On the Market: Modern Rowhouse with Roof Deck in Northern Liberties
Part of a gated community, this newer modern house for sale departs from the cookie-cutter norm, inside and out.
825 N. Orkney St. (second from left), Philadelphia, Pa. 19123 | Bright MLS images via Space & Company
Perhaps you’ve heard complaints that all those new houses being built in neighborhoods all over the city look alike?
Actually, if you look at the rowhouses so many of us prize, you will note that most of them make up rows of identical houses too.
What they’re really complaining about is that the new houses look so, well, meh. They’re bland and boxy and made out of the same materials.
This house for sale in Northern Liberties also uses those materials. But it uses them in a way that makes it and its row mates stand out and rise above the bland norm.
Fusa Designs gave this gated community of 17 rowhouses – nine, including this one, on Orkney Street and eight more on Lawrence – a facade that is at once harmonious yet polyrhythmic thanks to the angled upper floors.
Living room
And on the inside, Fusa broke up the standard open-plan main floor in similar fashion, putting the living room a half-floor below the kitchen and dining room. This arrangement gives both rooms higher-than-usual ceilings — 14 feet high in the dining room and kitchen.
Dining area and kitchen
Kitchen
Those rooms also receive abundant natural light through a wall of windows at the rear. A balcony off the kitchen and dining room gives you space to dine both inside and out.
Master bedroom
Master bathroom
All of the fixtures, finishes and fittings in this house for sale are top notch. You’ll find Poggenpohl cabinetry in both the kitchen and the pilot house bar, Thermador appliances in the kitchen and Porcelanosa vanities, Grohe fixtures and Toto toilets in the bathrooms.
Media room
Other extra-special touches in this house include reclaimed-wood floating staircases, a reclaimed wood accent wall and a gas fireplace in the living room, reclaimed-wood barn-door closet doors in one of the guest/family bedrooms and a media room in the basement.
Pilot house wet bar
Roof deck, aerial view (second from left)
The roof deck has a green roof area and a great panoramic city view.
This house for sale’s location on a street with no outlet ensures peace and quiet. Its location near the heart of Northern Liberties ensures easy access to so many great things on foot: restaurants like Honey’s Sit ‘n’ Eat, nightspots like Silk City, the Yards brewery, a large city-format Target, Liberty Lands Park, and Spring Garden station on the Market-Frankford Line. SEPTA’s Route 43 and 57 buses run even closer to your home.
THE FINE PRINT
BEDS: 3
BATHS: 3 full, 1 half
SQUARE FEET: 3,182
SALE PRICE: $1,150,000
OTHER STUFF: This house also has garage parking for two cars. The $500 annual HOA fee covers common area insurance, lighting, maintenance and snow removal.
825 N. Orkney St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19123 [Clark Fennimore | Space & Company]
