In the sitting room, 19th-century bergere chairs sit atop a hand-knotted rug and a vintage birdcage adorns the window sill.
In the sitting room, 19th-century bergere chairs sit atop a hand-knotted rug and a vintage birdcage adorns the window sill.
An imposing, Neoclassic-inspired mirror anchors the room beside a Chaddock sofa.
A mural by Billet Collins dresses up the dining room, behind a Theodore Alexander table.
Bergere chairs also beckon in the living room, where an antique table occupies a cozy bay.
Christian Daw revamped a down-at-the-heels, circa-1900 dwelling in Logan Circle. His clients, two career women who are sisters, requested “the home they’d always wanted as girls,” Daw recounts. “Flowery and girly, but not childish.” He answered this mandate with backdrops of varying grays to which he added subtle feminine touches. Portrait: Michael Ventura
By Julie Sanders | Photography by Stacy Zarin Goldberg
Before finding his passion in design, Christian Daw flipped condos, finished law school and embarked on a law career. He’d always designed his own interiors and helped friends with their homes—but it wasn’t until he started an Instagram page to share what inspired him that a new path emerged.
“I realized that people appreciated my aesthetic and felt my taste was similar to theirs,” he says. “My first clients came from Instagram—they were patrons who invested in me.” These included a friend who offered to match his lawyer salary so Daw could decorate his home. Daw refused the offer—but by then, he and his husband (who currently reside in Bloomingdale with their one-year-old daughter) had moved from Southern California to DC. He was ready to take the leap—”though I knew I had school debt and no discernible pedigree in design,” he laughs.
His confidence was well-founded. Formed in 2017, his firm now employs six designers and part-time support staff. Thanks to the lure of his Instagram feed, which counts more than 400,000 followers, Daw has projects underway nationwide as well as in the DC area. “We have a lot of repeat clients,” he affirms. “We are happy to do everything.”
Interior Design: Christian Daw, Christian Daw Design, Washington, DC.