{"id":173777,"date":"2026-04-23T12:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/173777\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T12:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:02:08","slug":"an-east-passyunk-rowhome-with-a-mostly-mid-century-vibe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/173777\/","title":{"rendered":"An East Passyunk Rowhome With a (Mostly) Mid-Century Vibe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGuides<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Re(work) Architecture & Design gave the rest of the home a mostly mid-century aesthetic.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tGet a compelling long read and must-have lifestyle tips in your inbox every Sunday morning \u2014 great with coffee!\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Photography by Rebecca McAlpin<\/p>\n

Tofani doors \u2014 known for their decorative glass panels and distinctive window shapes \u2014 have been a hallmark of South Philly rowhomes since the early 20th century<\/a>, when Philly craftsman Arthur Tofani started churning them out at his neighborhood mill. As residents and business owners in East Passyunk, re(work) Architecture & Design<\/a>\u2019s Sary Em and Eric Heidel share an appreciation for these local treasures \u2014 and so did their clients, a couple who had been splitting time between Brooklyn and Philadelphia but decided to make this city their forever home. They tasked Em and Heidel, a wife-and-husband team, with a complete reimagining and nearly full-gut renovation of their just-purchased East Passyunk rowhome \u2014 except for the Tofani door.<\/p>\n

So the designers amplified the original front vestibule \u2014 \u201ca great space for wallpaper or a fun color,\u201d says Heidel \u2014 then went mid-mod for almost everything else. They leaned into geometric patterns, wood paneling, and an earthy green (plus a little pink) color palette; they also dug out the basement, expanded the third floor, and added a roof deck. But the spirit of the home remains, thanks to that door and its keyhole motif \u2014 the first thing you see when you enter, and the last thing you see when you leave.<\/p>\n

Living Room & Vestibule<\/p>\n

A pair of vintage chairs from the client\u2019s grandmother were refinished by Guy\u2019s Upholstering in East Passyunk. Em and Heidel also added white oak built-ins from Kensington-based T.K. Lynch Joinery<\/a>. For the vestibule, the designers chose a frog wallcovering, Arte\u2019s Les Grenouilles de Chavroches<\/a>, and painted the space with Benjamin Moore\u2019s Thousand Oceans. Northeast Philly\u2019s David Albert Stained Glass Studio<\/a> replaced a small pane of glass in the transom.<\/p>\n

Kitchen<\/p>\n

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The open-concept first floor features an eat-in kitchen lined with cabinetry by Hunting Park\u2019s Doyle Design<\/a> in white oak and painted wood. The designers sourced the soapstone counter from Renaissance Marble & Granite<\/a> in Blackwood, New Jersey, and the zellige mosaic backsplash from Center City\u2019s Joanne Hudson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bathroom<\/p>\n

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White oak and brass Workstead sconces were paired with Zia Tile\u2019s Alabaster White and Kelp Forest wall tiles. T.K. Lynch Joinery built the white oak vanity, with a London Sky quartzite counter from Renaissance Marble & Granite.<\/p>\n

Basement<\/p>\n

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To make their vision \u2014 what Em calls \u201can old-school South Philly basement bar with a Twin Peaks twist\u201d \u2014 come to life, the designers brought in a custom bar by Doyle Design, wall paneling in white oak, and checkered Armstrong VCT flooring.<\/p>\n

Published as \u201cMaking an Entrance\u201d in the April 2026 issue of Philadelphia magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Guides Re(work) Architecture & Design gave the rest of the home a mostly mid-century aesthetic. Get a compelling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173778,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70],"class_list":{"0":"post-173777","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-philadelphia","9":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","10":"tag-philadelphia-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}