A two-bedroom apartment was comprised of compartmentalized rooms that made the interiors feel dark and dated. The owners hired Studio PHH Architects to orchestrate an overhaul that would gut the apartment and rethink its overall circulation and flow. “The goal was to bring efficiency, openness, light and unity of materials,” says founder and project architect Pierre-Henri Hoppenot. “We kept some acoustic and visual separations while providing a communal feeling within the main rooms: living, dining and kitchen.”

The design team removed the wall between the kitchen and dining room to create a warm yet minimalist kitchen. “The project is unified by materials which repeat,” notes the architect, who paired white oak cabinetry from Abernathy Sticks with countertops and backsplash in book-matched Chateau Noire quartzite that also frames the living room fireplace. Engineered white oak flooring unifies the space.

Renovation Architecture: Pierre-Henri Hoppenot, AIA, Studio PHH Architecture, PLLC, Brooklyn, New York, and Washington, DC. Renovation Contractor: Jeffco Development, Rockville, Maryland. Photography: MPI.