Snowy white textiles, collectible art and carefully curated antiques don’t usually mix with the patter of little feet, but in this Bethesda home the elegant setting doesn’t hinder playtime one bit. Quite the opposite: In the library, the smooth curves of a sculpture by Stephanie Bachiero have become an unexpected jungle gym for two youngsters-in-residence. “No surface was so precious as to be off-limits,” says interior designer Darryl Carter. “The children have full run of the house, so the predominant goal was to create an environment that was kid-friendly.”

The owners, two busy professionals, called on Carter and architect Donald Lococo when it was time to renovate their builder-grade abode. Years earlier, the design duo had remodeled the wife’s parents’ house to much acclaim and the couple hoped to recreate that magic in their own home. They teamed with Horizon Builders, the firm that had collaborated on the previous remodel as well. “They wanted to reassemble the dream team,” jokes Lococo.

Frequent partners in design, Lococo and Carter are both renowned for their aesthetic restraint and their ability to synthesize classical architectural motifs and modern elements—an approach that proved useful for this project. Built in 1965, the 13,216-square-foot manse has a sprawling layout featuring a central hall entry flanked by the library and the dining room; the kitchen is on the opposite side of the dining area. Seven bedrooms are spread over three levels, with most situated on the second floor.

An exaggerated French façade was exemplified by overly ornamental limestone details and an oeil-de-boeuf window. To refine the exterior, Lococo streamlined the limestone trim and swapped out the ovoid window for something more understated. He then skimmed the brick with a creamy, stucco-like finish that “allows the brick to ghost through so you see its texture but not its color,” he says. Steel-framed windows and doors replaced the old ones to give the home a more European flavor. “Darryl suggested the house skewed Belgian modern, and that spearheaded the direction of the details,” Lococo explains.

“What Donald did was return the house to a purer state,” Carter adds. “Doing away with some of the decorative elements lends it a more modern sensibility.”

A similar mindset prevailed inside, where Lococo and Carter embraced the existing segmental arch openings throughout the home but nixed many of the interior’s fussier flourishes. Out went elaborate fireplace mantels in favor of sleek stone surrounds, and overdone crown molding was replaced by inset ceiling trim that evokes artisanal plasterwork of yore, but rendered in a fresh way. Walls received a mottled finish that lends a sense of age but still feels contemporary. “The thought was to elevate the interior trim details by reducing them,” observes Lococo. “I think the success lay in making the interior architecture traditional but questioning those details that we see time and time again.”

One exception was the primary bedroom, where embellishments were added: Lococo raised the ceiling to create a barrel vault which subtly echoes the segmental arches that appear throughout the home. “That arc helps transition from the public spaces to the most private and brings cohesiveness,” he says.

To further unify the rooms, Carter finished the oak floors in a blond hue that established a quiet ground for layering furnishings and art. “We had a shared design language and sense of palette,” he says of himself and the clients. “I am prone to environments that are relatively neutral, but I always like to use a splash of color in the art.” Here, he chose a bold saffron painting that unfolds like origami over three walls of the dining room. Other notable pieces include artworks by Edward Finnegan and Purvis Young, as well as a wide range of heirloom furnishings. “When you bring antiques into a more modern setting, their patina alone makes the environment more tactile and approachable,” the designer notes.

Alongside such rarefied finds, Carter incorporated durable indoor-outdoor fabrics throughout the home to stand up to the kids’ wear and tear. And to ensure there would be places to stash toys, snacks and other necessities, Lococo hid storage in plain sight: The living room paneling conceals built-ins and the primary suite features a wall of stealth drawers. In the kitchen, cabinets were so cleverly concealed as paneling that the wife called Lococo after moving in, panicked that there wasn’t enough storage. The architect showed up and started pulling open hidden drawers.

More visual sleight of hand occurred outside in the form of a living sculptural element. Landscape architect Jennifer Horn created a courtyard terrace of reclaimed French limestone selected by Carter, then planted four mature hornbeam trees that appear to burst forth from the stone, which actually cantilevers above the soil. Horn also leveled out the sloped lot and relocated the swimming pool to improve its sight lines. At the property’s edge, she devised a wall cloaked by a row of arborvitae to frame the woods beyond the house. “We really wanted to distill the landscape down to its purest elements: water, grass, trees, stone,” says Horn. “I think that’s in accordance with what Donald and Darryl were doing with the house.”

With that kind of synchronicity among the design team, it’s no wonder the collaboration rendered such harmonious results. Lococo and Carter have often said they’re so in tune that they finish one another’s sentences. “When we work together it’s a very fluid process, like there’s one brain doing it,” avers Lococo.

Carter concurs. “It’s great to work with an architect who shares a similar sensibility because it makes the collaboration a lot easier. It’s to the betterment of the project at large.”

Renovation Architecture: Donald Lococo, AIA, NCARB, Donald Lococo Architects, Washington, DC. Interior Design: Darryl Carter, Darryl Carter, Inc., Washington, DC. Renovation Contractor: Horizon Builders, Annapolis, Maryland. Landscape Architecture: Jennifer Horn, RLA, Horn & Co. Landscape Architecture, Arlington, Virginia. Home Automation: A.B.E. Networks, Rockville, Maryland.

RESOURCES

LIBRARY
Sofa & Fabric: hollyhunt.com. Wood-Framed Chairs: newel.com. Wood-Framed Chair Fabric: hollyhunt.com. Coffee Table: Custom through darrylcarter.com. Rug: starkcarpet.com. Sculpture: Stephanie Bachiero through peterblakegallery.com. Music Stand & Clawfoot Stool: 1stdibs.com.

ENTRY
Console: Custom by darrylcarter.com. Sculpture: Senufo through trocadero.com. Artwork: Edward Finnegan. Floor Runner: dorisleslieblau.com. Stair Runner: starkcarpet.com. Stair Railing: donaldlococoarchitects.com. Ceiling Fixtures: vaughandesigns.com.

DINING ROOM
Ceiling Fixture: illuminc.com. Table & Chairs: Custom through darrylcarter.com. Chair Fabric: brentanofabrics.com through hollyhunt.com. Drapery: metaphors.com. Artwork: Custom through darrylcarter.com.

KITCHEN
Cabinetry: donaldlococoarchitects.com. Backsplash, Countertop & Island: caesarstoneus.com. Faucet: jaclo.com. Island Lighting: illuminc.com.

BEDROOM
Bedstead & Bedding: Custom through darrylcarter.com. Table Lamps: shop.thedpages.com. Reading Lights on Wall: illuminc.com. Overhead Lighting: remains.com. Pedestal Table & Chest: 1stdibs.com. Art in Window: Purvis Young. Rug: starkcarpet.com.

BATHROOM
Clawfoot Tub: kohler.com. Ceiling Fixture, Mirror & Foot Stool: 1stdibs.com. Tub Filler: newportbrass.com.

EXTERIOR
Wall Lanterns: vintage. Yellow Sculpture: donaldlococoarchitects.com. Chaise Lounges: knoll.com.