A young professional tasked EL Studio with a unique proposition: to improve functionality and the spatial experience in a compact, 300-square-foot DC apartment. The architects took advantage of the home’s high ceilings to position a sleeping loft above the kitchen, accessed by a custom stair. Structural columns below support the loft and store household items. As architect Mark Lawrence reflects, “Improved circulation and integrated lighting made the apartment feel larger, more organized and adaptable.”
Architecture & Interior Design: Elizabeth Emerson, AIA; Mark Lawrence, AIA, EL Studio. Contractor: JKG Contracting, LLC. Cabinetry: Allegheny Wood Works.
On a large suburban lot with mature trees in Chevy Chase, Maryland, this modern residence maintains the foundation and much of the infrastructure from the property’s existing 1948 house and carport, which inform the new home’s geometry. A one-story glass entry space now connects the garage volume to the main house, their tension magnified by contrasting materials—one with white stucco and the other with gray block.
Interior spaces are open and light-filled with minimal detailing and a subdued material palette, explains architect Robert M. Gurney. Rooms are arranged to optimize sightlines toward the terraced landscape while minimizing views of neighboring houses. The project proves that working within a preexisting footprint can still inspire interesting and dynamic architectural results.
Architecture: Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, principal; Sarah Mailhot Solander, project architect, Robert M. Gurney, FAIA Architect. Interior Design: Baron Gurney Interiors. Builder: Peterson and Collins, Inc. Landscape Architecture: Campion Hruby Landscape Architects.
Located in Ashburn, Virginia, this 500-square-foot outdoor-living project was designed for a family who wanted an all-season space to gather, cook and entertain. The concept focused on maximizing every inch of a narrow and shallow footprint to fit an extensive al fresco program featuring a fire pit, dining area, beverage station and a dual cooking zone with a pizza oven and grill. Infrared heating and DarkSky-compliant lighting fixtures extend both the usability and comfort of the space. The result is a warm, inviting environment designed for year-round enjoyment and meaningful family connection.
Builder: Beth Bukhair Jerome, director of design; Daniel Aragon, project manager; Jonathan Contreras, lead carpenter; Ricardo Perez Veloz, lead electrician; Tammi Williams, design coordinator; Alyssa Alapide, design coordinator; Isabel Alvarado, architectural design intern, Premier Home Center.
Inspiring Interiors - Case Study
A couple with three kids under the age of five knew they wanted their Cleveland Park home to have a youthful energy reflective of their family. Built in 1923 and attributed to developer Harry Wardman, the brick Colonial-style house boasts a generous center hall that opens to the living room on the left and a dining room on the right via wide, cased openings. To make the three areas feel independent yet connected, interior designer Kiera Kushlan of Residents Understood used color to create an ongoing dialogue between the spaces, employing a range of blues, greens, pinks and oxblood. “The palette was the thing that we kept consistent across the three rooms,” she shares. “When a color floats to the top in one room while receding in another, there’s still an overall cohesion throughout the spaces.”
Interior Design: Kiera Kushlan, principal; Jessica Centella, principal, Residents Understood, Washington, DC.
 | Sustainable Design byMcHale Landscape Design |
 | Infinite Views byPristine Acres |
 | Luxurious Design byFine Landscapes |
 | Resort Living byKane Landscapes |
 | Elevated Living byLand Art Design |
 | Luxurious Landscapes byEd Ball Designs |
For this Hamilton, VA family home, we turned a featureless 15-acre field into a series of purposeful outdoor spaces that naturally extend the architecture into the landscape. A resort-style pool, expansive entertaining terraces, a timber pavilion, and lower firepit terrace are all connected by carefully considered changes in level and framed by layered planting. White Pine, Heritage River Birch, Little Gem Magnolia and Green Giant Arborvitae combine with flowering trees to soften the architecture, frame key views and provide year-round color, texture, and privacy. Together, these elements create a landscape that feels timeless, visually striking, and functional throughout the year.
Ed Ball Designs
703-433-1863
edballdesigns.com
A sense of well-being infuses every inch of this thoughtfully designed outdoor living space in McLean. Designed for effortless entertaining, the pavilion-style pool house features a fully equipped kitchen and bar that opens to a lounge and dining area anchored by an etched marble fireplace and rich wood-paneled pitched ceiling. The resort-inspired pool, reachable by stone steps, sits upon an elevated plateau and is further enhanced by a cascading waterfall, expansive decking, and a dramatic stone fireplace. Other amenities include a climate-controlled bath, outdoor shower, pool storage, and built-in seating. Beautifully manicured gardens frame the complex, lending color
and elegance.
Land Art Design
703-448-9094
landartdesign.com
With its balance of scale and intimacy, this resort-inspired outdoor living space brings the best of all worlds to the owners of a new residence in Leesburg. The project’s defining element is the pool complex where integrated fire features frame the water and create a dramatic focal point that transforms the space from day to night. Complementing the pool is a fully equipped outdoor kitchen, expansive entertainment area and an on-site sports court that welcome family and guests to gather, cook, play, and connect. All in a luxurious and amenity-rich setting amid the restorative specimen trees and the surrounding landscape.
Kane Landscapes
703-803-3146
kanelandscapes.com
A 1.3 acre property in Great Falls, VA was transformed into a series of interconnected outdoor rooms that balanced the site’s natural topography with the architecture of the custom residence. Formal gardens and resort-style living spaces, connected by travertine terraces, create distinct destinations throughout, while careful grading, evergreen screening, and layered horticultural installations enhance privacy and mute neighboring development. Focal points include stacked stone serpentine walls and layered plantings of Green Giant arborvitae, Skip Laurels, boxwoods, hydrangeas, and ornamental grasses; an 18’ × 48’ pool; a covered pavilion; and an amply equipped outdoor kitchen. A sunken woodland garden features a Longshadow lotus fountain surrounded by hundreds of woodland perennials, shrubs, and ornamental trees.
Fine Landscapes
703-672-2968
finelandscapes.com
For this eight-acre estate in Clifton, VA, we designed and built a nature-inspired oasis where water features and strategically placed plantings create ever-changing landscape views. From the driveway, irregularly shaped bluestone slabs separated by creeping thyme amble around a mature maple tree. Anchoring the space is an infinity pool enlivened by a stone grotto waterfall and companion cascades that are surrounded by such colorful perennials and evergreens as butterfly bushes, spirea, liriope, daylilies, juniper, and laurels. Large boulder accents add elevation and visual interest to the pool deck while in the grotto itself, imprints of stones, twigs, and leaves decorate the concrete ceiling and supports for an artisanal look and feel. The property also includes a pool house fully equipped with a fireplace, seating, storage and bathroom and a stunning vista of the woodlands beyond.
Pristine Acres
703-665-0570
pristineacres.com
Located along a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, this newly built property balances aesthetics and functionality with smart and sustainable landscaping solutions to water management and related site challenges. Stepper boulders form an appealing walking path while the hidden French drain system and River Jack gravel support effective drainage. White Cedars and masses of ferns and Astilbe evoke a natural woodland character, which complements the beauty of the waterfront setting. A fountain feature brings movement, sound, and a welcoming ambiance to the home’s entry and a serpentine stone wall elegantly separates colorful planting beds from expanses of meticulously maintained lawn.
McHale Landscape Design
301-281-6737
mchalelandscape.com/hd
