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After positioning a glass wall, Alessandro arranged the interiors. The stair, built with oak sourced in nearby Kingston, leads to a balcony over the kitchen.

After: "We don't believe in the hierarchy of materials,

"The house is so small that the renovation required a lot of attention to get the scale of the details right, light the crown molding,

In the primary bathroom, Harlow sconces from Schoolhouse Electric hang above a double vanity from Restoration Hardware. The green subway tiles are from Nemo.

Spiegel and the SAW team leaned on a comprehensive wood palette from Madera to strengthen the architectural vision–wrapping floors, walls and ceilings with wood to draw attention to the geometry of the voids. “It’s a material that has natural resonance between interior and exterior spaces,” shares Spiegel. “It holds sharp geometric forms, but produces visual and tactile softness.”

The new addition is spanned by a sliding glass door to the kitchen, bringing in much more natural light and creating easy flow between inside and out. The owners especially appreciate how the new deck is at grade with the exterior door for a seamless transition, making the kitchen feel “a part of the garden,” says the homeowner.

In order to connect the basement to the rest of the house, the architects replaced a bedroom and bathroom on the main floor with a light-filled staircase, pantry, and powder room.

The living room also connects to a deck via sliding doors from B&B Doors and Windows.

A restrained palette of wood and white makes the architecture a neutral backdrop. "It’s kind of cliché, but we believe you can create good spaces simply with modest materials and light," says Legge. The stairs are oak, and the built-in shelving is Douglas fir.

The shower is covered in Cottonwood mosaic and penny tiles by Ann Sacks.

This bedroom was dark with checkered carpet and dominated by floor-to-ceiling built-in shelving.

They opted for minimalistic kitchen appliances to not overwhelm the simplistic design.

The new home sits on the same footprint, however it gained two bedrooms and another bath and a half. One challenge was extending the cantilevers as far as possible to add more square footage.

A closer look at the renovated kitchen, which features a large picture window and a beloved chandelier that once hung in the couple's first Berlin apartment.

To avoid the sight of dirty dishes, the sink is on the side rather than in the island, where instead an induction stove from Bora (with a cleverly designed down-draw exhaust system) makes the kitchen “really social,” says Kate. “One of us can be cooking while the other can sit and have a glass of wine.”

Kitchen