The Urban Sanctuary

Originally a church, this building was converted into townhouses in the 2000s. The 5-story units feature polished concrete floors, single-stringer staircases, and original stained glass windows salvaged from the church. Of course, it’s been nearly two decades since the conversion, so this unit needed a refresh.

Our scope was to completely redesign the primary bedroom floor, refinish some areas on the main living floors and kitchen, add some casework, and refinish all the bathrooms.

Unlike other units in the building, this one did not feature the exposed brick accent walls that bring some visual warmth to the other units. To make up for it, we created a faux brick wall — carefully detailing it to hide the fact that it’s not actually a wall of brick, but rather applied brick tiles. The brick material is, in fact, clay-fired and hand-laid as real bricks would be; but, each brick is only 3/4” thick, essentially applied as a tile, rather than stacked and mortared. The visual warmth of the brick and its rustic texture offer a balanced respite from the clean lines of the rest of the townhouse.