“Our client was formerly in the fashion business,” explains designer Courtney Cox, who recently founded the interior design firm 2 Ivy Lane with partner Alex Deringer. Their client, Amelia Ruzzo, and her husband had just bought a home in McLean, Virginia, and tapped the duo for help with its interiors. “Amelia called us sight-unseen from Manhattan, where she was living at the time,” Cox recalls, “and asked us if we’d seen Sex and the City!”
It didn’t take long for Cox and Deringer, a graduate of the Corcoran College of Art and Design, to realize what that question meant: Ruzzo was looking for an au courant design team to imbue her home with fashion-forward glamour and dazzling, dramatic interiors. Cox once owned a women’s boutique in Old Town Alexandria, so the fashion world was familiar to her. She and Deringer were happy to oblige.
However, the Ruzzos’ spacious townhouse was traditional in architectural style and overall layout. “Our challenge was to stay true to the architecture, but give the space fresh life,” says Deringer, adding, “Amelia’s husband had more conservative taste, so we needed to bridge the gap between his natural inclination and her eclectic nature.”
When the partners met Amelia Ruzzo, they were pleasantly surprised to find she had put together a mood board, complete with images of favorite art works and catwalk fashion models dressed in gowns that she loved.
“To this she’d also tacked a huge piece of tin foil,” recalls Cox. “It was all very telling. Fashion sense is very helpful in knowing the direction [a client] will want to go in when it comes to their interiors.” In this case, the décor was clearly going to be about pushing the style envelope using fashionable color, sassy shine and tantalizing texture.
Color served as the jumping-off point. They established that the main floor’s walls would be painted Benjamin Moore’s Chelsea Gray, which Ruzzo coveted. Cox and Deringer added a slick, lacquered finish to the hue that would reflect light into the somewhat dark home and deliver an edgier flair.
“The next time we met our client,” Deringer says, “we had a fashion show of our own, bringing a variety of interesting fabrics to see what she liked.” The Chinoiserie-inspired Camberwell Vase Print wallpaper by Schumacher caught Ruzzo’s eye. The citrine colorway offered a balance between being on trend and promising longevity. The color quickly became part of the palette, along with a cool silver-blue on the ground floor and a warm plum gray on the second story. The Schumacher fabric was used for curtain panels in the parlor and library, which face one another.
Once a color scheme was established, Deringer and Cox set about selecting furnishings. The goal was to find—or design—pieces in a transitional style that were polished, sculptural and luxe. “We didn’t want to overrun the rooms with furniture,” says Deringer. “We wanted each piece to make its own impactful statement, for someone to walk in and say ‘wow.’”
For example, ebony-stained Barbara Barry chairs in the parlor are upholstered in an eye-catching textured canary-yellow silk that accents their hollow, sculpted backs. In the master bedroom, the king-sized bed designed by 2 Ivy Lane is upholstered in plush tufted velvet. “Amelia loves sparkle and shine,” Cox observes. “That’s why we introduced sheen everywhere.”
The shine in the home is either literal—as in the solid metal lamps and the heirloom tables in the parlor that were refinished in silver by Avery Studios—or has been integrated into the materials used, like the metallic woven Phillip Jeffries wallpaper in the library or Crescent Carpet’s striae silk-and-wool rug in the master bedroom.
Texture is also central to the design. The designers sourced materials with a tactile quality, such as the twin cut-velvet armchairs upstairs, or the glazed-linen sofa and skin-pleather cubes downstairs. Patterns throughout include both masculine geometrics and feminine florals.
Once the principal spaces were completed, they turned their attention to Ruzzo’s closet, which was originally a sitting area in the master bedroom. Cox and Deringer created a layout designed to meet Ruzzo’s storage needs—and the result is a fashionista’s dream, with exquisite custom cabinetry, antique-mirrored upper cupboards for out-of-season items, deep drawers for jewelry, full-length mirrors and a personalized shoe unit.
“Amelia is ecstatic in her new home,” says Deringer, adding, “She challenged us as a design team. This is a fairly conservative city and you don’t find a lot of clients who are looking to break out of the box.”
Charlotte Safavi is a writer in Alexandria, Virginia. Photographer Angie Seckinger splits her time between Potomac, Maryland, and Spain.
INTERIOR DESIGN: COURTNEY COX and ALEX DERINGER, 2 Ivy Lane, Alexandria, Virginia.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
When Lori Graham traded in her briefcase for a portfolio, she left a busy law practice to launch Washington, DC-based Lori Graham Design. Among the first residential projects she tackled after completing design coursework at the Corcoran: her own Q Street, NW, residence. “I wanted to create an urban oasis in Dupont Circle,” says Graham of her Victorian townhouse. Once an art gallery, the 4,800-square-foot home with a master suite on the third floor was the ideal place for Graham to live, entertain and work.
Her immediate challenge was to determine where to put the kitchen. The previous owners had used the first floor as a gallery, the second floor bedrooms as offices and the top floor, with its tiny kitchen, as their home. Graham wanted to install a proper kitchen on the ground floor.
“I went back and forth between putting the kitchen in the center of the house or in the back,” says Graham. “In the end, I picked the center to allow for flow between the entry/living area and the dining room. It worked best for my style of entertaining—more mobile cocktail parties, fewer sit-down, 12-course dinners.”
Once the kitchen was placed, the house, which had not been renovated since the early 1980s, had to be stripped down to joists, beams and bricks before Graham got started. “Architecture and art have always been passions of mine,” she says. “Both are integral to my interior design process.”
Graham was soon in the thick of applying her twofold design philosophy to her own home. “The genesis of any job I do is in the architecture and architectural history of a residence,” she says. “I’m not a historical preservationist but I want my work to reference what’s come before. At the same time, I believe we’re allowed to update to the way we live today.”
She salvaged what she could of the Eastlake-style Victorian originally built by DC architect Thomas Franklin Schneider, while jazzing up the interiors to make them feel fresh. She painted the original fireplace mantels matte black and the historic doors glossy white, covered period brass hardware in contemporary nickel finishes and laid down her signature ebonized marquetry floors. “I wanted to take the architectural elements from the time period, yet provide modern finishes,” she explains.
Graham also had a vision of how she wanted the townhouse to flow on a vertical plane, based on everyday needs ranging from seeing clients and throwing parties on the updated-yet-formal first floor to running her business and welcoming overnight guests on the second floor to retreating and relaxing in the Zen-like private quarters on the third floor, which lead to a serene roof garden.
Throughout the home, consistent use of rich, ebonized flooring and lustrous white millwork provided a sense of continuity. Contrasting textures—wood and metal, velvet and silk, leather and linen—imparted interest and the use of Asian-inspired furnishings and animal hides referenced the designer’s background. “I was born in Japan and raised on a self-sustaining farm in Oklahoma surrounded by the Asian stuff my family had collected over the years,” Graham confides of her earliest influences.
In addition to working within the dictates of the home’s architecture, Graham drew upon her second passion—art—for further decorative cohesion.
“I always look at my client’s art collection for design inspiration,” she says. “What it is doesn’t matter, but what it means to them does. What they collect reflects them. This defines my conceptual approach to interior design. My goal isn’t to brand myself, like the generation of designers did before me. I want the statement to belong to the client.”
In this case, of course, Graham turned to her own art collection, which is diverse in scale, color and media with a mix of photographs, oils, acrylics, watercolors and sculptural forms.
For her upstairs walls, Graham went with her favorite “gallery white”—Benjamin Moore’s Decorator White—upon which she hung punchy art, furnishing the space with vibrant, warmly hued pieces in oranges, pinks and reds. Downstairs, she paid homage to the home’s Victorian sensibility with ornate white moldings and paneling, then selected cool-toned charcoal gray and smoky-blue walls for sharper definition. Neutral furniture and art ensure versatility.
“The goal in my house,” she says, “was to make sure that anything I had would fit anywhere. So I naturally turned to more muted colors, natural materials and clean-lined furniture.”
For Graham, good design relies on complete visual balance—whether artwork is being highlighted or architectural elements emphasized. “I don’t like medium tones because they don’t create tension with either art or architecture,” she says. “Color and palette need to be immediately noticeable when people walk in. I want the contrast.”
The result of the designer’s efforts was a chic, comfortable working home that she loved. Graham enjoyed the process so much that she has since sold her Q Street house and is now busy renovating another residence nearby. She also plans to open a showroom in Logan Circle this fall.
Looking back, Graham says that her Dupont Circle house “was a trademark of my personal style, the realization of my design philosophy.” She pauses playfully before adding, “In this case, I knew the client very well.”
Charlotte Safavi is a writer in Alexandria, Virginia. Erik Johnson is an Alexandria-based photographer.
INTERIOR DESIGN: LORI GRAHAM, Lori Graham Design, Washington, DC.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
When Lori Graham traded in her briefcase for a portfolio, she left a busy law practice to launch Washington, DC-based Lori Graham Design. Among the first residential projects she tackled after completing design coursework at the Corcoran: her own Q Street, NW, residence. “I wanted to create an urban oasis in Dupont Circle,” says Graham of her Victorian townhouse. Once an art gallery, the 4,800-square-foot home with a master suite on the third floor was the ideal place for Graham to live, entertain and work.
Her immediate challenge was to determine where to put the kitchen. The previous owners had used the first floor as a gallery, the second floor bedrooms as offices and the top floor, with its tiny kitchen, as their home. Graham wanted to install a proper kitchen on the ground floor.
“I went back and forth between putting the kitchen in the center of the house or in the back,” says Graham. “In the end, I picked the center to allow for flow between the entry/living area and the dining room. It worked best for my style of entertaining—more mobile cocktail parties, fewer sit-down, 12-course dinners.”
Once the kitchen was placed, the house, which had not been renovated since the early 1980s, had to be stripped down to joists, beams and bricks before Graham got started. “Architecture and art have always been passions of mine,” she says. “Both are integral to my interior design process.”
Graham was soon in the thick of applying her twofold design philosophy to her own home. “The genesis of any job I do is in the architecture and architectural history of a residence,” she says. “I’m not a historical preservationist but I want my work to reference what’s come before. At the same time, I believe we’re allowed to update to the way we live today.”
She salvaged what she could of the Eastlake-style Victorian originally built by DC architect Thomas Franklin Schneider, while jazzing up the interiors to make them feel fresh. She painted the original fireplace mantels matte black and the historic doors glossy white, covered period brass hardware in contemporary nickel finishes and laid down her signature ebonized marquetry floors. “I wanted to take the architectural elements from the time period, yet provide modern finishes,” she explains.
Graham also had a vision of how she wanted the townhouse to flow on a vertical plane, based on everyday needs ranging from seeing clients and throwing parties and corporate events for her business and welcoming overnight guests on the second floor to retreating and relaxing in the Zen-like private quarters on the third floor, which lead to a serene roof garden.
Throughout the home, consistent use of rich, ebonized flooring and lustrous white millwork provided a sense of continuity. Contrasting textures—wood and metal, velvet and silk, leather and linen—imparted interest and the use of Asian-inspired furnishings and animal hides referenced the designer’s background. “I was born in Japan and raised on a self-sustaining farm in Oklahoma surrounded by the Asian stuff my family had collected over the years,” Graham confides of her earliest influences.
In addition to working within the dictates of the home’s architecture, Graham drew upon her second passion—art—for further decorative cohesion.
“I always look at my client’s art collection for design inspiration,” she says. “What it is doesn’t matter, but what it means to them does. What they collect reflects them. This defines my conceptual approach to interior design. My goal isn’t to brand myself, like the generation of designers did before me. I want the statement to belong to the client.”
In this case, of course, Graham turned to her own art collection, which is diverse in scale, color and media with a mix of photographs, oils, acrylics, watercolors and sculptural forms.
For her upstairs walls, Graham went with her favorite “gallery white”—Benjamin Moore’s Decorator White—upon which she hung punchy art, furnishing the space with vibrant, warmly hued pieces in oranges, pinks and reds. Downstairs, she paid homage to the home’s Victorian sensibility with ornate white moldings and paneling, then selected cool-toned charcoal gray and smoky-blue walls for sharper definition. Neutral furniture and art ensure versatility.
“The goal in my house,” she says, “was to make sure that anything I had would fit anywhere. So I naturally turned to more muted colors, natural materials and clean-lined furniture.”
For Graham, good design relies on complete visual balance—whether artwork is being highlighted or architectural elements emphasized. “I don’t like medium tones because they don’t create tension with either art or architecture,” she says. “Color and palette need to be immediately noticeable when people walk in. I want the contrast.”
The result of the designer’s efforts was a chic, comfortable working home that she loved. Graham enjoyed the process so much that she has since sold her Q Street house and is now busy renovating another residence nearby. She also plans to open a showroom in Logan Circle this fall.
Looking back, Graham says that her Dupont Circle house “was a trademark of my personal style, the realization of my design philosophy.” She pauses playfully before adding, “In this case, I knew the client very well.”
Charlotte Safavi is a writer in Alexandria, Virginia. Erik Johnson is an Alexandria-based photographer.
INTERIOR DESIGN: LORI GRAHAM, Lori Graham Design, Washington, DC.
**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home designs. Wonderful visuals of inspired décor and lush landscapes are combined with expert advice to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing amazing home interior design ideas to life.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
"The clients wanted to restore the architecture,” says architect David Jones of the renovation he designed for a 1913 Colonial Revival house in Chevy Chase, Maryland. “But they also had four younger kids and needed the home to work for their family’s needs.” Over the years, the house had suffered from hodgepodge additions, both cosmetic—such as the ironwork on the porches—and structural, such as a single story add-on to the back that housed the den and master bedroom. “I removed those,” says Jones, “and went back to the original 3,300-square-foot rectangular home, with two upper bedrooms.”
From this point on, the proper renovation began, taking the house to a fully functional 6,800 square feet, with five bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs, as well as a new family room, library and eat-in kitchen to complement the existing foyer, living and dining rooms on the ground floor.
“Because the home is in historic Chevy Chase, all outside changes had to be approved,” says Jones. “We actually improved the historic quality of the house by removing the inappropriate additions visible from the street. We also used the same materials and worked in a similar style to the original structure, from the stucco first floor to the painted-shingle second story to the low-pitched slate roof.” Inside, Jones added baseboards and crown moldings throughout the home for visual continuity.
Once the basic bones were in place, the homeowners turned to Washington, DC, interior designer David Mitchell to develop the architectural details and orchestrate the décor. “The house became a real mix, with a conservative exterior and an inventive interior,” says Jones.
Mitchell’s stamp is as much on the inside as Jones’s is on the outside. He designed architectural elements, such as the fireplace mantels, the tile work in the kitchen and bathrooms, the grand staircase and the millwork, including the library’s wood paneling. He then approached the décor of the home with characteristic passion.
“We started from scratch,” says Mitchell. “I was given a beautiful house, with a beautiful layout and well-proportioned rooms. It was a joy to decorate.”
Mitchell drew inspiration from the Chelsea Editions fabric used for the living room drapes—a classic hand-embroidered nature print in apricot, blue, teal, brown, yellow and green on a cream background. The fabric not only suggested the color palette, but also defined the overall décor.
“It set the tone for the house with its light airiness and organic base,” says Mitchell. “I coupled this approach with the homeowners’ interest in antiques. I had fun mixing periods.”
In the living room, for example, a pair of 1930s Jean-Michel Frank armchairs shares space with an antique Biedermeier bibliothèque and a vintage Michael Taylor tufted sofa. The soft hues and natural materials visually tie the furniture together. Equally important, however, is the balanced blend of pattern and texture, which Mitchell employs throughout the house.
“When a home has an organic feel,” he says, “you can’t use a lot of flat things. The furnishings need to have a tactile quality. This can be achieved with different patterns, as well as with multiple textures.”
Mitchell deftly works both elements into his design scheme. On walls, he may use an elaborate patterned Osborne & Little paper, as in the dining room, or a simple striated linen finish, as in the breakfast nook. He mixes wood, marble, metal, stone and glass furnishings. His upholstered furniture is covered in organic fabrics such as chenille, cotton or linen, and either stamped with bold prints or embellished with subtle details, such as embroidery, tufting or matelasse. The same theory applies to area rugs and window treatments. “I want the décor to be harmonized,” says Mitchell, explaining how he transitions from room to room. “But I also want different moods in a house. I’m a big believer in color affecting mood.”
So, the kitchen is bright and yellow; the master bedroom, calm and blue; the family room, cozy and dark-hued; and the library, a serene space with streamlined, neutral furnishings, drawing interest from Mitchell’s signature mahogany paneling.
“The clients are very family-oriented, so I wanted a certain level of prettiness,” says Mitchell, “a home that would stand the test of time and have a high level of comfort. It’s a beauty that is not precious; there’s nothing you can’t touch or sit on.” Mitchell has achieved this—and more—with tailored yet casual furnishings, eclectic antiques, unique patterns and timeless textures, creating rooms that speak of elegance, freshness and ease.
Of his decorative and architectural collaboration with Jones, Mitchell concludes, “The homeowners wanted a house their family and friends could enjoy. It’s a complete success. This is their dream home come true.”
Writer Charlotte Safavi is based in Alexandria, Virginia. Gordon Beall is a photographer in Bethesda, Maryland.
ARCHITECTURE: DAVID JONES, AIA, David Jones Architects, Washington, DC. INTERIOR DESIGN: DAVID H. MITCHELL, David Mitchell Interior Design, Washington, DC. CONTRACTOR: SANDY SPRING BUILDERS, Bethesda, Maryland. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: SHEILA A BRADY, FASLA, Oehme van Sweden, Washington, DC.
**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home designs. Wonderful visuals of inspired décor and lush landscapes are combined with expert advice to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing amazing home interior design ideas to life.
"It had great bones,” says interior designer Marlene Weiss Alexander of the Northwest DC residence she transformed into an elegant home that seamlessly showcases large-scale contemporary art. “The house always had classic architecture: a beautiful grand foyer, large formal rooms, crown moldings, high ceilings and above all, lots of wall space.”
The homeowners’ wish list included a home office, spare bedrooms and ample space to entertain. However, even more important to them was creating display areas for their modern art collection, which includes works by Gene Davis, Rodney Graham and Christopher Wool.
The 8,500-square-foot English Country-style house, built in 1990, already had a mahogany-paneled study, an unfinished attic with potential and a flowing first floor, thereby meeting all the homeowners’ stipulations. However, it needed updating. The original architect, Stephen Muse, assisted with the renovation.
“We didn’t have to do a lot,” says Weiss Alexander. “It worked without a major redo. We put in two additional bedrooms, making a total of six, by converting the attic. We updated the kitchen and master bathroom. Mostly, we enhanced the overall space for the artwork.”
Getting the lighting right matters when hanging art. The previous homeowners had smaller-scale antique Dutch paintings, and the existing lighting was designed for them. Other than the spacious foyer, which was well lit from a bank of windows on the second-floor landing, the formal rooms were dark. The new homeowners’ big contemporary canvases had different requirements. Weiss Alexander increased the wattage of existing recessed lights and augmented them with additional fixtures, brightening up the whole house. And she installed simpler window treatments, which gave her clients privacy without blocking natural light.
The designer also traded the previously dark and overly traditional wall finishes for a lighter, fresher look. Because the formal rooms connected through cased openings, their wall colors had to blend well, while serving as a neutral backdrop for the art. The dining room went from red to cream, the living room from taupe to vanilla and the foyer from damask to striae-patterned wallpaper.
Weiss Alexander’s color scheme was inspired by the homeowners’ existing furnishings: a pair of lightly patterned terracotta chairs in the living room, and a red, cream and black rug in the foyer.
"I worked with neutrals,” she says, “beiges, greens and golds, with vibrant punches of red. I also used black accents. The palette is warm, but definitely more masculine, not feminine or frou-frou.” The colors work well to unify the rooms. None compete with the art.
In terms of décor, the homeowners’ taste in furniture ran traditional, yet they wanted their modern paintings to serve as focal points in any given space. “I used a lot of restraint because the homeowners did not want an overdone, decorated look,” Weiss Alexander says. “The drama had to come with the art. It was fun to watch the process. Every time a new piece was added, it got more dramatic—and layered.”
Once she set her palette, the designer used solid colors for the primary furnishings, layering in interesting textures, discreet patterns and varied finishes. For example, in the dining room, chairs in gold-hued waffle-woven velvet sit atop a low-pile, densely knotted Oushak rug with subtle floral designs. By contrast, the windows are framed in linear silk panels embellished with a tone-on-tone coral embroidered with a Greek Key stripe detail. Complexity of design was achieved without distraction from the quartet of paintings also in the room.
Throughout the home, the furnishings are eclectic. “Everything didn’t have to match,” says Weiss Alexander. “The homeowners didn’t like contemporary furniture—too stark, too competitive with the art—but otherwise, they were open. They liked traditional but were not afraid to mix styles.”
The result is a blend of clean-lined upholstered pieces and classic reproductions from a variety of periods, such as Regency, Empire and Federal. Weiss Alexander freely mixed materials including glass, iron and wood. The wood also has different finishes: natural, black-stained or painted white. Artwork provides visual continuity between the rooms.
“Juxtaposing traditional furniture with the contemporary art actually makes the art pop more,” says Weiss Alexander.
The owners are delighted with their traditional décor and how their modern paintings look in it. “They love the way the architecture, furnishings and artwork came together to create a cozy house they feel good in,” says Weiss Alexander, “one with a unique finished look.”
Writer Charlotte Safavi is based in Alexandria, Virginia. Geoffrey Hodgdon is a photographer in Deale, Maryland.
INTERIOR DESIGN: Marlene Weiss Alexander, Weiss Designs, Bethesda, Maryland. RENOVATION CONTRACTOR: Jim Boyd, Design/Build Inc., Silver Spring, Maryland. ARCHITECTURE: Stephen Muse, FAIA, Muse Architects, Bethesda, MD.
**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home designs. Wonderful visuals of inspired décor and lush landscapes are combined with expert advice to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing amazing home interior design ideas to life.
