Home & Design

Tomato-red Wishbone chairs and a painting by David X Levine enliven the new, open dining area. Bespoke cabinets—including a coat closet to the right—add form and function to the formerly run-of-the-mill space.

BEFORE: The former entry, dining area and living room.

A creamy coat of paint and streamlined Marvin windows—minus shutters—transformed the façade.

BEFORE: The existing façade.

In the family room, vintage Womb Chairs by Eero Saarinen mingle with a Prado sofa from Ligne Roset.

New moldings play up tall windows in the living room, furnished with sofas and nesting tables from DePadova.

The owners’ collection also includes a brightly colored Finn Juhl Credenza and a glowing Catellani & Smith pendant.

In the open kitchen and dining area, a recessed hood over the cooktop preserves views of the garden.

A marble-topped island separates workspace from the dining area. Mersoa Woodworking and Design fabricated all of the cabinetry out of oak, with bases and hardware in walnut.

A former laundry room off the kitchen now houses a handy butler’s pantry (above, left) with a second sink.

BEFORE: The former kitchen and laundry room.

A far cry from its mundane roots, the primary bath boasts Venetian plaster walls finished by Twin Diamond Studios.

A custom oak vanity graces the primary bath.

BEFORE: The existing primary bath.

A wall of oak-veneer panels anchors the bed in the primary suite of a Spring Valley home, newly renovated by Fowlkes Studio. FLOS pendants, hung off-kilter, and an asymmetrical Breuer Bono bookshelf reflect the owners’ playful side.

Studied Redo

Fowlkes Studio revives a 1980s Colonial in DC’s Spring Valley, with a nod to its traditional vocabulary

About to outgrow their townhouse, a couple of Italian expats with one youngster and a baby on the way set out to find larger digs in the District. A 1980s-era center hall Colonial in Spring Valley struck their fancy for its kid-friendly neighborhood, just-big-enough proportions and abundance of natural light. “We saw a lot of new construction that just felt really big, whereas this house seemed sort of human-sized,” says the wife, who works for an international organization. “It has nice, generous spaces, but feels cozy and not excessive. We didn’t want spaces we wouldn’t use every day.”

Their search was over. But the modernists who collect mid-century furniture had some improvements in mind before moving in. A friend recommended architects Catherine and VW Fowlkes, husband-and-wife principals of Fowlkes Studio. “We were drawn to their work and its simplicity, attention to detail and craftsmanship,” says the homeowner. She and her husband, a director at a tech company, engaged the firm. 

Though the architects considered the existing home a bit “cookie-cutter,” as VW puts it, they discovered their clients were anything but. “They’re daring, urbane and sophisticated,” he notes. “They were open to having fun.” Plans unfolded to steer the builder-grade home in a contemporary and playful direction while retaining a thread of its traditional DNA. 

Requirements included an overhaul of the dated and disjointed kitchen; an infusion of storage space throughout the 4,000-square-foot, five-bedroom abode (which somehow lacked a coat closet); upgrades to the primary bedroom and most of the lackluster bathrooms; new windows; and an exterior facelift. 

In the architects’ grandest gesture, walls came down to orchestrate a new, open kitchen and dining area to the right of the foyer. “Food is what brings us together and we like to host,” avows the wife. 

The redo replaced the entire right wall of the center hall with banks of bespoke cabinets—one of which contains a coat closet. Jettisoning a partition between the kitchen and dining room made way for a long table that easily seats 12. “Our clients wanted a kind of ceremonial table where life would happen, so that played into our thinking about how the dining room and kitchen would be one space,” VW says. 

Subtle shifts in the living and family rooms to the left of the foyer had a striking effect. The tall, existing windows with low sills made the nine-foot ceilings appear higher. “They added a dash of elegance and tradition without feeling stodgy,” notes VW; he and Catherine played up this asset in the living room by trading its ho-hum wainscoting for molding that suggests tall wall panels. And they added extra dimension with an understated shadow line between the drywall and ceiling, which is canted around the edges. 

The same angled detail is repeated on the new quartzite fireplace surround in the adjacent family room. A coffered ceiling and modern crown molding lend character to this casual space that opens to the backyard and kitchen. 

The tall cabinetry anchoring the hub of the home stops shy of the ceiling. “This makes the space light and airy,” says Catherine, “and suggests the cabinets are more like furniture than built-ins.”

Centered around a large island used as a workspace, the kitchen boasts a cooktop overlooking the backyard with adjacent cupboards enclosing a coffee station. To the right of the stove, a laundry room was transformed into a butler’s pantry. 

Outside, a streamlined exterior immediately signals to guests that this home has shed its 1980s mantle. Heavy, decorative shutters were removed and a coat of creamy paint covers the original red brick. The architects replaced choppy, double-hung windows with simpler casements by Marvin. New outdoor lighting and an orange handrail complete the update. The refinished lower level boasts a playroom, and there’s a wine cellar in the works.

Throughout the home, authentic, Old World materials have been applied in a contemporary way, from marble countertops to the kitchen’s oak cabinets, which rest on walnut bases. Newly refined interior architecture and a serene palette create the perfect backdrop for the owners to showcase their furniture by noted Italian, French and Danish designers and their bold, modern art. 

Upstairs in the primary bedroom, an oak partition separates the sleeping area from a new wardrobe that borrowed space from adjacent quarters. An overhaul of the outmoded primary bath delivered a serene retreat featuring a custom double vanity, oversized shower and soaking tub. At their clients’ request, the Fowlkes team detailed the space with materials paying homage to the owners’ Italian roots—terracotta floor tiles and walls finished in Venetian plaster. 

The couple is thrilled with the project, which exceeded their expectations.  “Our clients didn’t want to do something sterile or one-note,” VW reflects. “They liked the historic element of the architecture—not that it was particularly authentic. But it had connotations that remind us of a home to hold on to.”

Renovation Architecture: Catherine Fowlkes, AIA; VW Fowlkes, AIA, LEED AP; Brett Promisloff, Fowlkes Studio, Washington, DC. Renovation Contractor: Matt Proper, Freeman Builders LLC, Washington, DC. Landscape Design: Hawthorne Garden Design, Washington, DC.

 

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HOME&DESIGN, published bi-monthly by Homestyles Media Inc., is the premier magazine of architecture and fine interiors for the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia region.

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