gracious single-family home.

We treated light as the organizing principle for the renovation. Strategic interior openings connect rooms to maximize daylight penetration, while expanded window bays and new skylights bring illumination deep into the narrow footprint. The two-story rear extension, inspired by 19th-century tea porches, houses a new kitchen with direct garden views. Throughout, we installed period-appropriate built-ins—kitchen cabinetry, pocket doors, built-in bookshelves—that restore the level of crafted detail the house originally possessed. The facade required extensive restoration and reconstruction. We replaced ornamental wrought-ironwork, created Juliette balconies, and inserted a new front entry gate; each piece was researched and designed to maintain the streetscape's integrity.

The house that had been dark for decades now draws light through every floor—its Italianate facade restored, its interior renewed, its tea porch kitchen connecting family life to the garden beyond.