The site, orientation, and architectural vocabulary of the Malmati house are unique in the urban context of East Capitol Street and imply both added expense and bold personalities. Less than half of the triple lot is covered by the large three-bay house with its flat front. A large side garden is overlooked by two octagonal bays. The house, constructed of dark monochromatic brick with brown-stone details, was erected by the owner, a building contractor, for $10,000. Cooper's design, a restrained and muscular version of Neoclassicism, is simple and forceful, with windows punched directly into taut brick walls and the skyline broken by stepped end gables.

Vastly overscaled keystone brackets above first-story windows and smaller ones connecting second-floor windows to the simple entablature are unusually sophisticated, even idiosyncratic, design elements.