Elizabeth Roberts Brings Light Back into This 163-Year-Old Fort Greene Townhouse

When Allison Freedman Weisberg and Peter Barker-Huelster bought this Fort Greene townhouse, it was the opposite of the home they envisioned. The couple wanted a house that was bright and uncluttered. Instead, the 163 year-old house was dark and decaying with its roof and back wall about to cave in. The family enlisted Elizabeth Roberts Design/Ensemble Architecture to put air and light back into the house, resulting in this indoor/outdoor blend thanks to a two-story addition, which features a wall of windows on the second floor and an operable glass door on the ground floor.

Allison and Peter are avid cooks, and therefore wanted the kitchen/dining room to be the main artery of the house. Roberts added height to this space by removing the low ceilings and exposing the wooden beams. She balanced the glassy rear addition with rustic touches in the kitchen like the farmhouse sink, exposed wooden shelving, and colorful Shaker-style kitchen cabinets by Wood Mode. Plus, she added a custom grill in the kitchen fireplace for the cooking-oriented couple.

Landscape architect Kim Hoyt added a touch of greenery along the perimeter of the dining room to, quite literally, bring the outdoors in. The large windows that open out onto the backyard make it appear as if the garden is an extension of the dining room. An outdoor kitchen is perfect for entertaining.

In the front of the house, Roberts brings together a marble fireplace, a linen-covered chaise from Liza Sherman Antiques, and an antique Lavar Kerman rug to counterbalance the townhouse’s modern exterior.

Be sure to check out our gallery below to see more beautiful photos of the house, and see more work from Elizabeth Roberts/Ensemble Architecture here.

[Via Remodelista]

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Photos courtesy of Dustin Aksland