Home & Design

BEFORE: Rear facade.

BEFORE: KItchen.

Blue Mood

A Bethesda abode brims with light, openness—and the owners’ favorite hue

Years after a partial remodel, Bethesda homeowners were ready to finish the job. They tapped designer Sally Steponkus, who had worked with them previously, to help realize their vision for bright, open spaces and a new kitchen. Steponkus teamed with architect Timothy Clites to accomplish the project’s goals.

“We enclosed a covered patio off the kitchen as the dining area and opened up walls to make the rooms as light and airy as possible,” Clites recounts. A vaulted ceiling turned the former dining room into a sunny family room. The backyard was also updated, with a pergola shading a built-in grill and space for gathering. 

Nadia Subaran and Kelly Emerson of Aidan Design worked with Steponkus to reimagine the dark kitchen with white cabinetry and a marble backsplash and countertops. “We made the hood a focal point over a 48-inch range,” Emerson says. The breakfast nook now boasts a bank of windows.

When it came to décor, Steponkus says, she homed in on the wife’s favorite design element: “Blue, blue and more blue. That was the through line—particularly what I’d call French blue.” Crisp-white millwork provided a backdrop for blue accents in wallpaper, upholstery, draperies and more. Says Steponkus, “It was a careful balance.”

Renovation Architecture: Timothy L. Clites, AIA, Clites Architects, PC, Middleburg, Virginia. Interior Design: Sally Steponkus, Sally Steponkus Interiors, Washington, DC. Kitchen Design: Nadia N. Subaran; Kelly Emerson, Aidan Design, Silver Spring, Maryland. Renovation Contractor: Impact Remodeling and Construction, Washington, DC. 

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