This Center City Townhouse Feels Like an Urban Sanctuary
International influences find a cool common ground at this address thanks to interior design firm Marguerite Rodgers.
A globally inspired Center City townhouse by interior design firm Marguerite Rodgers / Photography by Joshua McHugh
Simplicity isn’t a word you hear very often in the world of elevated interior design. But that’s the exact approach a pair of global citizens settling in Philadelphia for the long haul had in mind for the full-gut renovation of their newly purchased Center City property. Every inch of the multilevel townhouse was considered, down to the doors. “We used pocket doors throughout the home because there was no space for swinging doors, which created a very comfortable flow,” says Meg Rodgers, of Kensington-based interior design firm Marguerite Rodgers, part of a sought-after team that included Berwyn’s Peter Zimmerman Architects and Shay Construction in Mount Airy.
Here, the straightforwardness of Belgian design was paired with Japanese influences (inspired by the couple’s time living in Asia) to create an urban sanctuary so deeply rooted in uniformity that the interior walls, from the ceiling to the floor, were all painted with a neutral matte plaster finish. “This is a fresh project in the sense that it’s a different look with a more economical use of space, with a much more human scale,” says contractor Dixon Shay. “It’s easy to connect with the property that way.”
Kitchen
The Roman Thomas dining table in plain-sawn American walnut, paired with Picchios’s benches, doubles as a desk. Wayne’s Spogue Kitchens & Bath designed the white-oak Artcraft cabinetry. Many of the appliances were sourced from Kieffer’s Appliances in Lansdale.
Living room
Tibetan artist Gonkar Gyatso’s silhouette of the Buddha looks out over the space. The movable mirror forged at Kensington’s Holzman Iron Studio reflects the greenery outside. “The garden is a huge part of the color palette,” says Rodgers, of the landscape by Fishtown firm Digs.
Hallway
Antique Japanese doors restored by Rodgers and fabricated by Philly’s Staack Moore Woodworking find new life as an art piece created to cover electrical panels.
Powder room
Rodgers tapped Narberth’s Peter Lalor to hang Fromental’s Ansu wallcovering. Light installations by Riloh Studio bookend the sunburst mirror. The cast-bronze sink is from Linkasink.
Published as “Global Entry” in the November 2025 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
