Philadelphia Rowhouse Residence

The design problem to solve in this project was how to convert a 120-year-old rowhouse basement into additional sleeping/living quarters for the client, concealing existing utility services along the exterior wall and ceiling while maximizing an unusually high 8’ ceiling height. The design mandate of incorporating industrial, vintage, and mid-century modern elements was also a challenging mash-up for this below-grade renovation. 

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Our approach was to create a space that embraced its moody and quasi-subterranean nature while avoiding an aesthetic that was overly bright and overly white. Architectural cement board panels with exposed black fasteners were selected for the ceiling plane and paired with a black stained Pennsylvania oak wood floor. Existing drainage piping along the exterior wall was concealed in a linear painted wood ledge that transitions to a work alcove. Low overhead piping parallel to this exterior wall was clad in the same cement board panel system as the adjacent eight-floor high ceiling. The continuous ledge created space for stacked books, accessories, and a framed lithograph by the French artist Francoise Gilot.

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Solid walnut was selected for the stair treads and risers to match the walnut mid-century style dresser. A modernist oil painting was selected as the focal point above the dresser, with salvaged industrial windows reglazed with antique mirror glass off to the left. A custom light box was assembled with vintage glass arranged in a vintage metal crate. Black metal door hardware with walnut levers was used for all new frameless doors. Adjacent to the stair, we paired a reupholstered Swedish Dux lounge chair with vintage cowhide rug and smoked glass and iron side table from a local vintage shop.

 

At the opposite end of the space, a black, faux leather king-size platform bed with tufted headboard, handcrafted in Italy, was positioned between the frameless door of a walk-in closet and the industrial nightstand with vintage lamp. Traditional vintage paintings were sourced and installed about the bed’s headboard, with the color green being selected to enliven the space. A large format digital canvas print of a Pacific northwest rainforest was selected as artwork to lean against the existing exposed stone wall foundation of the house. A work niche was fitted with plants with a wall-mounted split-system unit clad with custom artwork. An illuminated niche was set within the stair volume, housing some of the client’s decorative art glass collection.