One of the highlights new book, Remodelista in Maine, was the island home of architect couple Maria Berman and Brad Horn. The house’s shell is one of architectural brilliance: a modern, über pared-down version of a quintessential New England farmhouse, its two sides joined by spacious screen porch. But the house, on the Maine island of Vinalhaven, never takes itself too seriously. Inside, it’s all easy-going materials, riotous color and pattern, and mismatched finds from unlikely sources: thrift stores, estate sales, even—memorably—the swap shop at the Vinalhaven dump.

So when Maria and Brad emailed us with shots of their place in New York City, where their firm, Berman Horn, is based, we were delighted to note their characteristic approach applies just as effortlessly to a historic Harlem row house, with an architect’s sense for structure and a collector’s irreverent mix of found finds.

“It’s a turn-of-the-century row house that was built when the new subway system began to link upper Manhattan to downtown,” Maria writes of their place. “In the nineteenth century the area was very rural, with small frame houses. The subway system made it part of the city.

“We found this place when we finished architecture school in upper Manhattan. We had been living in a really raw loft space behind the old Fairway market in the Harlem meatpacking area and wanted something that was more stable and secure. We also loved the area and felt it was a community we wanted to be a part of.”

The couple inherited the house’s historic bones, which were in good shape, and made subtle, smart updates that—like the oft-quoted notion that good design is invisible—almost blend into the background. But the effects are felt in a potentially awkward layout unified (thanks to a single paint color) and a so-efficient-it’s-barely-noticable kitchen space. “In a way, not feeling obligated to restore historic interiors allowed us more freedom in terms of finding a layout and aesthetic identity that worked for us,” Maria writes.

Join us for a walk through.

Photography by Greta Rybus.