Home & Design

The front of the house is clad in stone.

When Rich Rhodes first saw Brendan O’Neill’s development of English country homes in Potomac, sparks flew. “The site immediately conjured up thoughts for me: I could build a house that looks like a ski lodge in the winter time and a lake house in the summer time, that would be perfect,” he recalls. Rhodes and his wife Cheryl wanted a casual home where they could raise their three active, growing daughters; so the informality of the English country style required by the development was a plus.

Before they signed on the dotted line, Rich Rhodes contacted interior designer Susan Holtzman, who had worked with the family on the renovation of their previous home. “I called her and told her, ‘I am not putting any pressure on you, but if you are not willing to do this house, I am not going to do it. I can’t do it without you.’” He knew that countless decisions are made in a new 10,000–square-foot home, everything from floors and fixtures to built-in cabinetry—far more than fabrics, furniture and fringe. Holtzman signed on.

Cheryl Rhodes, who retired a few years ago after selling her recruiting firm, had input into the home, but this project was in her husband’s bailiwick. “He is more creative,” she says, noting that her husband is also “an A-one musician.”


Inside the main entry, the den's hand-stenciled ceiling
and fireplace design evoke Moroccan style.

Rich Rhodes had a ball. As a principal in a commercial real estate firm, CRESA Partners, he was comfortable reading floor plans and was the conduit for the project. “My biggest challenge was juggling all the vendors: the AV guys, the pool, landscaping, lighting, the architect, my designer, the GC [general contractor], everything that goes into building a custom home. But I loved it,” he recalls.

“Here was the trick,” Richard Rhodes begins. “How do we get 16-foot ceilings in the family room and ten-foot ceilings on the main level to feel warm and cozy?”  

As they worked with architect David Jones to design the fully custom home, they outlined their priorities: Cheryl wanted an entry that ran from the front to the back of the house; ditto for the kitchen. She also requested an adjacent office and family room, where they asked Jones to create an inglenook in the family room. The couple did not want a formal living room. Instead, for Rich, there would be a den and a music room on the far side of the entry—a getaway for a man in a house full of women, notes Cheryl. The Rhodes insisted on equally sized bedrooms with their own baths for each of the girls. Individuality would come with the décor, and Holtzman actively solicited feedback from each daughter.


Glossy black walls and a gold ceiling lend a glamorous touch.

Once the plans were in place, the couple turned to Holtzman to help them make the spacious new house feel like home. “Here was the trick,” Richard Rhodes begins. “How do we get 16-foot ceilings in the family room and ten-foot ceilings on the main level to feel warm and cozy?” Holtzman jump-started the design process. She used faux finishes to warm spaces, reaping the talents of three artists to decorate the walls and ceiling. In the den Melissa Tenhold striaed the walls and stenciled the ceiling in golds and browns as Holtzman infused a Moroccan decor.

When the designer first suggested using a glossy black paint in the dining room, Cheryl recalls thinking, “What am I going to do with black walls?” Now she sees them as a work of art and loves the reflection of flickering candles on a winter evening or during a holiday gathering.

Keeping the family room casual yet sophisticated, Tenhold applied an earthy plaster pull-away finish. Holtzman and her clients selected a deep red tone for the ceiling, and 100-year-old beams reclaimed from a farmhouse in southern Pennsylvania lend the room a rustic look.

In the kitchen, Tenhold added just a smidgeon of black to a rustic, chip-away finish, again, for the aged look. Holtzman selected a photo reflecting the rolling hills of the English countryside and artist Pat Bergeron applied it to tiles, creating a mural over the range top. She added pictures of the Rhodes daughters to the scene, in addition to the family dog, Abbey.

More decorative painting—by artist Cindy Cranney—adds faux block to the walls of the music room, where Rich plays piano. Upstairs, in the master suite, Cranney also faux finished the walls, giving depth and calm to the neutral hue.


Homeowner and musician Rich Rhodes retreats to the
adjacent music room to play the piano.

Early on, Holtzman established the furniture arrangements. Her clients had some specific requests: Rich knew exactly where he wanted the television in his den, so Holtzman designed a richly colored wood cabinet, decorating the doors with copper facing. During the project, Holtzman called on interior designer Sarah Fretwell as her design assistant. It was Fretwell who found the incredible copper on a visit to Taos. Nail heads, which were also used on the TV cabinet in the den, became a decorative theme, applied on the chairs in the kitchen and on the sofa in the family room.

During Holtzman’s search for a coffee table for the family room, serendipity intervened. She happened to meet Rich Rhodes’s aunt at a New Year’s party in Florida. A design showroom representative there, she managed to find Holtzman’s “pièce de résistance” for the family room—the decorative coffee table with copper inlay. Holtzman requested a sample of the wood, and had it stained to her specification.

Holtzman warmed and softened the interiors with each addition to the décor. She selected sofas with rolled arms and rolled backs on the dining room chairs. In the master bedroom, color and pattern abound in checks, stripes, plaids, stylized florals and a marvelous Indian-motif toile.

In addition to the many new purchases, Holtzman incorporated a number of pieces from the previous house: the ottoman used as a coffee table in the Moroccan den, a hutch in the eating area and the marble-topped buffet in the dining room. She was attempting to design a buffet of just the right scale and proportion when she was rummaging around in the Rhodes basement and saw a console from their former house. They moved it upstairs, added a mirror that was also from the previous home and finished it off with new buffet lamps.


One hundred-year-old reclaimed beams from Pennsylvania
lend a rustic touch to the family room; a stone inglenook
makes a cozy spot for gathering around a fire.

Holtzman wisely developed systems to facilitate selections along the way. For instance, she created lighting folders and asked her clients to pick out their favorites among the various styles. Invariably, they chose Gothic designs compatible with the style of the house.

Then there were the floors. Limestone paves the foyer, where Holtzman created a border for a touch of formality. White oak floors, stained a deep, warm tone were used in the remaining rooms.

For living large out-of-doors, a porch spans the back of the house with multiple terraces extending the living space. Around the outdoor fireplace that shares the chimney for the inglenook, Cheryl and Rich enjoy toasting marshmallows with their daughters and sipping wine. There is a pool, Jacuzzi and an in-ground trampoline surrounded by protective netting. And just inside, a shower/changing room, a small laundry for pool towels and a powder room. The home is packed with livability. English country influence? Unquestionably. Warm and comfortable? Without a doubt.


Interesting details abound, such as the family room's deep
red ceiling.


Susan Hotlzman had a studded coffee table stained to match
the family room.

In the kitchen, decorative painter Pat Bergeron created a
custom mural on the backsplash tile depicting a scene
from the English countryside.

In the master bedroom a terrace overlooks the back yard.

The master bath boasts a custom-designed and -finished
double vanity.

Less formal than the front of the house, the rear is
sheathed in shingles, though the stone is carried
through in the outdoor fireplace.

A porch spans the back of the house with multiple terraces
extending the living space.

Whimsical murals light up a bath by Architectural Ceramics. 

The process of designing a new bathroom can be daunting. From finding a designer to choosing from the myriad of fixtures and features on the market today, homeowners are faced with a million decisions. Luckily, there are experienced professionals in our region who are willing to share their wisdom to help you prepare yourself to turn your bathroom into a true center of luxury.

Choose your Designer
According to David O’Neil, President of Renaissance Tile & Bath in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, DC, the bathroom is the new kitchen, fast becoming the focal point of comfort. “They’re spaces we live in, that are being designed to become sanctuaries in the home.” In order to make that sanctuary a luxurious place to rejuvenate, you need to choose a professional to guide you through what can be a stressful endeavor—but hopefully one with stunning results.

The first step in choosing a designer is to know what you need for your project. Are you starting from scratch and want a designer to walk you through each step? Or would you be better off going to a design center that has all your choices laid out in front of you, and designers on-hand to help you find what you want?

No matter what type of service you choose, the key to looking for a designer is to talk to them, find out what they offer, and make sure they respect what you want out of your bath. Betty Sullivan of Architectural Ceramics, which has three area showrooms, lists the five key things to look for: “Experience, longevity, reliability, compatibility and selection.”

“You will be spending a lot of time with these people,” says Sullivan, so make sure that you not only like them but like their business practices and the other professionals they work with. “Ask them how they work. Look at their previous work. Call their references. Ask questions. Follow your gut instincts.”

And above all, they should listen to you and understand what you want. “Make sure you find a designer who doesn’t muscle their aesthetic on you,” says O’Neil. “They should hear what you’re looking for and enhance it.”

Preparation and Patience
Perhaps the most important step in facilitating the entire process is to narrow down your ideas before you start. Sullivan urges homeowners to bring whatever selections they have already made with them when they meet with designers or choose products. If you have a cabinet knob, fixture or tile you’re in love with, show your designer.

“You cannot plan far enough ahead,” says O’Neil. Having a clear idea of the aesthetic or result that you wish to achieve early on in the process will help you communicate with designers and save valuable time making decisions later. But also be prepared for the time that goes into each step of the process.

Mark Scott, of Mark IV Builders in Bethesda, warns that for many projects, “clients aren’t ready for the number of decisions involved.” Even if you prepare your ideas ahead of time, consider that there will need to be time allotted for decision making. “The choices today are tenfold what they were 15 years ago,” he says.

“Be patient with the process,” says O’Neil. “Understand the time frame.” It can be very stressful, especially if there are delays—particularly possible when dealing with some of the premium materials that go into high-end bathrooms, which often require longer lead times. “We always try to teach homeowners patience.”

Consider the Budget
“People need to embrace the budget issue,” says O’Neil. Through the whole process you have to know what you’re willing to invest into the bath, “and that’s what it is, an investment.” You will live intimately with the result, but a bathroom remodel is also one of the best additions you can make to the value of your home for potential resale down the line.

“You can easily spend $100,000 on a bathroom; a hallway bath, $30,000,” says Scott. But a designer can help keep that in check; they know how to maximize your budget.

Step Inside
Once you’re ready to go, the options are endless. Which is fantastic, as you want all the bells and whistles when designing a truly luxurious bath. It is, after all, place to “escape the rushes of everyday life,” says Sarah Kahn Turner, a designer with Gilday Renovations in Silver Spring.

Primary of course is the shower, where hand helds are as popular as ever, as are body sprays, massaging jets and steam units. “The shower has become a bigger focus recently,” says Sullivan. “You probably spend more time standing in the shower than you do sitting on your living room sofa and should spend your time and money accordingly.”

“Don’t scrimp on the shower,” agrees O’Neil. “Even in a bathroom designed on a tight budget, make it ideal.” But it’s not just inside that counts. As bathing spaces get bigger, the shower changes shape; whether it’s making room for two—or more—or wrapping it entirely in glass, the showers are making a larger footprint. If space allows, luxurious showers can be designed without any enclosure at all.


Dual vanities and a sleek glass-enclosed shower highlight this master
suite by Mark IV Builders.
 

Inside or out, however, it’s the tiles that are making a mark in today’s bath, as both quality and options increase. “I’ve seen baths with $60,000 spent on just the tile in one bathroom,” says Scott. “Ten or 15 years ago, there was little choice in tile.” But that’s changed, as today the materials, sizes and patterns available are virtually endless.

Turner’s personal favorite is glass tile, which is growing rapidly in popularity. “It reflects the light so beautifully and reminds me of water, which is comforting,” she says.

High-Tech Reflections
It’s not all sparkle and glass that makes the difference, though. More and more homeowners are bringing technological advances into the bathroom as well.

One of the most popular amenities is heated floors. Originally a series of pipes that circulate hot water, floor heating systems have advanced to such methods as electric radiant-heat flooring, which features heat coils threaded into them. Radiant-heat flooring is relatively easy to install, laid in under the new tile. “It’s the most asked-for luxury,” says Scott.

And professionals are choosing it for themselves, too. “I have a five-year-old son,” says O’Neil, “and when he gets out of the bath, he lays down on the warm tile floor and plays like a seal in the sun.” Another hot commodity is the in-mirror television, which disappears behind one-way glass when turned off. “It’s probably the coolest luxury to me,” laughs Scott.

Words of Wisdom
Every professional will bring different insights to the table, but by being prepared, you can help make this process easier. “Look to your home,” advises Turner. “Know what you have. You can be your own best advocate by knowing more about the house and being able to plan realistically.” If you understand what you have to start with, such as the plumbing already in place, you may be able to anticipate problems that could arise.

Sullivan adds, “Start your own notebook.” Have a good understanding of the information you are given; learning the information on your selection sheets and plans—and how to comprehend it—will avoid most mistakes or misunderstandings.

Finally, just be prepared to listen, make decisions and let the professionals help you along the way. That’s what they’re there for. Yes, it can be stressful, but, adds Sullivan, “the end result will provide enjoyment for years to come. In spite of all of the time, effort and compromise I have never heard anyone say that they regretted their new bathroom!”


Today's floor tiles are anything but dull, as shown by this mosaic
pattern from New Raveena, in a design by Renaissance Tile & Bath.

 


This award-winning bathroom was designed by Sarah Kahn Turner of
Gilday Renovations, along with interior designer Jan Lupton of C.
Dudley Brown & Associates, and project coordinator Joseph Gilday.
Photo by Greg Hadley.

American Standard's new water-efficient Champion releases a powerful
1.6-gallon flush in less than a second.
 

Remember when the toilet was a mere utilitarian appliance, something to be visited discreetly, and discussed in hushed tones? No longer. As manufacturers streamline style and performance options, homeowners are flush with reasons to celebrate the most coveted seat in the house.

The toilet’s segue to the high end seals the WC’s transformation from “the little girls’ and boys’ room” to a sophisticated place of refuge. Today’s commodes are sleek beauties that pack water-efficient flushing technology that’s a far cry from those early low-flow models that didn’t exactly bowl over American consumers with what seemed a trickle of a flush compared to what we were used to.

American Standard’s Champion toilet, for one, has a re-engineered tank and new flushing technology that dumps the old ball and chain system for a powerful flush tower designed to release 1.6 gallons of water per flush in less than a second (as compared to the five-gallon flush of a conventional toilet). The company’s FloWise ups the ante with 1.28 gallons of water per powerful flush.

“Luxury is no longer about conspicuous consumption as much as it’s about responsible use of resources,” notes Lenora Campos, a spokesperson for TOTO USA. “Today homeowners are interested in absolute performance and functionality and efficiency is part of that.”

In fact, installing an environmentally friendly toilet can literally pay off in some local communities. Residents of Charlottesville and Virginia Beach who purchase efficient, water-saving toilets will get a rebate from their local utility companies.

Maryland and Washington, DC, thus far have no such incentives on the books, but since green flushing is often combined with new luxuries, these commodes often sell themselves. From heated seats to sensory-activated lids to self-cleaning functionality, the lid is off in terms of options.

Given that many new amenities require electricity, when doing new construction it’s a smart idea to place an electrical outlet within three feet of the toilet, following code, of course.

HAT TRICK
Apparently going topless is indeed fashionable—in the bathroom, that is. A frontrunner in plumbing design, the Kohler Purist Hatbox ($2,990 in white) is a modern marvel that bears more resemblance to its namesake than a traditional toilet.

This recipient of a Gold Award from the Industrial Designers Society of America is tankless, generating its flush with a quiet 0.2 horsepower electric pump fully enclosed within the toilet bowl. An electronic actuator on the side of the bowl and the option to bring the water supply line up from the floor directly into the bowl base makes this one of the most streamlined bath fixtures available.

“The toilet typically has been a product that’s been overlooked,” notes Kohler senior market analyst Stephanie Simons. “There’s a big opportunity now to add design elements to a fixture we all use several times a day.”

LOOK MA, NO HANDS
Women will have one less thing to complain about thanks to several hands-free toilets that raise and lower the lid when they detect a presence (most also have safety guards to prevent the kids from turning them into the latest toy).

The current crown jewel of commodes, TOTO’s full-size Neorest 600 ($5,200 to $5,980 depending on color) and smaller Neorest 500 ($3,200 to $3,980) are tankless and feature heated seats, spray deodorizers and a massage option. They also flush on their own. But it’s these Japanese-made toilets’ uncanny knack for automatically raising and lowering the seat at the right moment that’s won over celebrities like Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lopez and Will Smith. Neorest seat functions also can be controlled using a wireless remote.

“In our world of the 21st century, we no longer evaluate products on their utilitarian ability to do the job,” Campos says. “We are interested in our experience with them and the fact that this toilet interacts with you makes the experience more pleasant.”

More pleasant—and efficient. The Neorest is so smart it can tell what’s coming when the seat is raised and automatically adjusts to a lighter flushing mode that uses less water when a heavier flush is not necessary.

Another Japanese manufacturer, Inax Corp., recently began selling its hands-free toilets in the U.S. Inax’s Satis model, which operates with a wall-mounted controller, also automatically opens its seat and lid when a user stands in front of it, and closes and flushes when finished.

WASH ’N’ DRY
Certainly not a new phenomenon, the water-cleansing concept of the bidet toilet seat has been expanded and adapted and is winning over homeowners in the States in what’s fast becoming a very competitive market. Electronics manufacturer Panasonic had high hopes for its bidet-type retrofit toilet toppers, but was unseated by entrenched plumbing industry powerhouses and recently discontinued its NAIS line.

In addition to the Neorest, TOTO also sells three versions of seats with its Washlet cleansing system ($775 to $1,435) that can retrofit almost any toilet.

Inax also sell a line of separate seats for new and existing toilets. The Clessence ($980) offers heat, shower, bidet and drying functions at the touch of a button on the control located alongside the seat. The stepped-up Luscence ($1,200) seat has similar options but with a more streamlined look and a wall-mounted controller. Another newcomer to the high-tech seat space is Bemis, a manufacturer of hardware for the bathroom that recently took the plunge with the Purite Personal Cleansing Spa seat ($799). Equipped with two nozzles that support three temperature settings and five wash pressures, the Purite is a sleek little number that fits elongated seats.


Kohler's Purist Hatbox has garnered attention from designers for its
tankless lines.
 

OTHER HOT SEATS
Not to be outdone, a company called NTF—which stands for “no touch feature”—has a seat ($1,295) that takes a different tack on personal hygiene. After use, when the toilet is being flushed, this clever commode automatically flips the toilet seat around, dispenses a hygienic solution and dries the seat for the next user.

And Kohler’s Simons hints, “Seats will be a very big story for us this year,” a sign the company likely will introduce innovation in its upcoming new line. Looks like that old slang term “the throne” is taking on new meaning again.

Freelance writer Catherine Applefeld Olson is based in Alexandria, Virginia.

Visit the following Web sites to find more information on these products and locate local dealers.
American Standard: www.americanstandard-us.com
Bemis: www.bemismfg.com
Inax: www.inax.us/
Kohler: www.kohler.com
NTF: www.hygieneforhealth.com
TOTO: www.TOTOusa.com


TOTO's Neorest toilets open, close and flush on their own. Other
options, from heating to massage, can be set by wireless remote.

The Luscence by Inax offers heat, shower, bidet and drying functions
at the touch of a button.

The Purite Personal Cleansing Spa fits onto any elongated toilet seat.
Stone Forest bathtub

Carved in Stone
Santa Fe artist Michael Zimber has brought the wonders of nature into the bathroom with his collection of tubs and sinks hand-carved from single blocks of natural stone. Part of his Stone Forest Bathtub collection, this granite piece juxtaposes the roughness of a boulder on the outside with a smoothly polished shell within. Available at Union Hardware in Bethesda, Marblex in Fairfax and Ferguson showrooms throughout the region. Visit www.stoneforest.com.

Custom Shower
Grohe’s custom showers let homeowners mix and match showerheads, body spray and hand showers, providing an endless combination of spray patterns. Temperature controls deliver safety and comfort for the whole family. Visit www.groheamerica.com.

Smooth Surface
Lacava’s new Tatami shower base system replaces unsightly floor drains with a clean new solution to draining shower spaces. The system is comprised of two to five porcelain bricks, which can be configured to accommodate any shower size. Water vanishes between the bricks. Visit www.lacava.com.

Low Profile
WaterTile, a new shower fixture by Kohler, boasts a sleek, streamlined design installed nearly flush with the wall. WaterTiles can be placed in a myriad of ways on walls, ceilings or angled surfaces. The line also includes a complementary wall-mounted showerhead. Both bodyspray and showerhead are available in two spray intensities. Visit www.kohler.com.

Asian Inspiration
Santa Barbara designer Susan Hugo of Terra Acqua creates exquisite basins handcrafted from stone and copper. The Fuera, part of the Montecito Stone Collection, is shaped by hand from a single block of stone. It’s available in two sizes in Black Pearl (granite), Green (onyx) and Honey (onyx, pictured on a Sable Granite counter). Visit www.terracqua.net.

Corinthian Order
Ancient Greek artifacts inspired the design of Stone Forest’s Corinthian sink. This drop-in vessel reflects the capitol portion of a classical Corinthian column. It’s made of papiro cream marble imported from Egypt. Custom pedestal sinks are also available in the same style. Visit www.stoneforest.com

Flight of Fancy
Kohler’s Take Wing lavatory utilizes a new glazing technique to achieve its detailed paisley design evocative of a cluster of butterflies. Available in indigo (pictured) and sepia, Take Wing is part of Kohler’s Artist Editions collection. Visit www.kohler.com.

Ahead of the Curve
Part of Sonia’s collection of bath storage solutions and vessels, Venecia marries classic and modern styles. Pictured here in beechwood with a frosted glass basin, it also comes in wenge. Available at the Bath and Kitchen Showroom in Rockville (301-816-2990), or
visit www.sonia-sa.com.

On the Surface
Italian tiles and vanity surfaces from Domani utilize a glass laminate created in a patent-pending process that yields an amazing array of colors and textures. Styles evoke the look of rare gemstones, from tiger’s eye to titanium. Visit www.domanitile.com.

A Clean Approach
Marking his tenth year of collaborating with Duravit, Philippe Starck has released the Starck X collection. Marked by clean lines and high-gloss surfaces splashed with bright colors, the line includes sculptural bathtubs, washbasins (pictured), furniture pieces and more. For more information, visit www.duravit.us.

Foot Fetish
Aficionados of professional pedicures can now enjoy the pampering experience at home with MTI Whirlpool’s new Jentle Ped Foot Bath. The foot spa uses heat, massage and whirlpool jets to soothe aching feet. Adjustable jets target trouble spots. The spa is available in more than 50 colors to fit into any color scheme. Nail polish not included. Visit www.mtiwhirlpools.com.

Mirror Image
The morning news or late-show standups are there when you want them in your bathroom with Séura’s new Television Mirror. Concealed unobtrusively behind a mirror until it’s turned on, this LCD TV saves space and blends seamlessly into any bathroom décor. It’s available at Ferguson showrooms throughout DC, Maryland and Virginia. Visit www.seura.com.

Jacuzzi’s Salon line brings new technology to the company’s original whirlpool baths. Pure Air bath technology circulates air through a heated blower and releases it through channels in the bottom of the bath, surrounding bathers with thousands of effervescent bubbles. Pure Air can be used on its own or in tandem with the traditional water-jet action. The Salon line comes in a number of designs, including the Fuzion bath, which boasts a teak or wenge wood surround (pictured). Visit www.jacuzzi.com.

Ultimate Bathroom Design by Barcelona-based architect Alejandro Bahamón approaches the loo as a refuge for those seeking purification, warmth and respite. More than 700 color photographs of bathrooms around the world illustrate how aesthetic values can be combined with functionality. This multi-lingual edition includes text in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. (teNeues Publishing Company, 2005, New York, NY; $39.95)

Creating Your Dream Bathroom: How to Plan & Style the Perfect Space by Susan Breen sets out to show readers how they can create their own “pamper space” with spa-like amenities in their own home using available space and a budget. The author examines dozens of interesting bathrooms and surveys myriad design choices and materials, from colors and floors to soothing multiple shower heads and furniture-style vanity units. (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York, New York, 2006; $24.95).


Grohe's custom shower

The Bronzed Look
Ann Sacks, in collaboration with California-based tile artisan Tres Feltman, has created pillowed bronze tile treated with a metallic bronze glaze. Available in multiple dimensions, the tiles are available in 80 custom colors, including jewel and earth tones or exotic metallics. Visit www.annsacks.com for details.


WaterTile by Kohler

Tatami shower base system by Lacava

Terra Acqua's Fuera basin

Kohler's Take Wing design

Stone Forest's Corinthian basin

Venceia by Sonia

Domani tiles

Philippe Starck's Starck X by Duravit

Jentle Ped Foot Bath by MTI Whirlpool.

Seura's Television Mirror

Jacuzzi's Pure Air

Ultimate Bathroom Design

How to Plan Style the Perfect Space

Pillowed bronze tiles by Ann Sacks

An award-winning bath by Rebecca Swanston re-creates a rain-forest
grotto with a waterfall shower and a walk-in terrarium.
Photo by Alan Gilbert

AU NATUREL
An award-winning bath re-creates a rain-forest grotto with a waterfall shower and a walk-in terrarium

Robert and Jan Levine travel for a living, searching the globe for gemstones, fossils, art glass and carvings to bring home to Fire & Ice, their store with 11 locations from Philadelphia to Northern Virginia. Not only has an itinerant lifestyle enabled them to amass their own collection of these treasures, but it has also introduced them to some of the world’s most innovative inns and hotels. So when it came time for them to design their master bath—the last leg in the renovation of their Baltimore home—their inspiration came from many sources, with Mother Nature leading the way.

The Levines had worked for years with architect Rebecca Swanston on their home’s renovation. When they began discussing their new master bathroom with her, it became immediately clear that this was not going to be a typical cosmetic makeover. They told her about the steam shower they enjoyed in a hotel in Petra, Jordan, and their room at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California, designed to look like a subterranean cave complete with a waterfall shower.

Architecture & Interiors: Rebecca Swanston, AIA, Swanston & Associates, Baltimore, Maryland; General Contractor: Roy Cox, Roy Cox Remodeling, Parkville, Maryland; Photography: Alan Gilbert, Baltimore, Maryland

“The idea of making the space into a rather Zen atmosphere and architectural theme was consistent with things we had been seeing on recent trips to Southeast Asia,” says Levine. “We were also looking for a place to heal ourselves from the many hours it takes to run a business.”

So a dialogue ensued among Swanston, her clients, contractor Roy Cox, a team of tradespeople—and even a reptile curator from the Baltimore Zoo—all dedicated to translating the homeowners’ visions into reality.

To best execute their plans, Swanston recommended that they create a new pavilion off of the couple’s master bedroom to house the bathroom, where it would enjoy both natural light and privacy in the rear of the house. One of Swanston’s goals was to blur the barriers between the bathroom and the garden beyond, which she accomplished with the generous use of clerestory windows and natural materials throughout the structure. The pavilion is constructed of Douglas fir, with an array of exotic stone and wood materials embellishing the interior. Stained-glass doors and a glass floor mark the transition from the main house into the pavilion. Panels of green onyx from Pakistan clad the tub and the vanities, which are lit from within, creating an ethereal glow that shows off the stone’s natural striations. The sinks are made from Japanese eroko; the cabinetry, Indonesian teak.

“Our clients like to collect fossils. What became very obvious was to use a lot of natural materials, but we like to make interesting twists on these,” says Swanston.

When the slate floors from India came in, the Levines discovered that they contained actual fossils. “The floor contained pristine fern fossils—millions of years old—some of the tiles are each worth more than the whole price of the floor, and we see them every day,” says Levine, who decided to weave other ancient objects into their custom stone shower.

“We asked our mason to embed 21 fossils into the waterfall—a gastropod from Western Maryland, a fish from Wyoming and ammonites from Russia and Germany,” says Levine. Accomplishing this and integrating a plumbing system into the stone wall to include a waterfall “thunder” showerhead, four discreetly hidden shower jets and a steam shower—all encased in glass—posed no small challenge to the design team. The shower is also wired into the home’s sound system

The Levines’ request for a terrarium for sheltering their outdoor plants in the winter also evolved into something a bit beyond the ordinary. Avid reptile enthusiasts, they set their sights on creating a walk-in space with a habitat suitable for live species. Consultations with Baltimore Zoo reptile curator Anthony Wisniewski enabled them to simulate the desert habitat of Australian bearded lizards; they have spoken to a breeder and plan to acquire these pets when their busy travel schedule subsides.

Despite the challenges, the project was a true collaborative effort. “Everybody wanted to do their best,” recalls Levine. “It wasn’t a matter of getting through it, but making the artwork come out right.” All of the hard work and creativity that went into the bath has not gone unnoticed; it has won national design awards.

As for Robert Levine, he reflects, “Not a day goes by without our satisfaction that one of the great pleasures in life is building one’s nest.”

Design and Build: Jonas Carnemark, CR, CKD, Carnemark systems + design, inc., Bethesda, Maryland Photography: Maxwell MacKenzie, Washington, DC

Calm and cool
This soothing space combines asian inspiration with clean, modern lines

If a bathroom is supposed to feel like a Zen retreat, this recent renovation by Jonas Carnemark hits the spot like a good Shitsu massage. The project evolved as part of a kitchen addition executed on the first floor that bumped out the rear of the house. By making use of this new four-by-13-foot space on the second floor and raising the roofline into a tower, Carnemark created a master bath that provides his clients with the clean, open space that they wanted but also integrates plenty of storage.


Back-lit panels of onyx provide a base for dual eroko wood sinks.
Photo by Alan Gilber

Carnemark ditched the original clunky tub, which cramped the bathroom, and the standard white cabinets with brass trim. He devised a simple layout comprising an oversized shower with glass wall and a custom-made double vanity. The new material palette took on a tropical rainforest theme, with pale bamboo floors, large-format flamed-impala granite wall and floor tiles and a teak vanity topped with a six-inch concrete countertop. Under the vanity, boxes made from renewable rain-forest wood stow away everyday essentials. Shoji-screen doors conceal the lavatory and a generous linen closet. The room is rimmed by clerestory windows that frame views of the treetops in Rock Creek Park. A light-switch remote powers open every other clerestory window to let in fresh air.

“You sort of feel like you’re in a forest with bright light streaming down,” says Carnemark.

Careful planning and an eye for detail contribute to a truly seamless design. The single wall of glass in the oversized shower makes it look transparent. An almost undetectable pitch in the shower floor angles water into a gutter drain, so that the tiles would not be interrupted. Carnemark even utilized special accessory edging so that the bamboo and granite flooring flush perfectly, with no need for grout.

Tiny recessed halogen lights in the ceiling can be raised to full brightness or dimmed to provide just enough light for a trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night. “It’s just like moonlight,” likens Carnemark.


Sleek European Style

A couple transforms their ordinary bathroom into a hip ode to modernism

Alex Stefan and Helena Pulyaeva, a husband-and-wife real estate agent team with RE/MAX, had a pretty clear vision of what their ideal bathroom would encompass. On the heels of a major renovation that transformed their mid-1980s Bethesda home into a clean, modern masterpiece, they wanted their master bath to reflect the contemporary look they’d achieved in the rest of the house.

“We also wanted to upgrade amenities by introducing modern high-end fixtures that are well-made, aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly with features that are important to us,” said Stefan. A search began for just the right fixtures and furnishings that would make a bold design statement and meet the couple’s specific needs.


The enclosed shower features a waterfall steam shower with hidden jets.
Embedded fossils highlight the walls.
Photo by Alan Gilbert.

“The idea was to make a bathroom for simultaneous use by two working people,” says Pulyaeva. Luckily, the original master bathroom was large enough accommodate their plans, once they disposed off the enormous beige whirlpool bath with gilded fittings that dominated the space. Rather than one large custom shower, the couple chose to install two freestanding showers by Porcelanosa—one of which is a steam bath and a sauna equipped with 25 jets that can be operated in a variety of combinations and spray patterns. In addition, they chose a corner whirlpool bath, also by Porcelanosa, that is big enough for two but makes optimum use of space in the new layout.

The couple honed in on a burgundy and white theme to tie in with design elements in the rest of their house (burgundy island in the kitchen, white furnishings in the living room). With the help of their kitchen designer Daniel Popsecu, they discovered the perfect combination: burgundy vanities and white sinks by Italian manufacturer Rifra. Tired of conventional sinks, Stefan and Pulyaeva fell in love with the round, tilted design of these vessels. They reinforced the spherical theme throughout the bath, with round oversized pendant lamps by Ferruccio Laviani, a bold red pouf for sitting in front of the mirror and a round wall clock made out of a computer board. White flooring and light faux-painted walls provide perfect contrast to the deep red elements.

Now the morning routine is a breeze for Stefan and Pulyaeva. “Having the two showers and two sinks on the opposite sides of the room, and a separate commode room really helps,” says Stefan. “The new bathroom makes our lives more enjoyable and less stressful.”

Porcelanosa designer David Carmona sums it up best: “If you have those kind of showers in a bath, you never want to leave.”

Design Consultants: Daniel Popescu, Daniel Popescu Interiors, Crystal City, Virginia, and David Carmona, Porcelanosa, Rockville, Maryland Photography: Bob Narod, Sterling, Virginia


A walk-in reptile habitat features a faux painted ceiling.
Photo by Alan Gilbert.


The bath extends off the rear of the house and incorporates skylights
for natural lighting.
Photo by Alan Gilbert.


Jonas Carnemark soothing space that combines Asian inspiration with
clean, modern lines.
Photo by Maxwell MacKenzie.


A custom teak vanity with a concrete top hold vessel basins. Shoji
screen doors lead to storage and the commode.
Photo by Maxwell MacKenzie.


The shower's single glass wall is nearly invisible.
Photo by Maxwell MacKenzie.


A couple transforms their ordinary bathroom into a hip ode to
modernism with the help of Daniel Popescu Interiors and
Porcelanosa.
Photo by Bob Narod.


Red lacquer cabinets conceal clutter. Photo by Bob Narod.


The Porcelanosa shower has steam bath, sauna and 25 jet-sprays.
Photo by Bob Narod.


Original bay windows, doors and signage were preserved on the 1920s
building and the new story set back four feet from the old façade.
 

Georgetown offers historic charm but not much room to spread out. Its old row houses are typically narrow and dark with floors divided into small rooms. “We realized that the only way to get a large, open space in the neighborhood was to renovate a commercial building,” says architect Scott Hughes.

Hughes and his wife Lisa discovered such an opportunity in a pair of storefronts for sale that had been occupied for decades by the design firm Walsh McLellan Interiors. “We liked the building because it was double wide and presented the opportunity to open the floor plan and not be restrained by period detail,” says Lisa, a documentary filmmaker. “It’s rare to find a situation like that in Georgetown.”

By the time the couple found the property, plans had already been drawn up for adding another story atop the structure, which was built in the 1800s and expanded in the 1920s with box-bay storefronts. Architect Christian Zapatka, who specializes in remodeling Georgetown houses, had designed the extra floor for the seller who wanted to show prospective buyers that the building could be adapted into a single-family home.

The Hughes liked the concept and hired Zapatka to shepherd the conversion project through the stringent design review process for renovating historic structures in Georgetown. “It had to be very simple,” says Zapatka of the addition. “We had to leave the image of the commercial building intact and make it clear that the top story was added later.”

Original bay windows, entrances and even the old signage on the façades were preserved. Windows on the side and back walls that had been filled in with brick were reopened and fitted with new sashes and insulated glass.

With offices in Arlington, Los Angeles and Hobe Sound, Florida, Scott’s firm specializes in designing houses that are boldly contemporary. He and Lisa sought to create the same sensibility inside their Georgetown home by turning it into a loft. The first step was tweaking Zapatka’s floor plans to create independent living and working areas. “I redesigned them to accommodate our lifestyle,” says Hughes. “The kitchen was moved from the basement to the main level so we could use the basement for office space, and the staircase was reoriented.”

Within the old storefronts, walls were torn out to create a completely open plan on the main level. The living area occupies the front of the 30-foot-wide-by-31-foot-deep space while the kitchen and dining nook are placed at the back. Dividing the big room is a steel staircase with open risers that leads up through the center to the master suite and study on the top floor. A huge skylight over the stairwell funnels daylight into the heart of the house.

New oak floors and stair treads, stained black, give the interior an urban edge. Matching wood credenzas flank the stairs and double as banisters. Kitchen cabinets covered in black linoleum and soapstone countertops repeat the dark finish to unify the space.

The living area, furnished with classic modern pieces from Apartment Zero, focuses on a gas fireplace, cabinets, and shelving built along the side wall. A flat-screen TV can be automatically rolled out from a slot in the fireplace wall. The bay windows, now furnished as seating nooks, and doors to the street were left in place and screened with shutters.

Most of the time, the house is entered from side and backdoors opening into the walk-out basement. “The ceilings on the lower level were extremely low,” recalls Lisa Hughes. “So we dug out the basement to gain more height.” A guest suite and office now occupy this floor, which opens to a small brick patio with a fountain.

Though pleased with the renovation, the Hugheses recently decided to sell the converted building and look for another property to transform. “It’s the life of someone being married to an architect,” says Lisa. “You keep moving from project to project.”

All Furnishings from Apartment Zero, Washington, DC.

ENTRY
Nelson Bench by Herman Miller.

LIVING ROOM
Goetz sofa by Herman Miller. Surfboard Table by Eames through Herman Miller. Round Tables by Nelson through Herman Miller. Black Leather Chair by Martin Visser through Spectrum. Pillows by Lena Bergstrom for  Designer’s Eye Sweden and Bev Hisey Canada.Large Red Ottoman by Spectrum. White Ottomans by Chilewich. Bowls by Heath Ceramics. Rugby Bic Belgium.

DINING AREA
Dining Table by Jean Prouvé for Vitra. Stainless Steel Trays by Mono. Stainless Steel Candleholders by Design House Stockholm. Tom Vac Chairs by Ron Arad for Vitra.

Deborah K. Dietsch is the editor of Waterfront Home & Design. Photographer Bob Narod is based in Sterling, Virginia.

Architecture: Christian Zapatka, Christian Zapatka Design, Washington, DC Interior Architecture: Scott Hughes, SH-Arc, Arlington, Virginia; Los Angeles, California; Hobe Sound, Florida Furnishings: Apartment Zero, Washington, DC Artwork: Adamson Galleries, Washington, DC


The home is now entered from a side door that opens to a foyer with
limestone-tiled floor.


Furnished with classic, modern pieces from Apartment Zero, the living
area focuses on a flat-screen TV on a shelf that slides into the wall
when not in use.


Adjoining the kitchen, the dining area is furnished with Vitra's Tom Vac
chairs and a table by Jean Prouve. The silkscreen on the wall is
by Chuck Close.


Kitchen cabinets by Bulthaup are finished in linoleum to match the
black-stained oak floors.


A skylight over the stairs fills the center of the building with daylight.


Custom-designed credenzas, stained to match the floors, flank the
steel staircase leading from the living space to the bedrooms on the
newly added top floors.


Harpole created a pared-down environment in the living room with four
custom club chairs encouraging intimate conversation.
 

When the client bought his third Washington-area residence in 12 months—the first, a Dupont Circle townhouse, and the second, an apartment at 14th Street and Rhode Island, were sold within months of moving in—-he asked architect and interior designer Jerry Harpole to transform the 10-year-old standard McLean center hall Colonial into a distinctive home where he could entertain the capital’s political set. Harpole had handled the design of this retired AOL attorney’s Key West property and had begun the initial work on each of the two former DC residences. “The client presented me with a list of objectives he wanted to achieve with the McLean house,” recalls Harpole. “It was a kind of business plan for living.”

Chief among the owner’s goals was creating an interior that would meld elements of his traditional Midwestern upbringing with the most high-tech advances in home design. Harpole, who established his firm in 1983 and began incorporating interior design into his residential practice five years ago, possesses a subtle touch, quietly blending modern and traditional in a harmonious mix. “There’s an edge to my work,” says Harpole, “but it’s a livable edge that eliminates the hardness sometimes associated with contemporary design. Here, the idea was to create unexpected moments within a house that presents traditionally.”

The owner wanted the main floor in particular to be comfortable for formal entertaining and conducive to active conversation. Harpole gravitated to what he calls non-specific colors, those that have a mutable quality and change with the light throughout the day. The formal dining area, foyer and living room share a common neutral palette, encouraging flow between the different rooms. The wood floors were stained throughout with an ebony stain.

Harpole bypassed tradition in the living room, creating a pared-down environment. Four custom club chairs of his own design, arranged to encourage intimate conversation, lend a subtle Deco feel. An aluminum-leaf ceiling finish defines the space while adding an unexpected element. Small windows on either side of the fireplace were what Harpole calls “a designer’s dilemma.” He paneled the entire wall in African anigre, designing perforations for the windows that function as shutters and add a sense of calm to the room. The reddish orange tones of the wood provide warmth and echo the red onyx used to replace the wood mantel.

In the formal dining room, the client wanted guests to be comfortable spending time at the table. Harpole acquired an unusual round 19th-century English dining table in yew with segmented concentric leaves fitted to the parameter. He paired the table with new chairs found at Hollis & Knight, but modified them, adding arms to create more relaxed seating. A large photograph of rebuilding in Berlin after the fall occupies one wall.

“There’s an edge to my work,” says architect Jerry Harpole, “but it’s a livable edge that eliminates the hardness sometimes associated with contemporary design. Here, the idea was to create unexpected moments within a house that presents traditionally.”

In the family room, the fieldstone fireplace was sheathed in polished granite to create a reflective surface for the room. Here, as elsewhere in the house, the artwork sourced through Annie Gawlack of Washington’s G Fine Art enhances the spatial sense of the rooms while adding conversational value for guests. The large silvered lavender abstract painting by Jason Martin adds further luminosity to the room. An L-shaped sectional sofa in pale brown wool flannel features cutouts that give the seating unexpected openness and offer visual access to the space. Multi-colored pillows in a fabric with a raised stripe that recalls the simplicity of corduroy introduce casual warmth.

The original kitchen and its cabinets with raised-panel painted doors were torn out and replaced with maple cabinets with horizontal banding in stainless steel. Mosaic glass tile backsplashes and polished granite countertops complete the sleek look. Rather than create a breakfast area next to an island, Harpole designed an elongated island with a distressed concrete top that allows seating for six at the bar area. Stainless-steel cabinets below add storage space and echo the accents on the cabinetry. Two lantern chandeliers salvaged from an old church add a traditional touch to the room.

While studies are a standard room in most Virginia houses, the client wanted his to function as a digital library. An antique desk from Gore-Dean anchors the room and was re-designed to allow a computer screen to be concealed by and pop out of the top. The bookcases that line the walls on three sides were designed atypically to play up the horizontals with recessed vertical elements, and were painted red, another Virginia tradition. But Harpole added another twist on convention, asking artists from The Valley Craftsmen to complete a faux finish in red lacquer with a black glaze. The middle shelves were lit for art and books were stacked horizontally to accentuate the effect. The formal French Regency reproduction chairs are actually recliners. Two stools designed by Harpole provide extra seating when needed and can be stored under the desk.  The window coverings in simulated metal mesh add another high-tech element.


In the formal dining room, a large photograph of the rebuilding of Berlin
prevails over the round 19th-century English dining table.

The expansive master bedroom—a 24-foot square equal in size to the family room—features a tray ceiling and cove lighting. An eight-foot-tall upholstered bed anchors the room. Harpole custom designed end tables to house the audio/video controls for the flat screen TV and the security panel. An antique bamboo chair and lounge and aluminum Art Deco sconces add interest. The carpet in restful shades of green echoes the walls, but the pattern brings in the technical again, recalling a computer motherboard.

The master bath was gutted and a skylight added. A freestanding tub and the wall behind it designed to display art make a strong visual statement. Custom maple cabinetwork provides for ample concealed storage. The floor is French limestone. And a flat-screen TV concealed behind a one-way mirror is only visible when the TV is turned on.

The guest room provides all the conveniences of a hotel room. “The client wanted the guest quarters to really be comfortable,” says Harpole. “I thought about the amenities that we experience in a hotel and how those are not generally available to house guests. A guest wants easy access to their suitcase, storage for their clothes.” Harpole removed a closet to create an open space to lay out one’s suitcase and added an ironing board that pops out when needed. The décor focuses on creating an intimate, calming environment. “We’re in bedrooms predominantly at night so dark colors with warmth work especially well,” says Harpole, who chose a palette of browns for the room. The trim was faux wood grained, again by The Valley Craftsmen, to tie in with the shutters and other woods in the room. The tufted headboard and bumper give the room a plush feel. The wall behind the bed was draped, concealing windows the bed would not fit between. Reading lights come out from behind these drapes and provide symmetry.

“The owner wanted the house to generate active conversation,” says Harpole.  “It’s a house that does that through a balanced blend of comfort and the unanticipated.”

Judith Bell is an art historian, features and fiction writer based in Washington, DC. Photographer Philip Schmidt is based in Holly Springs, North Carolina.

RESOURCES

LIVING ROOM
Anigre Paneling Design: Jerry Harpole. Paneling Fabrication & Installation: Amazing Grain Woodworking, Rockville, MD. Red Onyx Slab Mantelpiece & Hearth Design: Jerry Harpole. Mantel Fabrication & Installation: Laser Marble, Rockville, MD. Iron Firescreen: Steven Handelman Studios, Santa Barbara, CA. Aluminum Leaf Finish on Ceiling: The Valley Craftsmen, Baltimore, MD. Wall Sconces: August Georges, Washington, DC. Stainless Steel Rods & Drapery Fabrication: Drapery Contractors, Baltimore, MD. Carpet: Carpet Impressions, McLean, VA. Custom Club Chairs Design: Jerry Harpole. Club Chair Fabric: Robert Allen, Washington, DC. Pillow Fabric: Holly Hunt, Washington, DC. Pillow Fabricator: Carlos Interiors, Crofton, MD. Oil Painting: Howard Mehring through G Fine Art, Washington, DC. Wood Flooring: Classic Floors Designs, Washington, DC.


A large silvered lavender abstract painting by Jason Martin adds
luminosity to the family room, which opens to the revamped kitchen.
 

DINING ROOM
Dining Chairs: Hollis & Knight, Washington, DC. Custom Chair Modifications: Jerry Harpole. Fabric: Coraggio Textiles. Stainless Steel Rods & Drapery Fabrication: Drapery Contractors, Baltimore, MD. Carpet: Carpet Impressions, McLean, VA. Ceiling Decorative Painting: The Valley Craftsmen, Baltimore, MD. Built-in Anigre Cabinetry Design: Jerry Harpole. Paneling Fabrication & Installation: Amazing Grain Woodworking, Rockville, MD. Photograph of Berlin: By Frank Thiel,
G Fine Art, Washington, DC.

FAMILY ROOM
Custom Sectional Sofa Design: Jerry Harpole. Fabric on Sofa: August Georges, Washington, DC. Fabricator: Texstyle, Hickory, NC. Oversized Round Bolster Fabric: Scalamandré, Washington, DC. Bolster & Throw Pillow Fabrication: Carlos Interiors, Crofton, MD.  Acrylic on Steel Painting: Jason Martin, via G Fine Art, Washington, DC. “Wave” Maple Console: Dakota Jackson, Washington, DC. Multi-Colored Striped Wool Rug: Carpet Impressions, Washington, DC. Wood Frame & Upholstery Armchairs: Dessin Fournir via August Georges, Washington, DC. Classic Cloth Fabric: August Georges, Washington, DC. Tri-color Murano Glass Table & Lamp on Console: Itre, Inc. Custom Mahogany Coffee Table Design: Jerry Harpole. Fabrication: Tartt Millwork.

KITCHEN
Maple & Stainless Steel Laminate Custom Cabinetry Design: Jerry Harpole. Cabinetry Fabrication & Installation: Amazing Grain, Rockville, MD. Wall Cabinets & Granite Countertops: Laser Marble, Rockville, MD. Colored Concrete Island Countertop: Stone Casting, Charleston, SC. Installer: Falcon Construction. Barstools: R. Jones through J. Lambeth, Washington, DC. Barstool Fabric: Vinyl by Scalamandré, Washington, DC. Mosaic Tile: Ann Sacks, Washington, DC. Natural Water Reed Roman Shades Fabrication: Drapery Contractors, Baltimore, MD. Old Church Chandeliers: Good Wood, Washington, DC.

DIGITAL LIBRARY
Custom Built-in Shelves Design: Jerry Harpole. Shelf Fabrication: Amazing Grain Woodworking, Rockville, MD. Paint Finish: The Valley Craftsmen, Baltimore, MD. Simulated Mesh Metal Shades: Drapery Contractors , Baltimore, MD. Mid-19th-century Oak Desk With Inset Leather Writing Pad: Gore-Dean, Washington, DC. Leather Installer: Falcon Construction. Reproduction Reclining Armchairs: Holly Hunt, Washington, DC. Custom Wooden Stools on Casters Design: Jerry Harpole. Fabricator: Greg Wiercynski, Falcon Construction. Flannel Cushion Fabric: August Georges, Washington, DC. Cushion Fabrication: Carlos Interiors, Crofton, MD. Carpet: Carpet Impressions, McLean, VA. Paintings by Cindy Blair: Jerry Harpole’s Collection.


The elongated island in the kitchen allows seating for six at the bar area.
Two lantern chandeliers salvaged from an old church add warmth to the room.
 

GUEST BEDROOM
Custom Upholstered Headboard, Rails & Footboard Design: Jerry Harpole. Fabricator: Texstyle, Hickory, NC. Wood Rod & Drapery: Drapery Contractors, Baltimore, MD. Reading Lights: Hines, Washington, DC. Built-in Cabinetry Design: Jerry Harpole. Fabrication: Falcon Construction. Faux Wood Grain Finish: The Valley Craftsmen, Baltimore, MD. Carpet: Carpet Impressions, McLean, VA.

MASTER BATH
Lavatories, Faucets, Fittings, Wall Sconces, Limestone Flooring, Towels & Accessories: Waterworks, Washington, DC. Maple Woodwork Design: Jerry Harpole. Fabrication: Amazing Grain Woodworking, Rockville, MD. Photograph: Todd Hido through G Fine Art, Washington, DC. Limestone Countertops & Backsplashes: Waterworks, Washington, DC. Fabrication & Installation: A and M Marble & Granite, Rockville, MD.

MASTER BEDROOM
Green Suede Upholstered Headboard & Frame: Mike’s, Los Angeles, CA. Reading Lights: Artemide. Custom End Table Design: Jerry Harpole. Fabricator: Ivan C. Dutterer, Hanover, PA. Chaise Longue, Armchair & Round Wood Table: Aston-Garrett. Chaise Pillows, Armchair Pillows, Chenille Throw, Green Vase: Material Possessions, Chicago, IL. Faux Fur “Dice” Pillows Design: Jerry Harpole. Fabric: J. Lambeth, Washington, DC. Fabricator: Carlos Interiors, Crofton, MD. Antique Green Rice Barrel: The Washington Design Center. Carpet: Carpet Impressions, Washington, DC.


Despite its traditional trappings, the study functions as a digital library.
An antique desk from Gore-Dean was re-designed to allow a computer
screen to be concealed by the top. A faux finished in red lacquer with
a black glaze by The Valley Craftsmen
 


The guest room provides all the comforts of a hotel room. 


In the master bath, a freestanding tub and the wall behind designed to
display art make a strong visual statement.

Egg Bird Feeders by J. Schatz 

Shades of Spring
Spice up the neighborhood for your feathery friends with a stunning collection of Egg Bird Feeders by J Schatz. Available in 10 glossy colors, including Hot Red, Aqua and Olive, the feeders are handcrafted of ceramic earthenware with a weatherproof aluminum base, and are both durable and squirrel proof. Call (866) 344-5267, or visit www.eggbirdfeeders.com.

Crisp Contemporary
Modern Outdoor brings a sexy simplicity to the back yard with the Talt Collection. The minimalist steel-frame pieces are softened with vibrant square cushions in lime green, turquoise, orange, snow white or sunshine yellow. The frame comes in stainless, or powder coated in white, silver, or steel gray. Visit www.modernoutdoor.com.

Tropical Textiles
Laneventure’s line of outdoor furnishings offers nearly 200 choices of outdoor fabrics, so you can design every detail of your outdoor living space. Four fresh new collections were launched this spring, including Hopeless Romantic, featuring feminine gardens, botanicals and old-fashioned beauty in celadon, rose and cream; and Island Life (right), with tranquil and tropical hibiscus and lemon shades. Laneventure is carried through Park Place in Washington, DC, (202) 342-6294, or visit www.laneventure.com.

All-Weather Luxury
Pollack Fabric introduces its first group of fabrics for outdoor use. The Weather Or Not collection offers four designs in 31 colors, with a variety of surface textures from woven Sunbrella acrylics that are fade, soil and mildew resistant, to a faux leather surface made of 100 percent polyester. Available through Donghia in The Washington Design Center, (202) 479-2724, or visit www.pollackassociates.com.

Deckside Lounging
The Camano Collection by designer Terry Hunziker for Sutherland offers simplicity of design in sturdy, comfortable pieces for lounging. Yachting (right) combines durable teak with textured, powder-coated aluminum, while the Deck designs are crafted of solid teak, and Camano Beachfront is a marine-grade enameled mahogany. All three groupings come in several wood finishes, and can have cushions ordered to match, in a wide selection of Perennials outdoor fabrics. Visit www.sutherlandteak.com.

Simple Beauty
Looking for a simple gazebo, arbor or cupola? Try Vixen Hill, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of modular outdoor structures. Their selection of products includes gazebos, garden houses, pavilions and porches in a variety of trim styles, doors and details. All crafted of premium-grade Western Red Cedar products, the pieces can be designed to your specifications for assembly with or without the help of a contractor. Visit www.vixenhill.com.

Black-Tie Patio
Louis Soleil by John Hutton for Sutherland is a handsome line of fully upholstered seating that brings the luxury of the inside out. Durable enough for year-round outdoor use but with meticulously hand-carved frames in a more formal style, these pieces are generously proportioned for dining or lounging. Available in dining side and armchairs, lounge chair, occasional chair and chauffeuse. Visit www.sutherlandteak.com.

Tabletop Swimmers
For truly delightful tabletops in the summer months, add some festive dishes to your collection. Lily Platters by Michael Aram bring a pleasant balance of whimsy and elegance to outdoor entertaining, with a collection of three sizes of platters in forged stainless steel, plus plates and coasters and clever gold-plated dragonfly accents. Visit www.michaelaram.com.

Wicked Wicker
The new Eden Bay collection from Country Casual is a stylish wicker seating set made of weatherproof and colorfast manmade fibers hand-woven over a durable steel frame. Clean-lined and classic, the pieces come in natural- or rich coffee-colored weaves, and a choice of three upholstery colors. Call the Rockville showroom at (800) 289-8325, or visit www.countrycasual.com.

Nature Sounds
The lapping of water and sizzle of the grill don’t need to be the only serenades on the patio this summer. Try installing one of Sonance’s al fresco audio designs to bring your favorite music out-of-doors. The widely praised Mariner line of outdoor speakers offers accurate, wide-range performance, and features a weatherproof polypropylene enclosure that can be painted to match the surroundings. Visit www.sonance.com.

Back-yard Library
In The Ultimate Backyard (Gibbs Smith, Publisher, Layton, UT, 2006; $40), author Michelle Kodis takes the reader on a tour of tranquil outdoor spaces across climates and styles. From an outdoor room on the Oregon coast to petite urban patios, she shows that no matter the size or budget, back-yard spaces can be places of serenity and rejuvenation.

From finding the site to choosing the balance of plants, building a water garden can be daunting—but it is easier than you think. In Can’t Miss Water Gardening for the Mid-Atlantic (Cool Springs Press, Nashville, TN, 2005; $19), horticulturalist Teri Dunn walks readers through the step-by-step process of creating the perfect oasis in the garden, including colorful plant directories and profiles of recommended plants for the mid-Atlantic and New England regions.

Part of Taunton’s Idea Books series, Outdoor Living Idea Book by Lee Anne White (Taunton Press, Newton, CT, 2005; $20) features tips and ideas on designing outdoor spaces for The New American Swimming Pool: Innovations in Design and Construction, edited by James Grayson Trulove (Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 2001; $55) is a compilation of 40 case studies that looks at pools across the country as sources of inspiration. It presents an array of pool styles, from modern and geometric to lagoon-like and from a secret wooded pool to an open, beachfront expanse. The book includes ground plans and elevations as well as advice on surrounding landscaping.


Modern Outdoor's Talt Collection

cooking, entertaining, relaxing and recreation. Vibrant, full-color
photographs illustrate each section, ready to inspire you to create
a whole new porch or just polish off the finishing details on an existing one.

Year-Round Delight
Haddonstone’s Clifton Coade Collection comprises faithful reproductions of original designs created by the renowned Coade Stone and Doulton manufactories in London in the 18th and 19th centuries. Whether you are looking for a stunning urn to set off a classic English-style garden, or something unique such as these plaques depicting putti with seasonal attributes from nature, Haddonstone offers a variety of details to embellish your garden. Visit www.haddonstone.co.uk.

Water Works
Whether or not your yard has a pool, you can enjoy the soothing sound of water with a water element. Stone Forest’s hand- carved granite designs range from traditional European-style wall fountains to Zen-like sculptures that pour water silkily over orbs of stone. The Basalt Dome Fountain is a one-of-a-kind fountain that can grace any courtyard or lawn with style. Visit www.stoneforest.com.

Heart Warming
Just because the weather turns chilly doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice time on the patio. Pour a glass of wine and curl up around the L-shaped Cal Flame BBQ Island, perfect for long evenings of conversation. With extended arms for spacious seating and coordinating stucco and tile, the island is the perfect spot to relax at the end of a day—any time of year. Visit www.calspas.com.


Island Life by Laneventure. 


Weather or Not by Pollack. 


Camano Collection Yachting chaise by Sutherland Teak. 


Vixen Hill modular outdoor structures. 


Louis Soleiel by John Hutton for Sutherland. 


Lily Platters by Michael Aram. 


Eden Bay collection from Country Casual. 


Mariner speakers by Sonance. 


Can't Miss Water Gardening. 


Outdoor Living Idea Book. 


The New American Swimming Pool. 


Haddonstone's Clifton Coade Collection. 


Basalt Dome Fountain by Stone Forest. 


Cal Flame BBQ Island. 


Eric Markow (left) selects thin strips of colored glass for a new piece
while Thom Norris (right) polishes the edge of a sculpture.
Self-taught glass artists Eric Markow and Thom Norris set out to do the seemingly impossible—to weave glass into a fabric from which they would create sculptural art objects. What followed was a four-year journey of trial and error and pioneering experimentation that redefined both the potential color palette and forms possible with their chosen medium of fused glass. The result is a collection of table and wall sculptures that marry science, art and alchemy.

Eric, trained as a chemical engineer, and Thom, who majored in biology, began working together in the early 1990s creating stained glass windows inspired by organic forms. They traveled extensively, stimulated by such destinations as the Grand Canyon, Maui, and the Southwest. They collected unusual glass throughout the world to incorporate into their projects. “We would go in glass shops in Vancouver, for example,” says Norris, “and ask to see glass in the back that might be thought too odd or expensive for the showroom or that they weren’t considering selling. Invariably, we would come away with something old or incredibly unique that no one else was working with that also gave us an expanded color range.”

Markow and Norris quickly built a reputation for creating stained-glass windows that departed from traditional expressions in glass. Their ongoing search for interesting glass and the desire to push the available color palette led them four years ago to fused glass and the idea of making their own glass.

Fused glass is warm glass heated in a kiln to mid-zone temperatures that allow the material to be shaped and formed. They found they could add glass powders to existing sheets of raw glass or layer two sheets of different colors together to create a new hue. What had begun as a search for supplementing interesting glass for their stained-glass projects quickly revealed itself as a means for taking control over the glass in unprecedented ways? Here was the medium that would allow them to shift their creativity to an arena where they could produce glass that would be appreciated for its artistic merit and would showcase the energy involved in creating it.

Already seduced by color in the glass, the concept of weaving glass grew out of the partners’ desire to inject texture into their pieces. In their early attempts at the technique, they cut small strips of glass, fused them together, cutting them into squares that were rotated to resemble a checkerboard. After fusing, the pieces appeared at a distance to be woven, but closer inspection revealed that the true semblance of the warp and weft of fabric was eluding the artists. Their science backgrounds and love of the challenges of controlled trials proved invaluable to making them good fusers. Their determination to achieve a tight weave translated into innumerable experiments with firing schedules and kiln temperatures that yielded hundreds of pages of notes. “It took years to discover which kiln temperatures worked for which colors to get the same effect over the whole canvas of our sculptures,” says Markow. “The end product is not instantaneous; it takes a long time to get there. You can’t just take a piece out of the kiln and let it cool. There’s a whole process of how you apply the heat and of holding the piece at different temperatures. Everything has to be staged. This schedule didn’t exist when we started weaving glass. We had to discover all those temperatures for ourselves.”

While glass producers make new colors occasionally they only do so in single colored sheets. On average only 50 base colors are available commercially. “Even the manufacturers are surprised by our color range,” says Norris. “They have never been able to provide us with temperatures to support our color manipulations.”

Each Markow & Norris piece involves a six-week process that begins with the arrival of raw glass. New colors are tested for color compatibility—not all glass will actually stick together without cracking. Colors planned to be used together are then tested to determine the range of temperatures each requires. Decisions are made about layering glass to achieve a new color or adding pieces of other glass to give more texture. Seeking a particular shade of chartreuse, for example, they may crush up some glass, add some opalescent glass and layer transparent glass on top. The glass is then cut into strips which are woven by hand. Each piece spends approximately 200 hours from start to finish coming in and out of the kiln.

In Confetti, one of the table sculptures weighing in at a hefty eight pounds and measuring 19 inches in diameter, the artists were striving for a broad range of color within the palette of the general colors red, blue, green, yellow and purple. Their process involved making and evaluating 20 or more hues of each shade to determine precisely the tones that would work together in transition in the piece. Within each color grouping, multiple variations of the same color resonate, bringing heightened vibrancy and energy to each shade and to the sculpture itself.


Confetti measures 19 inches in diameter. 

Pieces like Spring to Autumn feature anywhere between 40 to 60 colors. Here the palette gradually transitions from the bright fresh greens of spring through the yellowing tones of summer to the burnt oranges of fall.

Given the time-consuming nature of their work, the artists produce only a limited number of works per year. The wait to acquire a Markow & Norris sculpture is often up to four months. Pieces range in price from $190 for the collectible nest babies to anywhere from $1,960 to $5,790 for large sculptures, all of which are limited editions with only 15 to 30 pieces made. Markow & Norris are represented in 29 galleries in 21 states, and in the gift shops of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas and The Corning Glass Museum. Future plans include travel to New Zealand for an upcoming gallery show and authoring a book that will record the temperatures and formulations that would allow glass artists and manufacturers to expand their color range.

“Our work is time-consuming, but ultimately very simple,” says Markow. “We’re creating something, putting it together, putting it in the kiln. We never know exactly what’s going to happen. And that’s our ongoing process of discovery.”

For more information, contact Markow & Norris at (888)282-7081 or visit www.wovenglass.com Judith Bell is an art historian, features, and fiction writer based in Washington, DC. Photographer Javier Agostinelli is based in New York City.


Babe, a wall sculpture.

Land and Sea by Fire

In the studio, Eric Markow scores strips of glass with a glass cutter.

Two Markow & Norris originals-- the Desert Skull wall sculpture and
Spring to Autumn table sculpture--are on display in a collector's home.

Thom Norris cleans a woven glass feather.

One of their newest pieces, Hyacinth, is a woven glass wall sculpture
that measures 21 inches long.

The artists' new woven-glass nest babies, available in a multitude of
colors coddle two tiny eggs made of cast glass.

Jimi Yui, pictured in his Takoma Park, Maryland, kitchen, has designed
kitchens for such hot spots as Mario Batali's Del Posto and the new Nobu
Fifty-Seven in New York.
 

Jimi Yui cherishes food. Where others see fuel, he sees the rich fabric of human history, shared relationships, complex cultures, and family lore. Yui, 50, is not a chef—although he is a superb cook—but designs the kitchens in which some of the world’s most famous chefs work. He has done the “back of the house” for restaurants like Mario Batali’s Del Posto and Gray Kunz’s Café Gray, both in New York; Eric Ripert and hotelier Andre Balazs’s Raleigh Hotel in South Beach; and Michel Richard’s planned Central in Washington, DC. Collectively, his clients have made culinary history with their emphasis on seasonal ingredients, impeccable service, and stellar atmosphere.

“All my chef clients have a common thread—that high level of commitment,” said Yui. “I have to do for them what a tailor does for his customer. It’s your suit because you wear it; it’s their kitchen because they perform in it. I want their job to be easier, better…I set the stage for the chefs to perform.”

Restaurants are part of Yui’s heritage. Ethnically Chinese, he was raised in Japan where his grandfather ran a Western-style nightclub that welcomed many of the elite of the American occupation forces, including General Douglas MacArthur. Yui’s mother Betty was a greeter at the club where she met his father James, a Chinese civilian employee of the U.S. government.

After their marriage, Yui’s parents opened The Guest House, a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo that served Pekingese and Shanghainese food. They named their only child Jimi, an unintentional corruption of the diminutive of James. The Guest House was open 365 days a year and Yui often did his homework squeezed into his father’s office or hopping from one empty dinner table to another.

When Yui became a teenager his parents decided that he needed a life outside of Tokyo’s teeming entertainment district. At 17 he went to live with his aunt and uncle in St. Louis and attend The Priory, a Benedictine Catholic school. After high school, Yui went to Cornell and majored in architecture. In his fourth year, nearing graduation, he saw that all of his fellow architectural students were unemployed while “all the hotel students took wine tasting and when they finished had two or three jobs lined up.” He transferred to Cornell’s famous School of Hotel Administration and got experience running a college town café called Mugsie’s on the side.

Yui’s career path changed once again when he attended an informal lecture called “Brownies with the Dean.” The speaker was Cornell alumnus John Cini of the Washington-based professional kitchen design firm Cini-Grissom. “I didn’t even know this profession existed,” remembered Yui. “It was perfect for those who had technical ability but didn’t want to be closing bars at 3 a.m.” At the end of the lecture, Yui met John Cini, who flew him to Washington to meet his partners. They hired Yui on the spot. In his six years with Cini-Grissom he worked for institutional clients like IBM, Smithsonian, and Drexel Burnham Lambert. By the time he was 30, he was ready to strike out on his own.

YuiDesign opened in 1985 and Yui worked out of the Takoma Park house he shared with his wife Ellen, the director of her own public relations firm. Jimi had an office on the first floor; Ellen had one on the second, and “the intercom was pounding on the ceiling.” What he didn’t have was clients—or at least the type of clients that he wanted. Yui wanted to break into the rarefied world of restaurant design, where food is operatic and the chefs are the star sopranos and tenors.

Then one day Ellen read an article about Sony Corporation’s move into the AT&T building in New York. The famous restaurant Quilted Giraffe, owned by Barry Wine, was slated to occupy the penthouse where it would become the core of The SONY Club, an elite corporate dining room. Yui cold-called Wine to see if there was any leftover work.  Surprisingly, Wine said that there was one space that no one could seem to get right—the 600-square-foot sushi room in the middle of the building. It had no windows and was attached to the elevator core. Wine’s instructions were simple: SONY Chairman Akio Morita should feel at home there and Janet Jackson should also think it cool.

“All my chef clients have a common thread—that high level of commitment,” said Yui. “I set the stage for the chefs to perform.”

When Yui won the 1995 James Beard Award for his design of the space (The New York Times called it “the most elegant deal-making place in New York City”), he entered a new world. For several years he handled both the front and the back of restaurants but eventually found that concentrating on the kitchens allowed him to contact with the men and women he most admired—the chefs.

It is their pursuit of perfection that mesmerizes him. Their discipline demands that every meal, every plate must excel. “I learned that perfection is not just inspiration—it’s about hard work and commitment,” said Yui. “They produce art on command, not just once, but repeating it with a restaurant full of customers and employees…I learned that creativity is really highly disciplined behavior. A meal is perfect the first time and the thousandth time. The pursuit of perfection is a hell of a lot of work.”

Yui’s work starts in the very earliest stages of restaurant development when his clients propose concepts and sites. Chefs generally come with strong opinions—this is not a field for shrinking personalities and the feint of heart. Yui’s job is to allow them to perform at maximum capacity. “We set the stage for the chefs to perform.” To his task, he brings a vast knowledge of international cuisine. Chefs trained in Europe, for example, work in a very different system from those trained in Asia. And each establishes his own pattern; the restaurant kitchen is a reflection of the chef’s personality and the hierarchy of the staff.

Some things are immutable. Health code mandates that restaurant kitchens be constructed of stainless steel and stone. Floors must be cleanable materials like tile or sealed concrete. Walls and ceilings must be washable and the kitchen cannot contain fissures that are hard to disinfect. Everything is geared towards function. The choice of appliances is as personal as a pianist’s selection of a piano. It is not unusual for a chef to fly to a plant in Europe to see how a stove is manufactured or try out an appliance in a colleague’s kitchen after hours. Yui also has to take into account the chefs’ habits. Plating food is painstaking and they may spend hours hunched over a counter meticulously arranging each dish. In Café Gray, Yui raised the counter height from 36 inches to 42 inches to alleviate back fatigue, a big problem for his clients.

Yui occasionally does residential kitchens but says, “I don’t do vanity kitchens. I’m not interested in doing kitchens that sit in 20,000 square feet where the caterer turns on the appliances once a month.”

The kitchen has its test run during the restaurant’s pre-opening, a period that might last anywhere from just a few days to a month. The design is fine-tuned; what has worked for a chef in the past may not necessarily translate into a new environment. On occasion, a kitchen has to be re-thought or even re-designed. “New space, new geometry, these are all one of a kind,” said Yui. His unflappable demeanor and unfailing good humor are rare among the sometimes fiery temperaments of the restaurant business. “I love passionate people and I haven’t had a bad experience…I get the wonderful side of these creative people. For them to get what they want, we have to have a straightforward, honest relationship.”

Yui’s most challenging job was his smallest, a closet-sized sandwich shop in Tokyo. His biggest job was Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadow, New York, a project that encompassed three restaurants,  800 seats total with a common kitchen and individual finishing kitchens. Current projects include the kitchens for the expanding number of Nobu and Morimoto restaurants worldwide (both named for their respective chefs Nobu Matsuhisa and Masaharu Morimoto), and doing concept work for Whole Foods. Every week he spends several days in New York when he is not traveling.

Jimi Yui has taught his sons to be open to all experiences, including food. “I want them to go to a table and be able to experience something new and judge it on its own merit.”

Despite the demands of his commercial clients, Yui occasionally does private kitchens. “I don’t do vanity kitchens. I’m not interested in doing kitchens that sit in 20,000 square feet where the caterer turns on the appliances once a month. If a client cooks for 50 to 100 on a regular basis it makes sense to have a commercial kitchen in a residence—but they have to show the same kind of commitment to food that my chef clients do.” A prime example is Jimi and Ellen Yui’s own kitchen in their Takoma Park cottage. Counters and cabinets are stainless steel and its heart is a commercial Vulcan stove with six burners, a two-foot griddle, an adjacent prep sink, two ovens and a commercial hood. This is Yui’s stage and one of the ways he relaxes is to cook. Although he admits to learning some tricks from his clients, his most important lesson was to “respect your ingredients. You don’t necessarily have to buy the most expensive, the most complicated, the most exotic ingredients, but treat them with respect, cook with respect, bring out the most of that product.”

Jimi Yui has taught his sons Yoshi and Zen to be open to all experiences, including food. Yui recalled that Zen once stepped up to the counter at McDonald’s, ordered a cheeseburger and asked innocently, “Can I have it with fontina?” Budding epicures but not food snobs, they learned never to reject anything without first trying it. “I want them to go to a table and be able to experience something new and judge it on its own merit. Everything is made with heart and effort. If someone makes you a hot dog, it’s something to be cherished…that’s why I love food.”

Alice Leccese Powers is a Washington-based freelance writer and the editor of Tuscany in Mind, France in Mind, Ireland in Mind and Italy in Mind, all published by Vintage/Random House Books. The next volume in the series, Spain in Mind, will be published in the fall of 2006.


In New York's Nobu Fifty Seven, Yui designed the sushi bar.
Photo by Scott Frances


Yui designed the kitchen area, visible through the pass-through window,
in Nobu Fifty Seven. 
Photo by Scott Frances

 


Yui experienced restaurant life first-hand growing up around
his parents' Chinese restaurant, The Guest House, where
Yoko Ono threw a party every year. A drawing by John Lennon
of himself, Yoko Ono and their son Sean, which Lennon gave to
a young Yui.

 


Yui and his wife Ellen expose their sons Yoshi and Zen to a wide range
of international cuisine.


The house presents a series of pavilions built around a mature weeping
oak tree.
 

This established Vienna neighborhood of brick ramblers and Cape Cods is changing, as are many area suburbs. There are add-ons and teardowns, some beautifully executed and others a hodge-podge of styles incorporating every era for the past thousand years or so. In the case of architect Randall Mars’s clients, the brick rambler was demolished.

The challenge facing Mars: To create a 2,800 square-foot, contemporary home that would blend into its eclectic neighborhood and yet establish a presence of good modern design representing the early 21st century. His client’s father developed pre-cast concrete, so she grew up amid noted mid-20th-century architects, among them, Eero Saarinen, Louis Kahn and Paul Rudolph. Architecture flows through her blood, with concrete her material of preference.

Mars masterfully united multiple materials, incorporating PRAIRIE stone concrete blocks, clad steel, brick, glass and gray-stained, Cambara mahogany. A selected combination of each of these defines clusters of rooms or “pavilions” wrapping around a mature weeping oak tree.

The architect’s technique of separating and linking prevails throughout the house as each element is distinctively defined by form and fabric and then deftly bridged by a third form or material. Gabled roofs appear to float above the structure of the house. The block or siding stops, explains Mars, “Then we recess into the framing on the house. We wanted the roof to separate from the walls.”

An expanse of glass fills the gables of the main pavilion, bringing eastern, morning light deep into the house. Broad eaves temper the light, add definition and make gutters expendable. Strategically positioned scuppers guide the flow of water. Stones surrounding the house keep the soil from eroding.

Near the street, easily visible to passersby, a wall of brick sheaths the side of the garage in a nod to the tradition of the community. Extending slightly past the perpendicular façade of the garage, it becomes a defining and distinct architectural element partially shielding the broad, double doors from street traffic. This brick wall and the standing-seam roof never actually meet. It is the mahogany siding of the garage front and the gable that link the two together. “Our work is very clear,” says Mars. “We isolate layers in walls, make everything distinct objects.”

Originally, the clients selected eight-inch concrete block for exterior walls, preferring it to a thin veneer. After re-examining their choice, however, they decided the block would be too brutal, and began their search for a more refined product. They found concrete PRAIRIE stone, a product with more sophistication. So they ordered the six-inch blocks, larger and solid, but with less depth. Then a problem arose: Each block weighed around 200 pounds, requiring four men to set each block. The labor cost was prohibitive. By reducing the size of the block to four inches thick—with the exception of the larger end pieces—two men could lay these 120-pound blocks, keeping the project in line with the budget.

In lieu of a formulaic, high-ceiling, front-to-back foyer, Mars broadened the entry horizontally, visually expanding the space and drawing views of the weeping oak and front approach inside and extending the foyer outwards. Then he lowered the ceiling to a comfortable eight feet and six inches, compressing the space and emphasizing the linear aspect. Steps across the entire front of this pavilion further accentuate his concept.

The interior wall conceals a coat closet barely discernible from the adjacent walls; even the baseboard is continuous and there is no visible hardware, only art hanging on the wall. Along the interior concrete walls, a track was installed specifically for hanging the clients’ collection of art.

The kitchen is located beyond this wall, and then the living room. Partitions extend upward to 10 feet and seven inches as light is diffused throughout the three rooms. The maximum ceiling height in the kitchen and living room extends to 17 feet and six inches. Cables and collar ties—necessary structural elements—also make an architectural statement.

In this modern home of avid cooks and gardeners, the kitchen remains the heart of the house as warm maple cabinets contrast with a stainless-steel range and island, all visually joined by black, honed granite countertops.

Again Mars defines and separates architectural elements: Rather than directly connecting the kitchen-living room wall to the ceiling, He “pins” them together, joining this partition with the lower, eight-foot, six-inch hallway ceiling that flows in a consistent plane from the foyer.

There is also more concrete: The fireplace hearth extends across the entire wall, creating niches, one for a flat screen television and others for storing wood or displaying objects.

The hallway, adjacent to the living room, is the bridge between the living pavilion with the gabled roof and the dining and master bedroom pavilion with the flat roof—a defined separation of architectural elements. The hallway culminates in a glass wall. During heavy rains, the broad scupper attached to the roof creates a lyrical waterfall cascading down to the rocks below. An outdoor pool will be built on this same axis.


Mars bumped the foyer outward to emphasize the linear and blend
indoors and out.
 

A nine-foot ceiling, lower than the living areas yet higher than the foyer and the hallway, defines the flat-roof pavilion, the master bedroom, and dining room, giving architectural presence to this grouping of rooms.

In the master bedroom, Mars highlights the placement of the bed by lowering the ceiling two inches. Outside, a brick wall partially clads the bedroom bay, again extending beyond the structure of the bay, this time shielding side windows and presenting a brick façade to the neighbors.

The double garage is connected to another pavilion consisting of two guest bedrooms-cum-studies, a bath, a laundry room, and mudroom, plus the large screened porch facing the backyard. Here, the linking element is a coffee bar, a secondary foyer outfitted with a maple cabinet, honed granite and a small trough-like sink. Again, the ceiling height is consistent with the foyer.

The separation, definition, and bridging brilliantly pervades throughout the design of this home. “I think of our work as being simple,” Mars says. “I can’t put two things together; I have to keep them separate.”

Contributing editor Barbara Karth resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland.  Washington, DC-based photographer Anice Hoachlander is a partner in Hoachlander Davis Photography.


An expanse of glass fills the gables of the main pavilion where Mars
broadened the entry horizontally, with steps across the entire front.
 

Throughout the home, Mars separated and linked materials; rather than
extend walls to the ceilings, partitions allow light to filter through the main
pavilion. Concrete clads the interior walls and fireplace hearth.
 

In the kitchen, warm maple cabinets contrast with a stainless-steel
range and island, all visually joined by black, honed granite countertops.
 


Glass block tile and concrete countertops reinforce Mars's material
the palette in the master bath.
 

A partition separates the entry foyer from the kitchen, where the
maximum ceiling height reaches 17 and a half feet.

Cambara mahogany clads the main pavilion. A secondary foyer (to the
right in this photo) leads to another pavilion housing a coffee bar, two
guest bedrooms-cum-studies, a bath and laundry room.

Surrounds Landscaping outdoor design features an open-air
cabana offers shade and contains a sink and refrigerator to
make entertaining a breeze. Photo by Ron Blunt.

The power of water is the power of creative poolscaping. Water reflects light, creating drama in the landscape as it mirrors the sky and brings it down to ground level. Water is elegant and graceful, harmonious and tasteful, and has a calming effect on anyone nearby.

As desirable as these qualities are, using water creatively in a landscape requires a very artful eye. In the pages that follow, you’ll see six unique pools, all very different, that have been skillfully integrated with new or existing homes and their surrounding environments. Pools sometimes have to work with steep slopes or else the lay of the land must be altered to fit the pool. Views of the water are particularly important, whether from inside the house or on the deck or patio.

Finally, pools have to work with the woods or the mountains in the distance or perhaps with sunny, open areas. The pools in these gardens have achieved all this and more; they’ve been surrounded by inspired and original planting schemes that successfully transition to the rest of the landscape—and they make the water look like it’s been in place forever.

Asian Inspiration in McLean


The gazebo lit up for an evening soiree.
Photography by Michael Ventura.

The house in McLean sat on the market for three years, perhaps because nobody looked beyond the front yard. Although there was no lawn, it was profusely planted with trees and shrubs that flourish in the Washington area—Japanese maples, dogwoods, azaleas, assorted evergreens, rhododendrons, laurels and nandinas, just a hint or a reflection of what lies beyond.

Then Debbie Barth and her family took a look in the back and were stunned by the magnificent landscape. A high deck off the rear of the house overlooks an Asian wonderland: scores of Japanese maples, weeping evergreens, a hot tub, a waterfall, a swimming pool, a natural pond with a wooden bridge and winding paths throughout the property.

Barth and her family use the backyard almost year round, from the lighted tennis court off to one side, to the gazebo tucked in front of a woodsy area beyond. “Standing up on the deck,” she says, “you can hear the frogs in the pond and the waterfall going, and it simply transports you to another place.”

The natural pond with the Asian-style bridge feeds two waterfalls, one that cascades into the hot tub and another that falls over a large, flat boulder. A bamboo “forest” screens the property from neighbors. Towering evergreens of different colors and graceful flowering trees catch the eye with every glimpse and season:  flowering plums and cherries, weeping atlas cedars, blue cypresses, and spruces. Underneath the skirts of the trees are azaleas, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, mountain laurel, irises and more.

The entire landscape is lit at night, from the gazebo to the pool and the paths around the pond. Barth describes it as “beautiful in every season.”

Entertainment Tonight


On the upper level of this job by Petro Design/Build, a
rectangular hot tub is rimmed in stone.
Photo by Lawrence Ruggeri.

Most people slow down a little when they begin to get close to retirement age, but not this Bethesda homeowner. With children grown and a winter home in Florida, he wanted it all, and he got it all from Petro Design/ Build Inc.

According to Petro’s president, Kathleen Litchfield, the major challenge was to get everything in on a rather small lot.  “He wanted to utilize every inch of his property,” she said.  “He had a checklist of everything you could imagine in a backyard space that was about 55 by 90 feet, half of it wooded, and he didn’t want to take down any trees.”

The list included a spa and plunge pool, a waterfall and a firepit, room for a barbeque and outdoor dining, a well-lit area for evening entertaining with lots of seating, screening from the neighbors, a utility area, a vegetable garden and a place to hang a hammock.

Petro created different levels on the sloping lot, which make the small space look much larger. The spa on the upper terrace overlooks a waterfall spilling into the plunge pool and lush, low-maintenance plantings beyond. Lighting was built into the stone walls and steps, and the asphalt drive in the front yard was interrupted with decorative paving to accommodate guest parking and make it look like a courtyard.

A huge beech tree is a front yard focal point, and river birches were planted to pick up the color of the trim on the house. Finally, Petro planted a hedge of Hollywood junipers, which have deep green foliage and an unusual contorted shape. “We thought it would be a very unique look,” said Litchfield.  And it perfectly fits with the very unique landscape.

A Natural Poolscape


Surrounds brought in tons of boulders to fashion a
the waterfall that spills into the hot tub.
Photo by Ron Blunt.

Landscape architect Howard Cohen likes to work with his clients and translate their dreams into the perfect landscape. When this Oakton, Virginia, client called him after an eight-year hiatus, she said she was finally ready to go ahead with the swimming pool they’d briefly discussed years before.

The two-acre lot slopes down steeply from the rear of the house, so Cohen built a five-foot-tall wall 100 feet long to create a level area for the swimming pool and surrounding patio. He brought in—literally—tons of big boulders to fashion a waterfall that spills into the pool from the slope above it. “We wanted to give it a very lush feel,” he said, “and make it look like a natural rock outcropping” rather than a retaining wall.

Cohen installed an open-air cabana that mimics the design of the existing upper deck, and although it is constructed of pressure-treated wood, it is wrapped in Ironwood to match the deck. The spacious cabana includes a storage area for pool equipment, as well as a sink and refrigerator to make outdoor entertaining a breeze. All of the four-season plantings are deer-resistant. They include bayberries, skip laurel, leatherleaf mahonia, and Sungold hypericum. For groundcover, Cohen used an unusual ornamental raspberry that looks like ivy and also is evergreen. Dwarf crape myrtles were added to a planting bed at one poolside edge to match the existing crape myrtles on the surrounding hillside.

Private and Peaceful


Stone walls at the edge of the pool create a transition
to the lower pool level in this yard by Town Creek Landscape.

A large brick house, an acre of land and a heavily wooded site were the basic elements that designers at Town Creek confronted when they were called in to fashion an outdoor entertaining area with a swimming pool in Howard County, Maryland. According to Bob Haney, Town Creek’s president, the clients “wanted a balance between having enough open spaces for large groups of people while still having smaller, more private areas for six or fewer.”

Town Creek’s designers solved the problem by recessing the pool into a gentle hill and installing a large patio between the pool and the house. Rustic stone walls at the edge of the pool divide the space and create a transition to the lower pool level. A pool deck constructed of brick-colored pavers with a bluestone edge ties the house and pool area together.

Smaller, intimate garden areas were carved out between the patio and the woods along a garden path. Plantings of shade-loving perennials created a link with the woods, and masses of sun-loving ornamental grasses and flowering perennials surround the pool. Catmint, daylilies, irises, purple sage and black-eyed Susans spill over a raised pool edge and the bright, colors and varied textures create a majestic backdrop.

A Watery Wonder


Heritage Custom Lawn and Landscape created a series
of steps, landings and a waterfall to descend from the
spa to the pool. Photo by Alan Gilbert.

Homeowners sometimes ask for the nearly impossible. On this Maryland property, Bob Spero of Maryland Pools consulted two landscape designers to plan the project, which called for the design of a pool and a spa in a rather small backyard with a two-to-one slope going uphill.

Al Huber and Tom Levie of Heritage Custom Lawn & Landscape decided to taper the main garden elements to fit the landscape. “We layered everything into the hill to make it fit,” said Huber, “so that when the clients are looking out their windows, nothing is blocked—everything is stepping up and stepping back.”

The spa is at the top of the hill, and a series of steps, landings and walls descend down to the house and pool. A waterfall constructed from natural Western Maryland stone spills down the hill into the pool as well. Huber and Levie also designed a large cove area with a firepit fed by a gas line.

Plantings were selected to “to make them look like they’ve always been there,” said Huber. Viburnums, dogwoods, Japanese maples, Nellie Stevens and Dr. Kassab hollies blend in with the natural woodland beyond. In summer the poolscape comes alive with ornamental grasses, daylilies, black-eyed Susans, coneflowers and other vibrant perennials.

A Classic Outdoor Retreat



McHale built a rustic wall of Pennsylvania fieldstone
surrounded by plantings of boxwood, holly and
American hornbeams at the far end of the pool.
Photo by Erin Brooke Bogan.

From a design point of view, the problem with swimming pools is that they tend to look like swimming pools. This one-acre site in McLean, Virginia, with a slope in the backyard of 14 feet certainly lent itself to creative thinking. As well as a swimming pool, the clients wanted space for entertaining, and in the end, they got much more than they desired.

Designers at McHale Landscape Design, Inc., noticed a great opportunity when they saw the traditional center hall Colonial with a bank of windows at the rear. Phil Kelly, chief operations officer of McHale’s Virginia division, says that now, when you walk in the front door, “you can see out into the garden, and the pool is lined up exactly on that center hall axis.” The designers added a vanishing edge at the end of the pool, said Kelly, “which adds a little bit of drama” and instills some life into the calm expanse of water.

At the far end of the pool, McHale installed a rustic wall of Pennsylvania fieldstone, each piece hand-chiseled for an ashlar effect. An archway built into the wall contains a shelf for a planted urn, and seat walls at the end of the pool deck add elevation and make that space feel more like a garden. Plantings of boxwood, holly and American hornbeams lend structure to the garden. Boston ivy rambles up the stone wall and, in winter, brightens that end of the pool when the vine turns a fiery red.

Soil excavated from the house foundation was used to terrace the backyard and create space for an expansive brick deck and the pool. It’s now just two steps down to the main deck area and two more down to the pool deck—a vast improvement over that 14-foot drop.

 


Plantings in the front of the house include Russian sage,
black-eyed Susans, stonecrop, and yarrow.
Photo by Lawrence Ruggeri.

A waterfall in this landscape by Petro Design/Build spills
into the plunge pool. Photo by Lawrence Ruggeri.

Waterfalls cascade into the free-form pool.
Photo by Michael Ventura.

Town Creek put in several separate spillways to lend a
soft and calming sound to the natural landscape.

McHale Landscape Design eliminated a 14-foot grade in this
backyard, adding a vanishing-edge pool that aligns perfectly
with the home's center hall axis. Photo by Erin Brooke Bogan. 

A terraced brick deck provides plenty of space for outdoor
entertaining, by McHale Landscape. Photo by Erin Brooke Bogan.

The great room in a custom home by Santa Fe Development
Corporation features a majestic 30-foot window wall.

When a client a few years ago asked Bill Flickinger’s Santa Fe Development Corporation to build his family a home on a wooded lot in Great Falls, Virginia, the request came with a few special provisions. There were several rooms that had to be part of the plan, including a climate-controlled wine cellar, an exercise room and a great room that offered an expansive view of the beautiful trees behind the house.

“Those are the kinds of requests we are more than happy to accommodate,” says Flickinger. “That’s what makes custom building exciting—providing a home that uniquely suits the needs of your client.” Flickinger accommodated the requests in style. The great room, which serves as the center point of the home, looks out over the woods thanks to a majestic 30-foot window wall that pours light into the first and second stories. The owners, who moved to the home from Colorado, have the constant connection to the outdoors that they craved. On the lower level, the exercise room is fitted with a television, so working out doesn’t have to be boring. Just down the hall, wood-trimmed double glass doors open to a climate-controlled wine cellar capable of storing hundreds of bottles on stylish wooden racks. There’s even a peninsula counter handy for opening and decanting wines.

This is the essence of what you get when you hire a custom builder. On a basic level, a home is a collection of rooms. But the rooms themselves don’t have to be basic at all. A custom builder can give you special rooms specifically created for your family’s particular needs. Here are a few commonly requested (and not so common) specialty rooms local custom builders can create for their clients.

Custom Spaces for Artists and Collectors
If art is your passion, a custom home can include a place to create it—perhaps a light-filled studio or a kiln room—or a place to view it, such as an in-home gallery space with proper lighting and temperature controls. Studio space can be found everywhere from an intimate upper level loft to a fully equipped flex space on the second floor of a detached garage. Display space can be anything from a design that includes custom built-in shelving and wall niches to a dedicated gallery room with plenty of wall space and appropriate lighting. Many buyers even arrange a room’s design around a favorite piece of art, asking their builder to incorporate sufficient wall space or a display area for a particular object.

The Over-The-Top Master Bath
It’s true that the master bath suites often found in high-end production homes are pretty impressive, but if you want to go to the next level, only a custom home will do. The possibilities include a six-foot-long shower with plenty of room for two, including five or six shower heads, integrated seating and a steam shower setting that lets the space do double duty as a steam room. Connected to many custom master bath suites you’ll find a large dressing area with ample storage space in cherry or walnut cabinetry and plenty of lights and mirrors.

The Garage for Car Buffs
If your hobby is restoring old cars, a custom builder can give you a professional-style garage with ample work and storage space and room for as many vehicles as you have in the your collection. In fact, the “Super Garage” has proven so popular with custom-home buyers that production builders are taking notice. More than 30 percent of all builders surveyed at the 2006 International Builders’ Show said they planned to offer Super Garages in 2006. One local example is Brookfield Homes’ Bentley model at Lansdowne on the Potomac, where the garage includes easy-clean flooring, track lighting, Internet access, a television, a refrigerator/freezer and a set of workspace organizers that increase storage space and allow for the addition of things like a recycling center or a multi-purpose workshop. A custom builder can take the concept even further, outfitting a professional-grade garage for families with motor oil in their veins.

An In-Home Business Center
Home offices are becoming more and more common, but a homeowner who runs a business, or one who sometimes works from home, may need more. A custom builder can create an in-home conference room complete with multi-media presentation capability, the latest in teleconferencing equipment and an appropriate office-like atmosphere for in-home meetings or consultations with clients.

The Safe Room
The Washington, DC, area is home base for many individuals with sensitive government or industry positions who have chosen to build a safe room into their custom home. Try to get any details from a builder however, and you’ll find it’s not the kind of thing they are willing to talk about. In fact, they often sign confidentiality agreements before building such a room, in order to keep the means and level of security.

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