Home & Design

Creative Fusion Almost 200 of the nation's most notable contemporary crafters will converge from October 31 to November 2 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to fuse decorative and functional art at the 27th Annual Washington Craft Show.

With a “Focus on Fashion” theme, this year’s event includes two fashion shows hosted by local designer and TV host Stephany Greene. In addition to fashion, 10 other craft media will be on display, including basketry, jewelry, leather, furniture, paper and wood. 

Selected by a jury of art experts, exhibitors will be available to speak to guests throughout the event. 

Every item shown is either a limited-edition piece or exclusive to the show. washingtoncraftshow.com 

Going Modern Building a new house typically requires choosing an architectural style and sticking with it through construction. Countering this practice, a couple combined both historical and contemporary designs to create an Arlington home that steadily grew more unconventional as it was completed in 2013.

“Our taste changed through the course of the project,” says the wife, a lawyer who enjoys browsing Houzz. “We started out more traditional and ended up much more modern.” Rooms once envisioned with archways and crown moldings gave way to open, flowing spaces with low-slung, European furnishings.

Designed by GTM Architects, the home appears classically dignified from the outside. Its porches, pediments and façades clad in cedar shake are inspired by Queen Anne and Shingle-style architecture. To one side, the three-car garage is designed as a complementary pavilion with a pitched roof and dormers.

“We didn’t want to build an imposing house, but one that felt welcoming and fit with the neighborhood,” says the husband, a security consultant. He and his wife bought the property in 2012 and razed an outdated rambler on the corner lot to construct the larger, two-story home.

Part of the architects’ challenge was deciding where to place the house on the parcel, which abuts a wooded ravine. “We were limited to the flat part of the yard,” says GTM associate Douglas Roberts. “We set the house on an angle to the street to make the most of the views across the ravine and bring in lots of natural light.”

Reinforcing the home’s mix of classical and modern elements is the landscaping designed by J. Mark White of GardenWise. “We used traditional plantings like roses and boxwood, and large, sweeping masses that are more modern and organic,” says White.

Midway through the project, the homeowners decided to change the interiors to reflect a more open, contemporary style. “We were drawn to very clean, modern interiors and our builder recommended that we consider FORMA Design,” says the wife. “It was not an easy decision, but at the end of the day, architect Andreas Charalambous of FORMA did exactly what we had hoped.”

Living and dining rooms at the front of the home are now joined into one long space for entertaining. Each function is defined by a lower section of the ceiling, an area rug and distinctive lighting. The owners refer to the side furnished with four swivel chairs as the “martini lounge.” Says the husband, “Formal living rooms really don’t get much use, so we created a place to enjoy a cocktail.”

At the back of the house, the kitchen and family room are also treated as a single space. Accessible from this area are a porch and a mudroom leading to a patio for grilling and outdoor dining. Tall windows and doors on two walls bathe the interiors with sunlight and offer views of the wooded ravine.

The nearly all-white kitchen designed by Lauren Levant Bland, then of Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath, incorporates an island with stools for dining. For more seating, Charalambous designed a banquette under a window to accommodate a table and chairs from the Italian company Porro. The light-filled family room, where the homeowners spend time with their three-year-old daughter, is comfortably furnished with an L-shaped sofa and swivel chairs for watching TV.

In the center of the house, a stair hall is designed as a “buffer zone between the front and back rooms,” notes Charalambous. The staircase incorporates open risers and glass side panels to allow sunlight to pass through it from windows and doors on the landings. The treads extend from two thick walls, one clad in porcelain tile resembling stone to convey a sense of solidity.

The tiled wall rises through all levels of the house to visually anchor the stair and adjacent rooms. On the second floor, it is visible in the master bedroom next to the custom leather headboard. Near the bed, French doors open to a balcony overlooking the ravine. “It’s like a tree house,” says the husband. “It’s awesome to watch the fall leaves change from here.”

The master bathroom, also designed by Lauren Levant Bland, resembles a minimalist spa and adjoins a large walk-in closet. Symmetrically arranged on either side of the room are glass cubicles—a frosted enclosure for the toilet and a transparent shower stall—and his-and-her vanities. The centerpiece of the snow-white space is a sculptural tub placed under the windows.

The third floor provides a home office where custom desks are tucked into the dormers. This area and the finished basement are carpeted, in contrast to the main and second levels which feature ebonized oak flooring.

Rather than replacing all the furnishings from their previous home in Rosslyn, the couple recycled their dining set, kitchen stools and other pieces to furnish their guest rooms, basement and office. Advises the attorney, “Never assume that the pieces you have picked up along the way won’t amplify your evolving style.”

Writer Deborah K. Dietsch is based in Washington, DC. Geoffrey Hodgdon is a photographer in Deale, Maryland.

ARCHITECTURE: GEORGE T. MYERS, AIA, principal; DOUGLAS ROBERTS, associate, GTM Architects, Bethesda, Maryland. INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN: ANDREAS CHARALAMBOUS, AIA, IIDA; LAURENCE KOEHRSEN, AIA, FORMA Design, Inc., Washington, DC. KITCHEN & BATH DESIGN: LAUREN LEVANT BLAND, Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath, Chevy Chase, Maryland. BUILDER: MILLER/Custom Builders, Bethesda, Maryland. LANDSCAPE DESIGN: J. MARK WHITE, ASLA, GardenWise, Inc., Arlington, Virginia.

 

Suite Life You can’t see it until you swing around the driveway of this well-appointed stone house in McLean, but once a guest arrives at the milky-white paneled door surrounded by a transom and sidelights, there’s no mistaking it for a mudroom or side entrance.

Rather, it’s the front door to a two-story pied-à-terre that the owner built for her mother, whose husband died a few years ago. “I just wanted my mom around—and it’s someone to have a glass of wine with at the end of the day,” says the homeowner, who has three sons. “It worked well for me and the kids.” 

A well-traveled New York native with a taste for modern elegance, the owner hired DC architect and designer Ernesto Santalla once the addition had been framed; she told him she was worried that her mother’s new home would look like a boxy afterthought that was attached to the main house. 

“When I arrived, it was a bunch of boxes,” recalls Santalla, referring to the structure’s layout. His instructions were not only to give the space both architectural and aesthetic interest, but also to make it versatile—appropriate for an older person now, and equally appropriate later as a relaxing retreat for family and friends. 

Santalla designed the first floor with uncluttered, open spaces for ease of flow. He arranged the living area with four plush armchairs because, as he notes, “It’s easier for an older person to get out of a chair than a sofa.” Same with the dining table and chairs: He originally considered having a banquette built along the wall, “but we decided it was going to be harder to scoot down a bench.” 

Santalla altered the kitchen so the island was not attached to the wall, as had originally been designed. “It created strange corners where it would be hard to clean,” he says. He then had custom cabinetry installed up to the ceiling, further eliminating surfaces that would have to be dusted or cleaned. 

To reconcile the boxy layout, Santalla defined specific areas with architectural detail on the ceilings. In the living room, for instance, he ran a long, narrow panel across the ceiling and down to the floor to call attention to the large, shaded pendant lights and to frame the sleek, concrete fireplace surround. In the kitchen, he designed a lower tray ceiling to create a sense of intimacy off the large living and dining area. 

Ever sensitive to the needs of his client’s mother, Santalla arranged furnishings to avoid tripping hazards. He also allowed for plenty of light. “Light was a really important consideration,” he explains. “Any time there is a window covering, it always clears the window entirely.” 

Likewise, Santalla ran sconces all the way up the stairs at chest level, instead of suspending a chandelier from the tall ceiling. “Stairs are really dangerous, so we wanted to focus the source of light,” he explains. The resulting parade of sconces not only illuminates each step, but their sculptural design is an artistic plus. 

The owner’s mother preferred her suite to have stairs because they give her daily exercise, but the addition was designed so that she could live on one level if necessary. She currently uses the room adjacent to the living area for watching TV, but the custom teak built-ins cleverly enclose a Murphy bed behind their doors. The first-floor bathroom, too, is a full bath—and the showers on both levels are large enough for a walker or even a wheelchair, should that time ever come. 

The homeowner is one of six siblings, many of whom still live in the New York area, so their mother also spends time up north. But the addition does not sit empty when the mother is away and the intent is that it will someday be used for entertaining. Two large pendant lights in the living area are situated so a large serving table could be placed under them. The windows overlooking the main home’s patio and pool are actually retractable, so a party could easily spill outside. Upstairs, an extra room off the loft area lies in wait to become a game room, where a door connects it to the main house. 

But even if the family never changes a thing, the spaces Santalla created are beautifully timeless. Along with sumptuous furnishings and rugs, he selected modern art that makes the interiors look more like a downtown loft than a grandmother’s retreat. Indeed, after 18 months of construction and interior design, the homeowner says, her crew at Winthrop Custom Builders referred to it as “the little jewel box.” 

What’s notable about contemporary design for any age, Santalla reflects, is its simplicity: crisp, uncluttered interiors with an abundance of light. “There’s a lot to be said for visual simplicity and how we react to it,” he says. “You’re designing for an older person, but you don’t want to make them feel like they’re elderly and no longer independent. You want them to feel like this is their new home and to feel good about it—that this is a positive change in their life.” And this positive change will bring positive thinking which lead to success.  

Writer Jennifer Sergent is based in Arlington, Virginia. Geoffrey Hodgdon is a photographer in Deale, Maryland. 

INTERIOR DESIGN: ERNESTO SANTALLA, AIA, LEED AP, Studio Santalla, Washington, DC. CONTRACTOR: WINTHROP CUSTOM BUILDERS, McLean, Virginia.

 

On the Bookshelf RECIPES FOR SUCCESS
Award-winning Chevy Chase kitchen designer Jennifer Gilmer has released the ultimate guide to planning and designing the perfect kitchen. The Kitchen Bible, written by Gilmer with Barbara Ballinger and Margaret Crane, provides inspiration, resources and crucial tips on working with a kitchen designer. With more than 250 photographs, it takes readers through important steps to ensure that their kitchen reaches its full potential. Images Publishing, Australia; June 2014. $45. 


FINNISH STYLE
In Patterns: Marimekko showcases the history of the Finnish textile and clothing company celebrated around the world for its bold, vibrant motifs. Readers learn about the founders' original vision and how they translate a simple sketch into an elaborate fabric design. The lavishly illustrated book marks Marimekko’s 50th anniversary. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA; September 2014. $35.


BEHIND THE SCENES
Documenting 15 houses designed by the renowned New York firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Designs for Living provides an in-depth look at each project and the architects’ design process. Readers will discover an array of spectacular homes, from a mid-19th-century town house in New York’s West Village to a hilltop residence on a windy road overlooking Sonoma Mountain, California. The book also explores how each home clearly reflects its environment and the local vernacular. The Monacelli Press, New York, NY; May 2014. $75. 

                           

A Simple Plan When Rui Ponte and wife Jean Assuncao bought the dilapidated 1940s Cape Cod house in Bethesda’s Edgemoor neighborhood in 1995, it didn’t even occur to them to tear it down and start over—even though they probably should have. “People just didn’t do that back then,” Ponte remarks. “It was a different era.”

Instead, they opted for a major overhaul, gutting the house and adding a 12-by-40-foot addition to accommodate a new kitchen and dining room. Ponte’s design opened up the interiors and introduced a more modern aesthetic, relocating the stairs to the center of the house and installing a skylight above to bring in natural light on both levels. First-floor bedrooms were moved to the second floor, which was completely rebuilt. A crawl space was dug out to create a full-size basement.

“The renovation was what was current at the time,” Ponte says. “We had a heavy fieldstone fireplace in the family room and an entertainment center with a big, wide TV where everything was exposed.” In the kitchen, blond cabinetry was paired with dark granite counters and stainless-steel appliances.

After the couple’s two kids left for college, they decided to update the kitchen and family room. “We were ready to simplify our lives,” says Assuncao. “Part of this was getting rid of the big, heavy stuff—the oversized couches, the big fireplace. We purged a lot and that was nice.”

The timing was also influenced by advances in technology. Ponte was waiting for Control4 home automation systems to be perfected, and when—in his view—they were, he explains, “it seemed like it was the right time to do it. We really wanted Internet-based, integrated technology. We were installing a lot of it in our clients’ homes so we saw how it was evolving.” Integrating whole-house technology would allow them to control all aspects of the lighting, heating and audio/video systems via one device. Ponte turned to Bobby Caras of Multi-Systems, Inc., in Vienna, Virginia, for the installation, then moved on to the renovation design.

Concealing the clutter and detritus of daily life had become a major priority for the couple, who found themselves attracted to a design with sparer lines. “Our aesthetic changed,” Assuncao observes. “It’s simpler now, more crisp and clean.” 

The bulky fieldstone fireplace has been replaced with a sleek one clad in a textural tile from Porcelanosa and panels of dark macassar wood; the existing copper chimney has been partially wrapped in macassar to unify the look. The wall that held the giant TV and a messy, inefficient cupboard now contains only a flat-screen TV and a streamlined macassar cabinet. Spare, contemporary sofas by Italian manufacturer Incanto keep the room airy, and mechanized Lutron shades control light and impart privacy.

The kitchen, which had begun to look dated, has been transformed. Custom cabinetry by Wood-Mode combines cherry lower cabinets in a dark walnut stain with white-lacquered upper cabinets. Countertops are Calacatta Venato marble, and the one topping the long, rectangular island has waterfall edges that emphasize the cool, gray cast of the marble. A backsplash of Porcelanosa tile is imprinted with a subtle linen pattern. Xenon and LED lighting replaced incandescent bulbs, and a dropped ceiling above the island holds lighting so pendants aren’t necessary.

“The idea was to hide everything,” Assuncao says. “The dishwasher, the refrigerator, the ovens. We concealed everything as much as possible and made it look like furniture.” She points to the water dispenser, which is tucked inside a slide-out cupboard with another one beside it for spare bottles, while Ponte reveals a cabinet inside a niche that houses a full bar. 

“It’s a very functional kitchen,” he says. “When we have people over it all flows easily with the family room.

“The house now is more about how we live,” he continues. “Before we started, we asked ourselves, ‘What are the rooms that are important to us?’ That’s what has been incorporated.”

The original Cape was brick with two dormers. Ponte’s 1995 design created a two-story structure with a whole new stucco exterior. The front façade has a subtle, modern edge reflected by a gently curving portico and unadorned windows. The look is still fresh almost 20 years later; the house stands out from the surrounding homes in its  neighborhood, yet still seems to belong.

“We didn’t want to do anything too far out—we wanted it to be contextual,” Ponte explains. The home has been a hit in the neighborhood: To date, Ponte Mellor has renovated or custom-designed six other homes on the block—and counting.

Photographer Kenneth M. Wyner is based in Takoma Park, Maryland.

RENOVATION ARCHITECTURE: RUI PONTE, AIA, LEED AP, Ponte Mellor Architects, Ltd., Bethesda, Maryland. CONTRACTOR: JEAN ASSUNCAO, Edgemoor Custom Builders, Bethesda, Maryland.

Shore Life On a breezy July afternoon, chef Robert Wiedmaier offered his guests morsels of savory-sweet Maryland crab, a taste of what would be on the menu that evening. The meal—also spotlighting fresh rockfish and Chesapeake Gold oysters—was not being served at one of his seven area restaurants, which include Marcel’s, Brasserie Beck and Mussel Bar & Grille. Instead, Wiedmaier was whipping up a dinner for eight at his family’s sprawling weekend home near Solomons Island, Maryland.

“Let’s go fishing,” he called out to his buddies, who were relaxing over mojitos on the screened porch. “The blue fish are kickin’ big time.” 

Only 75 minutes from his home in Kensington, Wiedmaier’s four-acre property on the Patuxent River might as well be a world away from the pressure-cooker lifestyle of a successful DC chef/restaurateur. Robert, his wife Polly and their sons Marcel, 15, and Beck, 11, escape as often as possible to this retreat where they fish, waterski, ride dirt bikes, kayak and even go duck- and goose-hunting (minus Mom). With two fishing boats at the ready—an 18-foot Parker for solo trips and a 32-foot Luhrs for larger expeditions—Robert regularly hauls in rockfish and blue fish, along with crabs off the dock and oysters from beds just offshore. 

The Wiedmaiers literally stumbled upon the property during one of many drives spent looking for a weekend home on Maryland’s western shore. “We happened to be driving down Rousby Hall Road and there was a Sotheby’s sign,” Robert recalls. They turned down the long, sweeping drive, “saw this house and fell in love with it.” They were sold on its proximity to DC, its prime waterfront location and pier and the inviting, five-bedroom house that had been recently renovated.

“We wanted to be on the water but Polly didn’t want it to be remote,” explains Robert. “To the left of the property, we can see the mouth of the Chesapeake. To the right, there’s Solomons Island.” 

The house revealed another surprise: It is built around a two-story, circa-1670 customs house where taxes were once collected for the King of England from ships entering the Patuxent. The original brick walls, fireplace and wood-beam ceiling have been restored in the historic sitting room located to the right of the home’s main entry. A ladder leads to the upstairs bedroom where the customs agent once slept. 

Despite this centuries-old gem, the rest of the home is practically new. After a larger home had been built around the customs house in the 1950s, previous owners hired Annapolis architect Charles Anthony in 2003 to design an addition, which encompasses a vaulted great room with an open dining area and kitchen, a ground-floor master suite, a basement with a media room and wine cellar and a free-standing garage with a guest apartment above it. 

“The house has just the right amount of charm and age,” says Polly. “In the old sitting room, you feel the history of the place—but I wouldn’t want to own a whole house that old. When you walk into the big, new, bright part [of the house], it’s just easy. It’s a great combination.”

The Wiedmaiers were convinced. They purchased the home and tapped Arlington designer Charles Craig—who recently transformed Marcel’s lounge—to help with some of the décor. They’ve been enjoying it ever since. “Once I get onto Route 4, my stress level goes way down. And when I walk out to the water, it feels like I’m far away from DC,” says Robert.

Polly, chief marketing officer of their RW Restaurant Group, agrees, “I’m outside so much more here. We take the boats out and go to different restaurants on the water, whereas at home, I’m usually inside at my desk.” Meals on the bay are casual affairs, often cooked on a trusty charcoal grill—a far cry from the haute cuisine and white linens of Marcel’s. 

From a young age, Robert Wiedmaier loved to cook and gravitated to the kitchen, where his American mother and Belgian grandmother taught him the ropes. “They were both awesome cooks,” he recalls. “When they went to the local markets, I would tag along.” His Belgian-born father, who emigrated to the U.S. during World War II, worked overseas for the U.S. Air Force for decades. Robert grew up mostly in Germany and Belgium and attended culinary school in the Netherlands. Then he moved to Washington, gaining experience in such culinary standouts as the Four Seasons’ Aux Beaux Champs and the Watergate’s Jean-Louis, where he replaced renowned chef Jean-Louis Palladin. 

In 1999, Wiedmaier opened his own fine French restaurant, Marcel’s, named for his newborn son. Since then, there have been many debuts. Brasserie Beck now has two locations and Mussel Bar & Grille has three, with a fourth opening in Baltimore’s Harbor East this fall—in addition to BRABO in Alexandria and Wildwood Kitchen in Bethesda. 

Wiedmaier sees potential synergy between his bay property and the restaurants. “I am going to build a chicken coop and a greenhouse and do honeybees. I want to grow things that I’ll be proud to serve in the restaurants,” he explains. “I’ve always enjoyed working on farms. It ties in with the full circle of hunting, fishing and cooking.”

Whether he is grilling oysters, sipping bourbon around the bonfire with friends or plotting out his future greenhouse, Wiedmaier is in his element on the shore, where he and Polly will move permanently once Marcel and Beck leave home. 

Originally, Robert wished for a 100-acre getaway. “But Polly told me, 'You’ve got thousands and thousands of acres in front of you…in the water,’” he recounts with a booming laugh. “I said, ‘That’s a great way of looking at it.’ It’s nice to be able to go down to the boat and just take off.” 

Geoffrey Hodgdon is a photographer in Deale, Maryland. 

Signature Style A Nantucket vacation provided inspiration for the sleek, spare design of a Northwest DC apartment. The homeowners—both attorneys—stayed in a cottage designed by Jacobsen Architecture and fell in love with it. When they purchased their co-op in a post-modern building, they contacted the renowned Modernist firm to update their new home while creating a similar modern sensibility.

“It was like a rabbit warren, and the large windows face north so it was dark,” observes Simon Jacobsen, who collaborated with his father, Hugh Newell Jacobsen, on the project. The clients had some general requirements, including larger rooms and space for entertaining—but they also wanted the signature Jacobsen aesthetic. As Simon Jacobsen explains, “About 90 percent of our clients come to us knowing what we do. They already know our look.”  

The architects begin each project with a questionnaire for prospective clients. “It’s about seven pages, asking the client how they live,” says Simon Jacobsen. The questionnaire includes such items as “How many feet of books and clothes do you have?”

Six weeks after the homeowners filled out the form, the design was finished. Demolition on the 2,000-square-foot space began in 2010 and the project was completed in just over a year.

Today, dramatic results await visitors behind the nondescript apartment door. Inside, a vision in spare, contemporary white unfolds, with a foyer bordered by a translucent glass half-wall that partially hides the view into the main living area. 

“We wanted to open the space and hide the eye from the rest of the room without ruining the surprise,” says Simon Jacobsen. The foyer is dominated by a limited-edition print by German artist Simone Nieweg; a return for the HVAC system has been transformed into a vertical design element. 

The floors throughout the apartment are pale, bleached oak. The doors are full height with no moldings, casings or trim—a characteristic Jacobsen design element. The door handles rest 30 inches above the floor. “The Europeans place their door handles lower than we typically do in America, which Hugh noticed while traveling,” explains Jacobsen. “We do it to make the ceiling height look taller.” 

The main living area includes Jacobsen-designed sofas and a coffee table. A limited-edition print by Italian photographer Massimo Vitali slides out of the way to reveal a flat-screen TV. The room also holds a Steinway. “Hugh loved the idea of the curved lines of the piano as a contrast to the symmetry of the space,” says the homeowner. A corner niche houses a bar that can be concealed behind pocket doors. 

Adjacent to the living room, a formal dining room can also be sealed off from the main living area with translucent-glass sliding doors. The custom, Saarinen-inspired dining table—surrounded by Mies van der Rohe Brno dining chairs—is welded to the floor, eliminating the need for table legs; its Verde Antico marble top is a beacon of color. Egg-crate shelving along one wall frames an open niche that works as a sideboard. 

The galley kitchen has been deliciously updated, with a Sub-Zero fridge, Viking range and Bosch dishwasher. The flat-faced cabinetry is made of engineered-laminate with hidden hinges. The countertops are Corian—a surface that often takes criticism. “A lot of people use Corian badly,” comments Simon Jacobsen. “We like its crisp edges. Natural stone doesn’t always come in the long lengths that we like. And you can make Corian look seamless.” 

A compact home office showcases a built-in desk and egg-crate shelving, while another stand of egg-crate cabinets delineates a master bedroom with expansive city views. Adjoining the bedroom are two large closets and a Corian-clad master bath that features twin vanities, a separate W.C. and shower.  

The renovated apartment is another star in the Jacobsen design universe. “It was like having an haute couture dress designed,” says the homeowner. “We knew we were in the hands of a master."

Writer Scott Sowers is based in Washington, DC. Anice Hoachlander is a principal of Washington, DC-based Hoachlander Davis Photography.

RENOVATION ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN: HUGH NEWELL JACOBSEN, FAIA; SIMON JACOBSEN, AIA, Jacobsen Architecture, Washington, DC. CONTRACTOR: ADDED DIMENSIONS, INC., Takoma Park, Maryland.

   

 

HOME&DESIGN, published bi-monthly by Homestyles Media Inc., is the premier magazine of architecture and fine interiors for the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia region.

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