Architecture and Interiors: TenBerke
Location: Manhattan, New York
Photography: Scott Frances
A landmarked Manhattan townhouse is updated by TenBerke with unusual restraint. Instead of flattening the house into a generic open plan, the practice keeps the proportions and sequence of the original rooms largely intact, then makes a limited set of targeted interventions that sharpen how the house is used and how light moves through it.
Originally built in 1846 and now home to a family of four, the residence treats vertical living as an asset rather than a constraint. TenBerke preserves the exterior and restores existing architectural elements, while the interior shifts toward a quieter, more contemporary register. The result is minimal without feeling abstracted from the building's age.
The lower garden level is one of the clearest transformations. A pared-back kitchen is organized around pale cabinetry, dark steel framing, and long sightlines to the rear terrace, giving the floor a stronger relationship to the outdoors. Elsewhere, original crown mouldings and marble fireplaces are retained, while wide plank floors and slender tapered balustrades give the circulation spaces a cleaner rhythm.
What makes the project convincing is that the renovation never tries to overpower the townhouse. Historic fabric, custom furnishings, and carefully judged material transitions all work toward a house that feels calm, specific, and durable. It reads as a renovation shaped by editing rather than excess.
Custom work by Withers Studio and Palo Samko reinforces that sense of precision, and the overall execution stays closely tied to craft. Even where the spaces look spare, the house depends on detailed coordination between preservation, interiors, and construction to hold that level of quiet.
Source: Wallpaper*
