This house was the personal yearlong renovation of a 100-year-old farmhouse in Fair Haven, NJ. The homeowners, Architect Erica Broberg Smith and Scott Smith, Owner of Smith River Kitchens wanted a home that was easy on the eyes, full of clean lines, and yet operated at maximum functionality for their highly active family while still retaining its charm.

built my house out of foolish desperation. It happened nearly five years ago, when I was a young architect drawn to a place where I could stretch my design wings: the East End of Long Island, where the clients have sophisticated ideas about design. I wasn’t sure, though, that I could afford to live there. But I got lucky. I inherited just enough money for a down payment on some land, and I found a small lot I could afford. I had no clue what to expect from the loan and construction process, but I knew how to design a house, so I did.

Historic timber-frame house will no longer be sinking. Long before the name “Rowdy Hall” was adopted by a popular East Hampton Village bar and eatery (now in Amagansett), it was a boarding house: Mrs. Harry Hamlin’s Rowdy Hall. The building, now a single-family house, still stands at 111 Egypt Lane, although currently it’s floating, suspended six feet above a hole. When it’s lowered again, it will be on a new foundation.

erica@ericabrobergarchitect.com

516.443.8616

Hamptons – 47 Newtown Lane, 2nd floor, East Hampton, New York, 11937

New Jersey – 825 River Road, 2ND Floor, Fair Haven, NJ 07704

© 2026 Erica Broberg Architect

erica@ericabrobergarchitect.com

516.443.8616

Hamptons – 47 Newtown Lane, 2nd floor, East Hampton, New York, 11937

New Jersey – 825 River Road, 2ND Floor, Fair Haven, NJ 07704

© 2026 Erica Broberg Architect