Medical Marvel PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALAIN JARAMILLO

Ten NIH institutes come together under one roof in the John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center (PNRC). The Bethesda facility—which promotes research through collaboration—was conceived in two phases. The first was finished in 2004 and the second, designed by Perkins+Will, is now complete, doubling the size of the facility to 600,000 square feet.

Both sleek, glass-and-metal structures maximize daylighting and offer views of the NIH campus. To connect the old and new buildings, the architects designed a skylit, interactive atrium (pictured here) that architect Jeffrey Welter describes as “a hinge that promotes interdisciplinary initiatives.” Conference rooms, embellished with bright colors, cantilever into the space, which houses a monumental stair connecting the ground floor to the first level. The atrium includes a café, auditorium, seminar rooms and modern seating by Knoll. Equipped with LED lighting, a chilled beam system for heating and cooling and green roof overhangs, Phase II is expected to receive LEED Gold Certification from the U. S. Green Building Council.

ARCHITECTURE: JEFFREY W. WELTER, Associate AIA, LEED AP, BD+C, PMP, managing principal; DAN WATCH, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, managing principal; MANUEL CADRECHA, AIA, LEED AP, BD+C, design director; BRUCE McEVOY, AIA, LEED AP, BD+C, senior project designer, Perkins+Will, Washington, DC. CONSTRUCTION: WHITING-TURNER, Baltimore, Maryland. 

Luxe Style Located on a street in Falls Church lined with large, recently constructed homes, a quaint, 1938 center-hall Colonial stands out. When the owners bought the stone-clad house nine years ago, it was dark and traditional in style, mired in a dated 1990s renovation. The couple and their two kids lived with the home’s inefficiencies and outdated look until they reached that predictable moment when growing pains made a decision necessary: Should they move somewhere more family-friendly, or should they stay and upgrade the house they had?

With ties to the neighborhood and a love for the house itself, they decided to stay put. Starting small, the wife remembers contacting interior designer Roxanne Lumme—their daughters are in the same Girl Scout troop—and requesting “a color consult, a new countertop and maybe a few new pieces of furniture.” Eventually, this small wish list grew by leaps and bounds to encompass a whole-house remodel focusing on the kitchen and the master suite but also giving the rest of the house a significant facelift. 

There was one caveat, however: To keep costs down, the owners, who also have a home on Martha’s Vineyard, wished all the work to be done without expanding the existing house. “We kept the footprint,” Lumme says. “But there was definitely a lot of shifting of spaces.”

To begin with, the outmoded kitchen needed to be gutted. Lumme created a design that would open it up to the adjoining family room by tearing down the wall that separated the two spaces. In the center of the kitchen—previously a wasted space where the owners kept the garbage can, having no other place for it—Lumme installed a convenient island topped with Bianco Antico granite. Her plan also relocated the adjacent laundry room, creating enough space for a wall of kitchen appliances on one side and a new powder room on the other. 

In the family room, a breakfast nook with a built-in banquette now encompasses the area just beyond the kitchen; it’s delineated from the rest of the room by knee walls that provide storage and display space. In the adjacent seating area, a wall of built-ins now showcases the clients’ mementoes while colors evocative of the beach—the owners’ favorite palette—impart warmth and light. “We didn’t change its footprint but we took this room down to the studs,” Lumme says. “We tried to give the space its own purpose, with a breakfast nook and a mudroom area. When you look at the space you really know what each part is for.”

While the kids’ rooms are upstairs, the master suite is part of a ground-floor addition dating back to 1995. Accessible through a breezeway on one side of the living room, it’s comprised of a hall that leads to the laundry room, master bedroom and bath. 

“It was not very functional,” says Lumme. “We moved the wall in a little to make the bath bigger and moved the door to the bath from the bedroom to the hall.” The master bath is now clad in Carrara marble, with a herringbone pattern in the shower surround and a basket weave on the heated floors. Two large custom closets and a long vanity with a Carrara countertop provide plenty of storage. In the small but comfortable master bedroom, a wall of custom cabinetry streamlines the space.

When Lumme and her clients began, they searched for the right vibe for the rejuvenated home. “I had no way to describe my design aesthetic,” the wife recalls. “I told Roxanne I wanted to ‘make it reflect the era when the house was built, but make it modern.’” 

With this directive, Lumme developed a decorating plan that lightened the whole house, de-emphasizing its Colonial roots. She combined traditional furnishings with a light-hearted, modern use of materials, patterns, textures and accessories. “The most fun part was that it happens to be my taste as well,” Lumme observes. “That is not always the case!”

To enliven the entry and stairwell, she paneled the walls, then brought them into relief with glossy Elephant’s Breath paint from Farrow & Ball. In the dining room, walls clad in grasscloth with a metallic thread by Phillip Jeffries add shimmer; with satiny Fabricut draperies in strong blue and an elegant chandelier, the dining room is both dramatic and fun.

An abstract painting by Lisa Tureson occupies center stage in the living room, where a custom-cut Stark carpet and seating from The Charles Stewart Company feel elegant yet comfortable. A custom coffee table and bench by Salvations play off the traditional furnishings, and existing built-ins now have mirrors at the back that reflect the room, making it feel larger and lighter.

Initially, Lumme wondered what to do in the awkwardly shaped breezeway. Since the room gets plenty of natural light, she decided to create a sunroom “that would bring the outdoors in.” A custom rug echoes the botanical motif in draperies by Designers Guild, and open metal shelves keep the space airy and light. Matching sofas from The Charles Stewart Company provide comfortable perches for curling up in the sun.

Exposed exterior stone walls embellish the family room and breezeway, remnants of a time before those rooms were added. They impart character while also connecting the residence to its past. This was important to the clients. “They loved the house and wanted to make it their dream home—within its original footprint,” says Lumme. “This flew in the face of what everyone else on the block was doing, which is what I love about this project.”

Photographer Angie Seckinger splits her time between Potomac, Maryland, and Spain. 

INTERIOR DESIGN: ROXANNE LUMME, Roxanne Lumme Interiors, McLean, Virginia. CONTRACTOR: STEVE BARBER, Barber’s Construction, LLC, Falls Church, Virginia.

The 2014 Kitchen & Bath Design Awards, organized by the Baltimore-Washington Chapter of the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), welcomed 96 entries from area designers. Sponsored by Home & Design, the annual contest invites professionals from our region to judge the submissions. This year’s jury included Lorna Gross, ASID, of Savant Interiors; Katalin Farnady, Allied ASID, of Farnady Interiors; Patrick Brian Jones of Patrick Brian Jones, PLLC; Christina Simon, ASID, CKD, of 
c|s Design Studio LLC; and Sharon Jaffe Dan, editor in chief of Home & Design. The winning entries are listed below; Kristen Wong Van Hise of the Corcoran College of Art + Design won a student award for conceptual design.

Click to read more:

Classic Contemporary
Minimalist Magic
Understated Luxury
Victorian Vibe
Rustic Touch
A Modern Mix
Row House Remodel
A Vision in White
Form + Function
Sleek & Spare Makeover
Stylish Symmetry

NKBA Baltimore/Washington 2013 Awards

Classic Contemporary A circa-1980s kitchen in Baldwin, Maryland, needed an overhaul. The owners called in Paul Bentham of Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath to transform the outdated room with a better layout and more space for storage.

Bentham replaced the original peninsula—which left dead space in the center of the kitchen—with an island that would accommodate table-style seating at one end and a cooktop at the other. He topped it with a four-inch-thick slab of Peruvian walnut; weighing in at 2,200 pounds, its transportation was the project’s biggest challenge.

Peripheral cabinets are a combination of walnut veneer and white lacquer. Counters and backsplash are statuary marble, lending a classic touch to the modern space. Storage options abound and Link pendants by LZF in a wood veneer finish the look.

Minimalist Magic When designer Deborah Kalkstein—owner of Contemporaria in DC’s Cady’s Alley—was ready to renovate her outdated Potomac kitchen, she envisioned a clean, modern space that would be user-friendly for family and friends. “There is typically so much color and texture in a kitchen’s daily life,” she explains. “I wanted to create a blank canvas where even a Pellegrino water bottle can look like a piece of art.”

Kalkstein centered the new kitchen around a wall of white-lacquered cabinetry, contrasted on one side by floor-to-ceiling, heat-treated oak cabinets that house the appliances. A large island holds the professional-grade Viking cooktop, with space allotted for gathering on stools by Vitra. Caesarstone counters top all the cabinetry and recessed lighting illuminates the space.

American Standard tapped DC designer Mary Douglas Drysdale to design a master bath for a Minneapolis couple that would offer functional space while conveying a sense of understated luxury. The designer created a floor plan around a large, central soaking tub, further emphasized by a mirrored wall behind it displaying a starburst mirror from Baker. Custom vanities topped with Caesarstone face each other and French doors open to a recessed shower; a skylight brightens the space.

Drysdale imparted a classical sensibility through paneled walls and white Thassos marble surfaces; behind the vanities are walls of penny round marble tiles, while the water closet is clad in a marble mosaic. The WC also boasts walls lined with bookshelves, making every part of this elegant master bath alluring.

Victorian Vibe When Scarlett Breeding of Alt Breeding Schwarz Architects was tapped to remodel the spare bath in a Victorian house in Annapolis’s historic district, her design choices were constrained by the relatively small space. In order to accommodate the owners’ wish list, she chose a narrow vanity in a traditional style with a cantilevered front; it’s topped with a counter made of white  Thassos marble. Storage space was at a premium; Breeding found it between the studs inside the wall cavities. She installed mirrored touch panels that swing open to reveal shelving. 

In keeping with the historic vernacular, Breeding embellished the bathroom with traditional architectural elements such as wainscoting, crown molding, retro-style floor tile and lights by Palmer Hargrave. She kept the space fresh and modern with a sleek, curved-glass shower and a floating slipper tub.

THE DETAILS
Architecture & BATH DESIGN: Scarlett Breeding, AIA, Alt Breeding Schwarz Architects, Annapolis, Maryland. INTERIOR DESIGN: Catherine Lowe, ASID, Alt Breeding Schwarz. CONTRACTOR: Ray Gauthier, Lynbrook of Annapolis, Annapolis, Maryland. FIXTURES: Grohe, Sunrise, Dornbracht. SINK: Kohler. TILEWORK: Ann Sacks, fabricated by Atlas Stone, Odenton, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: Tim Lee.

Rustic Touch When the owners of a bucolic property in McLean tapped architect Donald Lococo to design their new home, he took inspiration from an existing farm on the same site. The result is an American farmhouse-style abode that encompasses this gardening shed/mudroom, located off the kitchen.

Lococo conceived the room as a converted exterior space, equipped with clefted slate flooring, board-and-batten walls and a beadboard ceiling reminiscent of a porch. Beams are made of wood reclaimed from a barn on the property, and an exterior window completes the sense that it is an outside room with a view into the breakfast room.

To add interest to the space, the architect also included some modern elements: crisp, glossy white-painted walls, a gleaming white porcelain farmhouse sink with modern fixtures, and a set of French doors that conveys sophistication. An antique tanner’s bench houses the sink, above which reclaimed iron brackets and a reclaimed wood slab furnish shelving.

THE DETAILS
ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN: Donald Lococo, AIA, Donald Lococo Architects LLC, Washington, DC. CONTRACTOR: Block Builders, Bethesda, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: John Cole.

A Modern Mix While renovating a Potomac, Maryland, home, CARNEMARK was tasked with modernizing the outmoded kitchen with a contemporary sensibility. Designer Jonas Carnemark focused first on creating clear views outdoors through a newly added aluminum-and-glass curtain wall. He then relied on a mix of glass surfaces and glossy lacquered cabinetry by Konst SieMatic to create a sleek look.

Walls of white-lacquered cabinetry conceal pantry and china storage and fridge and freezer columns; two recessed niches feature ThinkGlass crystal counters and a matte glass backsplash. An agate gray-lacquered island with eco-friendly Paperstone countertops provides the work surface for the kitchen and houses the dishwasher, cooktop and sink. The white glass-tile floor required a new floor system to support its weight and ensure stability. 

Row House Remodel When clients who purchased an abandoned town house on DC’s Embassy Row were ready to renovate, they called on Jennifer Gilmer of Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath to handle the kitchen component of their project. She conceived a classic look for the kitchen in keeping with the home’s age and style, while emphasizing the existing high ceilings and a distinctive curved exterior wall.

Gilmer accentuated the wall in her design by embellishing it with curved shelving and crown moldings. She then echoed its shape with a gently rounded island. She reduced the depth of the wall cabinets to accommodate a large island and installed a wall of pantry cupboards for storage. A desk and Victorian-style cabinets with leaded-glass doors punctuate the expanse of white-painted cabinet fronts. 

A Vision in White For the master bath of an ambitious new Arlington home, Lauren Levant Bland of Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath took inspiration from the seamless flow of rooms throughout the house. A floating glass staircase leading up to the master bath set what she terms “an ethereal tone,” which she echoed in a minimal, white-on-white space that conjures a sense of being in the clouds.

The open-plan bath boasts WC and shower enclosures made of symmetrical Starphire Glass, which lets in light but is strategically textured for privacy. A sculptural cube along the shower wall serves as a bench. Vanities topped with Caesarstone house glazed-metal sinks while custom cabinets offer storage. A volcanic limestone tub by Victoria & Albert is positioned under a large window that brings the outdoors in. 

Form + Function For a family of four, an outdated, inefficient kitchen in Bethesda had become a drag. They contacted Hedy Shashaani of Jack Rosen Custom Kitchens to answer a wish list that included the relocation of appliances and storage for better work flow; separate prep and cleaning zones; comfortable circulation; and an island that would serve as a buffet for entertaining.

Shashaani first relocated the cooktop from the island to the wall, creating a focal point for the kitchen and improving ventilation. She altered traffic patterns by installing two islands—one for prep and one, with a wine cooler and stools, for entertaining. A walk-in pantry has been replaced by a wall of cabinetry that houses appliances and storage. A furniture-like hutch with smoked-glass door panels stores glassware and dishes.

THE DETAILS
KITCHEN DESIGN: Hedy Shashaani, Jack Rosen Custom Kitchens, Rockville, Maryland. INTERIOR DESIGN: Kristin Peake, Kristin Peake Interiors, LLC, Rockville, Maryland. CONTRACTOR: Greg Lentz, Poolesville, Maryland. CABINETRY: Elmwood through Jack Rosen Custom Kitchens. COUNTERTOPS: Calcutta Gold marble, R. Bratti Associates, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia. APPLIANCES: Sub-Zero, Wolf, Miele, Franke, Rohl. Custom hood through Kieffers Appliances, Lansdale, Pennsylvania. PHOTOGRAPHY: Stacy Zarin-Goldberg.

Sleek + Spare Makeover A client whose cramped, inconvenient kitchen was short of storage room approached Davida Rodriguez of Davida’s Kitchen & Tiles for a redesign. She was tasked with creating a space in the DC condo that would be functional and efficient while, as Rodriguez says, “matching the hip, up-and-coming vibe of his DC neighborhood.”

She and her team first removed a wall that separated the kitchen from the family room to create an open feel in the space. They installed clean-lined cabinetry in white-painted and dark-stained wood throughout the kitchen, pairing the cabinets with white quartz countertops and a sleek, gray glass-tile backsplash for a crisp, contemporary look. Floor-to-ceiling cupboards offer plenty of storage; eye-catching crystal chandeliers above the island finish the look.

THE DETAILS
KITCHEN, INTERIOR & DESIGN: Davida Rodriguez, CKD, Davida’s Kitchen & Tiles, Gaithersburg, Maryland. CONTRACTOR: Rashid Salem, Q Street Companies, Washington, DC. CABINETRY: Miralis through Davida’s Kitchen & Tiles. COUNTERTOPS: QStone Quartz. APPLIANCES: Bosch, Jenn-Air. BACKSPLASH: Cristallo Glass. PHOTOGRAPHY: Bob Narod.

Stylish Symmetry An inconvenient master bath in Oakton, Virginia, was defined by skimpy storage, cluttered surfaces and dated fixtures. The owners contacted  Jonas Carnemark of CARNEMARK to design a functional master bath with a sleek, modern design.

By swapping the master suite with another bedroom, Carnemark created a much larger space for the bath, which now features a symmetrical layout. Occupying center stage is a two-person shower clad in mosaic tile with twin water columns, etched-glass panels and a bench. On either side, his-and-her vanities—showcasing white enamel vessel sinks atop gray quartz counters—offer plenty of storage. A frosted-glass pocket door opens to the WC Large-format gray ceramic tiles cover the heated floor, backsplash and rear shower wall. 

City Living NFL linebacker D’Qwell Jackson’s career began at the University of Maryland, but it has taken him far afield—to the Cleveland Browns in 2006 and, most recently, to the Indianapolis Colts. On returning to DC—where his girlfriend, Christina Weaver, grew up and now works as a lobbyist—he fell in love with the city, deciding to make it his off-season home. In fact, he and Weaver just recently completed the redesign of a condo in the U Street Corridor. 

Clearly, despite having just signed with the Colts in March, D’Qwell Jackson is in DC to stay. “For D’Qwell, it was really important to have diversity and economic variety around him,” comments Weaver. “We liked the feeling here that people of different backgrounds are blended and that everyone lives together.” 

It was during the house-hunting process that they happened upon a town home with interiors designed by Douglas Burton of Apartment Zero; colorful and modern, the space conveyed exactly the look Jackson and Weaver envisioned for their own residence. When they purchased their condo—part of a block of sleek, glass-walled, four-story town homes—they contacted Burton to give their interiors the same bright, warm, contemporary décor. “I wanted something modern, clean and functional,” Jackson says. “It needed to look good but be comfortable. Douglas’s expertise really showed itself during the process.”

The condo includes an entry floor; a main floor encompassing the open-plan living/dining room and kitchen, plus a guest room; a third floor with a TV room and master bedroom suite; and a fourth floor with another sitting area and access to a roof garden. Each level is connected by an open stairway with metal railings, and two-story atriums soar above the living room area and third-floor sitting room, where skylights bring in natural light. Light oak clads all the floors. 

Despite these touches, the condo’s interiors definitely needed a jump-start. “It was a vanilla box,” Burton recalls. “It was completely empty when I started.” Since color was very important to Jackson, the designer began by establishing a palette for each floor. Bright hues were the order of the day, so he and Jackson opted for chocolate browns and creams with pops of red (Jackson’s favorite color) on the main floor, while the second floor is finished in shades of gray punctuated by orange accents. 

Throughout the house, Burton and his clients selected a mix of original artwork and prints—bright, vibrant abstracts that convey a cheerful, upbeat mood. Jackson requested a TV in every room for watching sports, so Burton made an effort to position them as unobtrusively as possible. 

Since Apartment Zero represents a host of international contemporary furniture companies, Burton had his pick of furnishings with which to fill the space. He chose modern but comfortable pieces, some newly designed and some iconic. In the living room, with its two-story ceiling, matching sofas and ottomans by the Dutch manufacturer Leolux are grouped around a coffee table by Bensen of Canada; a Bocci chandelier of hand-blown glass is suspended overhead. The dining area centers on a table and chairs from Arco, enhanced by a Leucos light fixture and a rug from Kasthall. 

On the second floor, a sofa by Moroso shares space with a coffee table by Kristalia and an orange swivel chair by Artifort of the Netherlands that lends punch to the space. In the neighboring master bedroom, the bedstead, nightstands and desk all come from Bensen; a vintage Oyster Chair from Artifort and art from Grand Image add vibrancy to the otherwise muted space.

Though the kitchen and main-floor bath remain unaltered, Burton did remodel the master bath to give it a sense of openness. Previously separated from the rest of the bathroom by drywall, the shower is now enclosed by glass and clad in marble. Slate-like porcelain tile covers the floors and Silestone tops the lacquered vanity. A frosted-glass door leads into the WC.

For Jackson, the design process was a great experience. “I really enjoyed it,” he says. “It was something I wanted to do for myself. I wanted to see what I could create.” 

Photographer Morgan Howarth is based in Reston, Virginia. 

INTERIOR DESIGN: DOUGLAS BURTON, Apartment Zero, Arlington, Virginia. CONTRACTOR: BOWA, McLean, Virginia.

Showroom Debuts Makan
Interior and lighting designer Zach Sherif brings talent and a seasoned eye to the 2,000-square-foot DC showroom he just opened—a collaborative effort with long-time business partner and architect Victor Sobki. Makan (which means “the place” in Arabic) showcases custom lighting, furniture and textiles as well as antiques and art, and offers the architecture and design services of its owners. The showroom “aligns our design sensibilities and energy,” says Sherif. “It’s eclectic, sort of Mediterranean modern. There’s something here for everyone.” Both Egyptian by birth, Sherif and Sobki maintain a workshop in Cairo where artisans handcraft virtually all their merchandise. The full-service showroom caters to both residential and commercial clients. 411 New York Avenue, NE; 202-271-3836; makandc.com 

Lauren Liess & Co.
When Lauren Liess was looking for studio space for her interior design firm, she came across a Great Falls location that could house a boutique as well. “I’d always loved the idea of a shop full of my favorite things,” Liess says. “A place where I would be free to play creatively and share my style.” Lauren Liess & Co. offers custom upholstery and curtains, textiles from Liess’s own fabric line, vintage and natural-fiber rugs, artwork, unique accessories and case goods, vintage furnishings, bedding and more. “There aren’t many shops where you can create exactly what you’re looking for,” Liess observes. “It’s the unexpected, one-of-a-kind pieces that make a home feel lived-in and personal.” 776-A Walker Road, Great Falls, Virginia; 571-926-7825; laurenliess.com/store 
 
Regan & Meaghan
Tucked into the industrial side of Kensington amid art studios and furniture builders, the 2,400-square-foot Regan & Meaghan showroom fits right in. Owned by interior designer Regan Billingsley and furniture rehabber Meaghan McNamara—long-time friends who grew up together—the store is “part office, part boutique and part working studio,” says Billingsley. “We showcase our rehabbed furniture, as well as handmade and found objects that add fun and fresh character to the home.” In addition to furniture, the showroom carries pillows and blankets, lamps, children’s décor, rugs, storage accessories and a rotating collection of artwork. Coming soon: tabletop items plus craft and design classes to be held at the showroom beginning in May. 4216-B Howard Avenue, Kensington, Maryland; 301-512-0547; reganandmeaghan.com