The Greenpoint Townhouse is a study of reconciling an active, itinerant lifestyle with the rooting sensibilities of home. New York-based Lea Architecture’s design prioritizes utility and the marriage of Brooklyn and Swedish aesthetics, which maximizes privacy and family space above a retail site on the lower floor of the property.

Home to a family who splits their time between Stockholm and New York City, the studio’s renovation combines a two-family residential space into an expansive, three-story upper duplex. The design preserves the commercial space and four-car garage on the building’s lower level, with the upper living areas added as an extension onto a patio above the garage.

Lea Architecture repointed and freshened up the exterior facade and made energy-efficient upgrades throughout. The design team also added a stand-out, maroon color-blocked bathroom for a dash of boldness to the overall palette.

All three floors of the home are connected by a custom, geometric wooden stairwell. It serves as a backbone to the home, sculpturally flowing between each space. The stair plays off the kitchen’s warm wooden casework to create a sense of continuity between levels, meanwhile creating a functional lightwell between the top-floor skylight all the way down to the ground-floor entrance.