Preserving history was a priority in the recent renovation of a couple’s 1815 manse on Smith Row in Georgetown. Architects Dale Overmyer and Laura Rowland and interior designer Tracy Morris balanced the husband’s classicist aesthetic with the wife’s penchant for modern glam. “This was not a small undertaking,” says Morris about the project, which included the transformation of a sitting room off the primary bedroom into a new owners’ bath.

The architects drew up a plan for a large, open space housing a tub and custom vanity as well as a separate shower and WC. Determined to salvage the room’s existing fireplace, the owners decided to cover its original brick with a new material. When they discovered book-matched slabs of Aurora Blue quartzite on a shopping trip with Morris, “Their eyes lit up and I knew it would be a stunner,” the designer recalls.

Overmyer and Rowland detailed the protruding fireplace wall to integrate seamlessly with the room’s architecture. Crown molding pays homage to Greek Revival style while contemporary touches—from the vanity’s tapered legs to the sculptural tub—place the project firmly in the 21st century. “Tracy wove a real compromise between the clients,” says Rowland. “They were very adventurous and open-minded in a lot of ways.”

CREDITS + DETAILS—Renovation Architecture: Dale Overmyer, AIA; Laura Rowland, Overmyer Architects. Interior Design: Tracy Morris, Tracy Morris Design. Contractor: Goldsborough Design Build. Marble Floor Tile: architessa.com. Quartzite Fireplace Slab & Marble Countertop: marblesystems.com. Tub: vandabaths.com. Tub & Sink Fixtures: kallista.com. Custom Vanity: jtdylaninc.com. Mirror: riverglassdesigns.com. Sconces: circalighting.com.