| | EASY BAKE Italian manufacturer Forza’s 48-inch dual-fuel range boasts a single, capacious oven cavity with six racks and room for two turkeys at once. An electric broiler spanning the width of the oven evenly distributes heat. Its chic exterior with race car-inspired lines comes in seven bold colors. forzacucina.com |
| COLD STORAGE The Series 9 74” Integrated Triple Zone Refrigerator from Fisher & Paykel introduces the brand’s latest innovation in cooling technology. Measuring 24 inches wide and 74 inches high, the fridge efficiently stores contents in three temperature and humidity modes: Chill, Fridge and Pantry. A freezer model is also available. fisherpaykel.com |
| PERFECT FINISH SMEG has debuted Nettuno, an understated blue-gray finish devised for ovens, warming drawers, coffee makers and select wine coolers. The finish is pictured above on the brand’s built-in coffee system, which serves up cappuccino, latte and more with a hot and cold milk frother. smegusa.com |
| MULTI TASKER Robam’s CQ762 Built-In Combi Steam Oven features 13 cooking functions including steaming, grilling and roasting with steam, as well as defrosting, sterilizing, fermenting and more. Fifty customized recipes are pre-programmed into the appliance, which is clad in black tempered glass and stainless steel; other finishes are on offer. robamworld.com |
Land & Water Design, Inc. conceived a naturalistic pool scape on an Ashburn, Virginia, property. “The vision included a three-season screened porch, a fire pit, travertine pavers, custom lighting and a landscape that would promote privacy,” recounts landscape architect Don Nesmith. The plan incorporated these elements around an irregularly shaped pool and a custom waterfall made with boulders. “They’re placed to provide a sound that will disguise noise,” notes Nesmith. “And the pool is deep enough to jump into from the boulder beam wall.”
Landscape Architecture: Don Nesmith, PLA; Vivian Myers; Michael Minh Tran, Land & Water Design, Inc.
While revamping a vintage dwelling in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Donald Lococo addressed the home’s exterior when he and his team conceived a 221-square-foot addition on the front of the house. “We followed the rooflines of the existing gables, taking architectural cues from the size, language and scale of the historic neighborhood,” Lococo notes. Brick siding was replaced with HardiePlank; beneath a Dutch Colonial-style gable, the front entry commands attention with additional windows and a series of columns.
Renovation Architecture: Donald Lococo, AIA; David Moore, project architect, Donald Lococo Architects. Renovation Contractor: Acadia Renovations.
A gracious row house in DC’s Kalorama neighborhood had become outmoded with time. When new owners entered the scene, they hired Fowlkes Studio for an update that would marry the dwelling’s grandeur with modern elements. The team replaced the dated kitchen with a sleek one by Poggenpohl; installed an open staircase of white oak; and converted a second-story sleeping porch into a home office topped with a roof terrace. The now-finished basement features guest quarters, a prep kitchen and a wine cellar.
Refined finishes spoke to the owners’ aesthetic vision. “Interior walls are clad in rugged materials like brick and Venetian plaster for a sense of monumentality and timelessness,” architect VW Fowlkes points out. “Wood and stone elements are layered in dialogue.”
Renovation Architecture: VW Fowlkes, AIA; Catherine Fowlkes, AIA; Martin Locraft, AIA; Josh Eager, Fowlkes Studio. Renovation Contractor: Added Dimensions, Inc.
Robert Gurney was tapped to put a modern spin on a 1931 Federal-style residence in Northwest DC’s Observatory Circle. He and colleague Kara McHone incorporated the home’s original brick structure into the composition, adding dynamic contemporary volumes beside and above its front façade. The additions, rising three stories, employ solid and glass planes to dramatic effect. “The project is an arrangement of simple, intersecting volumes, rendered in varied materials combining solids and voids,” explains Gurney. “A linear volume is inserted through the existing masonry shell, extending beyond and connecting the new and existing volumes.” Now painted gray, the original brick offsets stucco, mahogany and fiber-cement panels. A new, glass-enclosed front entrance lets in the light.
Renovation Architecture: Robert M. Gurney, FAIA; Kara McHone, project architect, Robert M. Gurney, FAIA Architect. Renovation Contractor: Steven T. McCaughan. Landscape Design: Campion Hruby Landscape Architects.
Architects Robert Gurney and Kara McHone dramatically reimagined a 20-foot-wide Queen Anne row house in Northwest DC, transforming choppy, dilapidated interiors into four floors of open, airy living space. The redo is organized around an open-riser stair of steel and white oak, with a skylight above. A one-story rear addition of brick, steel and glass provides extensive daylighting. Lowering the basement floor by 16 inches increased ceiling height.
A distinctive material palette includes reclaimed-white oak plank flooring and walls; hot-rolled steel; brick; copper; welded-wire fabric; and concrete countertops and tiles chosen for durability and ease of maintenance. “The goal was to yield a composition both restrained and polished,” says Gurney. “The project is a duality of old and new.”
Renovation Architecture: Robert M. Gurney, FAIA; Kara McHone, project architect, Robert M. Gurney, FAIA Architect. Interior Design: Therese Baron Gurney, ASID, Baron Gurney Interiors. Renovation Contractor: Peterson + Collins, Inc.
THEN | NOW |
| The bathroom was poorly laid out, with a toilet occupying center stage and a small pedestal sink stuck in a corner behind the tub. | The soaking tub and shower are combined in a wet area at one end of the room. Appropriating an adjacent walk-in closet made room for a double vanity on the former tub wall as well as a private WC. |
| Limited light came through narrow windows at each end of the space. | Double casement windows replaced the narrow ones, admitting more light into the room. |
| Boring white wall tiles and dark tile floors made the bathroom feel dingy and dated. | An eye-catching material palette includes glazed, green ceramic Zia tiles on two walls. Floors and other walls are clad in random-cut, terrazzo-look porcelain tile from Vives by Grof. A walnut vanity sporting brushed-brass hardware is topped by a quartz counter. |
Bath Design & Contracting: Eric Goetz, Blue Star, Washington, DC.
THEN | NOW |
| A traditional Cape Cod, the original house sat awkwardly on the site. Its stye didn’t reflect the owners’ taste. | Designed around a beautiful old maple tree, the home enhances and respects its natural environment. It embraces a Mid-Century Modern aesthetic with clean, unadorned lines. |
| The abode lacked a strong indoor-outdoor connection. | Large expanses of sliding glass and both picture and clerestory windows connect the interiors to the large front yard and smaller rear yard. Interiors spill out onto ipe decking and serene, Japanese-style courtyards. |
| White-painted asphalt shingles seemed out of harmony with the surroundings. The front façade held little visual interest. | Gray-painted, horizontal Hardie siding complements the colors of nature; fir-clad overhangs and privacy screens made of ipe and cedar lend warmth and interest. |
Renovation Architecture: James Rill, AIA, Rill Architects, Bethesda, Maryland. Builder: Woodhaven Contractors, Ijamsville, Maryland.
THEN | NOW |
| The living room was nondescript, with beige walls and few architectural details to give it character. There was no room to display collectibles. | Reich painted walls and trim in Benjamin Moore’s Gunmetal, a rich gray that modernizes the room while keeping it cozy. A wall of custom built-ins adds interest and display space. |
| Housing a hodgepodge of old furniture, the space lacked balance and harmony. | Symmetry rules in a furniture grouping that includes twin Bernhardt sofas, coffee tables and armchairs. Low-slung stools at the entrance maintain openness. |
| Bare windows and a dearth of artwork contributed to a feeling of coldness. A stylish mid-century chandelier went unnoticed against the humdrum backdrop. | Schumacher drapes soften the lines of the windows. Antiqued-gold drapery hardware picks up the finish on the chandelier, which pops against the gray walls. A colorful abstract painting by Baltimore artist Kelly Walker was commissioned for the space. |
Interior Design: Elizabeth Reich, Jenkins Baer Associates, Baltimore, Maryland.
THEN | NOW |
| The front yard was neglected and overgrown; invasive bamboo largely hid the house from view. | The bamboo was painstakingly eradicated. The recently renovated home’s charming front façade is now visible. |
| A ratty gravel driveway interspersed with weeds occupied center stage in front of the house. | After the driveway was relocated to one side of the home, a broad front walkway of Pennsylvania flagstone took shape, culminating at a pedestal urn surrounded by cobblestone. Beyond, a welcoming porch and front door beckon. |
| Weeds dominated the front yard, overpowering two ornamental trees. The overgrowth spilled onto the sidewalk. | A Carderock stone retaining wall borders a garden nestled beneath redbud and weeping cherry trees that now have breathing room. Astilbe, heuchera and ferns bloom in their shade while a garden of lilies across the walkway enjoys sunshine. |
Landscape Design & Contracting: Stephen Wlodarczyk, PLA, McHale Landscape Design, Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
THEN | NOW |
| A box-shaped, circa-1950s abode—a duplicate of its neighbors—lacked distinctive architectural details. Zoning restrictions prohibited additions to the structure. | Inserted into the existing footprint, a shiplap volume with a butterfly roof breaks up the façade. Tall front openings and a standing-seam metal overhang above the front door add interest. |
| Only eight feet high, a dilapidated porch on the back of the house felt dark and inaccessible. | A 10-foot-tall, shiplap-clad back porch is now an extension of the new build, which encompasses an open-plan kitchen/dining/living space. An adjacent covered area supplies indoor-outdoor connectivity. |
| Drab brick siding did little to set the house apart. The windows and front door were unremarkable. | Black-painted bricks contrast with the white shiplap. Protruding window frames are a contemporary element; along with the front door, they are painted a playful pink. |
Renovation Architecture: Paola Lugli, PLDesignStudio, Arlington, Virginia. Consulting Architect: Claudio Conti, Rome, Italy. Renovation Contractor: J&J Construction, Fairfax, Virginia.
Chad Hackmann Alair Homes | Jonathan Kuhn, AIA, LEED AP, Jonathan Kuhn Architect | Matthew S. McDonald, AIA, MCDStudio | Leo Wilson, AIA, LEED AP, Hammond Wilson
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Meghan Browne, Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath, Ltd. | Isabella Furiati, LXRY | J. Paul Lobkovich, Lobkovich | Katie Peters, Bowers Design Build
“Wet rooms are exclusive zones like those a spa would have; they combine a shower and a soaking tub in one glassed-in area.”
— J. Paul Lobkovich
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Meghan Browne, Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath, Ltd. | Isabella Furiati, LXRY | J. Paul Lobkovich Lobkovich | Katie Peters, Bowers Design Build
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Josh Kane, Kane Landscapes | Kevin Kurdziolek, PLA, ASLA; Pristine Acres | Bernie Mihm, LA; Fine Earth Landscapes | Joseph Richardson, PLA, ASLA; Richardson & Associates Landscape Architecture
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Barbara Hawthorn, Barbara Hawthorn Interiors | Laura Hildebrandt, Interiors by LH | Charlene Kennerknecht, MONARCH | Christie Leu, Christie Leu Interiors | Melanie Whittington, Whittington Design Studio
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