Pelham House is a minimal home located in Westchester, New York, designed by TBo. Light pools across the pale green quartzite island like water over stone, animating the heart of this renovated 1910s Mediterranean home. It’s a transformative moment that embodies TBo’s approach to this Westchester County project—where careful demolition becomes an act of restoration, and where architectural interventions create not just spaces but experiences.

The kitchen island stands as both functional workhorse and quiet manifesto. Its monolithic form, hewn from quartzite in a soft verdant tone, serves as the gravitational center for family life. “We wanted a communal gathering place for all aspects of cooking and family life,” the designers explain, understanding that in contemporary domestic architecture, the kitchen has evolved beyond utility into the true social nexus of the home.

This understanding of historical progression is evident throughout. Where previous piecemeal renovations had fractured the flow into a “maze of dark and poorly scaled rooms,” TBo’s intervention reads as both radical and respectful. By removing interior walls in the family zones and eliminating closets behind the central stair core, they’ve recovered the home’s original promise while adapting it to contemporary patterns of living.

Material choices reveal a deep appreciation for craft traditions. The floor-to-ceiling plaster and millwork volume housing pantries and appliances connects to centuries-old vernacular building techniques, while the inclusion of an inglenook—that medieval architectural feature designed to capture the warmth of a fire—demonstrates how historical forms can address perennial human needs. The narrow character-grade white oak flooring, laid diagonally with decorative banding, revitalizes a traditional technique to articulate the new spatial relationships.

The sofal, upholstered in soft caramel Kvadrat wool, exemplifies the project’s balanced approach to furnishing. By pairing the contemporary &Tradition piece with a vintage Alky chair reimagined in nubby Pierre Frey chenille, TBo creates a dialogue between different design eras. This conversation continues with the custom douglas fir coffee table alongside an oiled oak Frama chair—handcraft speaking across generations.