Home & Design

DC Design House Debut Visiting the DC Design House is a rite of spring on Washington’s design calendar. On board for the 2015 event, 24 design teams will transform a new farmhouse-style residence in McLean designed by Harrison Design and built by Artisan Builders.

Visitors can enjoy the first glimpse of designers’ creations on April 11th’s Preview Day—along with light bites served by “Top Chef” Bryan Voltaggio’s restaurants. That evening, Voltaggio will host a Preview Night wine dinner at Aggio restaurant in Friendship Heights, where he’ll sign copies of his new cookbook, Home.

Proceeds from all events benefit Children’s National Health System. Admission is $50 on Preview Day and $250 for Preview Night. Regular admission is $30; closed on Mondays. The house is located at 956 Mackall Farm Lane. For more information and a list of designers, visit dcdesignhouse.com.

French Country Style Clients who commissioned Creighton Enterprises to build their new house in Leesburg, Virginia, wanted the grounds to reflect the home’s French Country home design style. They hired landscape architect Chad Talton, who created a clean-lined, modern plan that also complements the home’s interiors.

Travertine patios and gravel walkways lined with Select Blue flagstone provide striking accents amid sweeping green lawns and formal gardens. A custom granite fountain enhances an entry courtyard delineated by stone pillars, while a palette of white blooms and green arborvitae and boxwood conveys elegance. “White flowers with an evergreen backdrop have a crisp, clean look,” observes Talton. He also planted snowdrift astilbe, viburnum, limelight hydrangea, plus Deodar cedar and magnolia for year-round interest.

A gravel path along an allée of white-flowering Natchez crape myrtle leads from the garage to the backyard. With its stone base and curving roof, the pool house echoes the architecture of the home. Inside, there’s a sitting area, a kitchen with a  stone range hood and changing rooms. A pedestal fountain sits nearby.

The pool mimics the straight lines of the terraces. It boasts a large travertine patio for entertaining. Dramatic sprays of water arc out from concealed deck jets.

AWARD: Distinction, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build). LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: CHAD TALTON, Surrounds Landscape Architecture + Construction, Sterling, Virginia. POOL CONSTRUCTION: Town and Country Pools, Springfield, Virginia.

Writer Karen Watkins is based in Bethesda, Maryland. 

For a list of all LCA 2014 residential awards click here.

The Great Outdoors During the remodel of a grand Alexandria, Virginia, house, the owners tapped Botanical Decorators to create a landscape to match, with a historical feel, spacious lawn and places suitable for large-scale entertaining.

Most of the land was in front of the house. “We created powerful geometry and a real pull towards the front with a formal flower garden and fountain centerpiece,” landscape designer Morgan Washburn explains.  The property also encompasses a pool, pool house and sprawling lawns bordered with shrubbery and flowering trees.

The garden, between the house and pool, offers an elegant setting for parties. Guests mingle among tree hydrangea, standard lilac, boxwood, Russian sage, salvia, and Persicaria. Flagstone steppers edged with mondo grass surround the pool, while the pool house is actually two structures containing a changing room and kitchen, connected by a seating area and brick fireplace.

Dogwood, redbud, Sweet Bay magnolia and weeping cherries offer low-maintenance color throughout the year. Romantic Deodar cedars evoke the look of Spanish moss for the owners, who hail from Richmond and New Orleans.

Brick pillars adorned with gaslights and wrought-iron fencing create a stately side entry. A flagstone terrace atop the garage is a unique perch on which to relax and watch the kids playing below.

AWARD: Grand, Craftsmanship (Design/Build). LANDSCAPE DESIGN: MORGAN WASHBURN, Botanical Decorators, Olney, Maryland. POOL HOUSE ARCHITECTURE & CONSTRUCTION: CHRISTOPHER CAHILL, Cahill Design Build, Olney, Maryland. POOL: Sunset Group, Crofton, Maryland.

Writer Karen Watkins is based in Bethesda, Maryland. 

For a list of all LCA 2014 residential awards click here.

Natural Backdrop When clients called McHale Landscape Design to refresh their Easton property in time for their daughter’s summer wedding, the job entailed a list of tasks that included creating suitable sites for the wedding and reception; shielding the home from the road; revamping weedy beds, and replacing the dated kidney-shaped pool. “It came down to the wire,” observes project manager Keith Bowman.

Working closely with the owners, Bowman and Steve McHale delivered a sleek, rectangular pool, gardens, flagstone terraces and a welcoming driveway lined with flowering trees.

A “Two for the Shore” sign set amid flowing grasses greets guests as they arrive. Redbud, dogwood and Green Giant arborvitae trees screen the home from the road; they provided a natural backdrop for the wedding reception on the lawn.

A mix of flowing grasses and colorful hydrangea offers texture and color to the sweeping lawns. A cutting garden near the new flagstone terrace in front offers 20 varieties of herbs in addition to perennials. Large containers hold colorful mixes of coleus, lantana, begonias and calla lilies.

The new pool is visible from the house through floor-to-ceiling windows. Beside it, a new flagstone patio and wooden deck offer sunbathing space.

Anchored by a grassy area, a picturesque wooden dock is bordered by cattails with a fire pit close by.

AWARD: Heritage Award, Residential Maintenance. LANDSCAPE DESIGN: STEVE MCHALE, principal; KEITH BOWMAN, project manager, McHale Landscape Design, Upper Marlboro, Maryland. POOL CONSTRUCTION: River View Pools, Stevensville, Maryland.

Writer Karen Watkins is based in Bethesda, Maryland. 

For a list of all LCA 2014 residential awards click here.

Classic Design After installing a brick archway and stone waterfall for a repeat client, Live Green Landscapes was asked to add a series of outdoor “rooms” to the Reisterstown, Maryland, property. Collaborating with landscape designer Scott Brinitzer, Live Green’s Aaron Raines and Jesse Chenitz wove new and existing elements together to create a lush, classic landscape that unites the house and gardens and provides the family with areas to gather, dine and play. “We ended up with six different garden experiences that all seem to coexist naturally,” Brinitzer says.

An outdoor kitchen and seating area provide a spot for dining al fresco. A few steps below, a large flagstone terrace and adjacent dark-stained pergola are perfect for entertaining and relaxing under the trees.

Sculpted evergreen shrubs and hawthorns complement the Colonial-style home’s formal lines and brick façade. The existing archway—a replica of one found at Mount Vernon—is anchored to the landscape by a matching wall. A gravel path leads to a formal cutting garden filled with perennials and roses.

Walls crafted from Western Maryland stone keep the elements separate; just beyond the cutting garden, a waterfall by the new stone terrace burbles. Newly planted holly, viburnum, redbud, and hydrangea add pops of color and year-round food for the birds.

AWARD: Distinction, Total Residential Contracting. LANDSCAPE DESIGN: SCOTT BRINITZER, Scott Brinitzer Design Associates, Arlington, Virginia. LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR: AARON RAINES and JESSIE CHENITZ, Live Green Landscaping Associates, LLC, Owings Mill, Maryland.

Writer Karen Watkins is based in Bethesda, Maryland. 

For a list of all LCA 2014 residential awards click here.

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.

The company also publishes an annual H&D Sourcebook of ideas and resources for homeowners and professionals alike. H&D Chesapeake Views is published bi-annually and showcases fine home design and luxury living in and around the Chesapeake Bay.

The H&D Portfolio of 100 Top Designers spotlights the superior work of selected architects, interior designers and landscape architects in major regions of the US.

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