Before + After: Row House Redux - After buying an 1892 row house in Dupont Circle, the owners anticipated a simple facelift—but as often happens, the project snowballed.Architect Michael Lee Beidler of Trout Design Studio masterminded a whole-house renovation that instilled a modern sensibility throughout, with an emphasis on wood. “The husband comes from a lumber family,” he explains, “and the presence of wood is very important to him.”
Case in point: the remodeled kitchen, which is distinguished by solid-walnut cabinetry and shelving fabricated by Gaston & Wyatt. Soapstone tops the counters and a handmade ceramic-tile backsplash continues into the pantry, located behind a walnut door to the left of the range.
Beidler’s plan removed a wall to create a living/dining/kitchen area at the back of the house that spills outside via a wall of glass. A steel column connects to a 24-inch steel ceiling beam that supports the home’s weight. Beidler appropriated the adjacent dogleg court to enlarge the kitchen; light pours into this single-story addition through a skylight above. A new stair is bordered by a hand-wrought, steel-and-brass railing.
