A young couple with plans to establish roots (and add family members) asked us to provide much-needed space to a narrow rowhouse in LeDroit Park – a sought-after neighborhood with all the amenities a young family would want. It was a thought-provoking design exercise to navigate the narrow home, small lot, and owners’ desires, but the end result exceeded the couple’s expectations.

Our only option was to build up, so we added a third floor with as much usable space as possible, and designed in a setback for a functional upper balcony. Since the home is adjacent to a park with community gardens and meandering paths, the balcony provides beautiful views while preserving the original details of the front façade.

Even though we had a limited area, we didn’t let this limit the space we wanted to create for the couple. The third floor offers an open and spacious master suite with an outdoor extension to enjoy the home’s desirable location in the city.