After a move from the third to the tenth floor of its Dupont Circle-area building, international contract furniture company Global Industries tapped the firm OTJ Architects to design its new showroom. The mandate was to showcase the company’s commitment to sustainable design in a fresh, modern space. The result is a light-filled showroom enhanced by city views that ably meets LEED Silver requirements.
The space includes a sleek reception area, with a recycled concrete counter paired with a backlit tinted-glass base. Modular FLOR carpets and Trend Q engineered stone tile clad the floors. The extensive showroom offers multiple product-display vignettes.
OTJ used light finishes and reflective ceiling materials for a modern aesthetic, constructing a minimal number of walls so as not to obstruct natural light. Lighting specialist Candace Kling’s plan ensured that products would be effectively highlighted in the showroom while lights still met LEED standards.
DESIGN ARCHITECTURE: ROGER SOLA-SOLE, studio director; TRAVIS HERRET, project designer; KEVIN SNEED, AIA, LEED AP; LIDA LEWIS, Associate AIA, LEED AP, OTJ Architects, Washington, DC. CONTRACTOR: HBW Group, Rockville, Maryland.
Designer Lori Ludwick was charged with redesigning the cramped, dated master suite of a home on the Potomac River in McLean, Virginia. The ’70s-era house had its quirks—among them, a carpeted bathroom floor and a spiral staircase in the middle of the bedroom, which proved to be the solution to the room’s space problems. “I took out the staircase to make room for a spacious bath,” Ludwick says.
The homeowners wanted what Ludwick refers to as a “spa-like” environment for their new, improved bath. Their wish list included a separate soaking tub and roomy walk-in shower, separate vanities and a closed-off WC. They also sought an organic, natural look that would reflect the home’s special proximity to the river.
Ludwick chose light, earthy tones for the room, and installed a floor of stained concrete inset with stone tiles. Surrounding the shower is a wall that is also made of concrete, stained a shade or two darker than the floor. Ludwick clad the entire shower enclosure save for one wall in river rock; the fourth wall is made of a 3form Varia resin panel encasing strips of bamboo. That wall, which divides the shower from the WC, admits light to the WC without sacrificing privacy.
In keeping with the era of their house, the owners wanted to maintain a modern aesthetic. Ludwick selected clean-lined teak for the cabinetry, built-in shelving and tub surround, all custom made by Payne’s Woodworking. Corian countertops and a strip of Corian on the tub provide contrast. The basins, toilets and fixtures all come from Kohler; the whirlpool tub is from Americh.
INTERIOR DESIGN: LORI LUDWICK, Allied Member ASID, InDesign, LLC, Alexandria, Virginia. CONTRACTOR: Case Design/Remodeling, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland. PHOTO STYLIST: KATIE BECKWITH GILLIS.
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When a young couple purchased a lavish but dated home in Great Falls, they hired Dahlia Design to implement a whole-house renovation that would include the master bath. Prior to the remodel, the bath was awkwardly laid out on two levels; the company principal, Dahlia, gutted the space, then expanded it so that the two levels became one. The clients “had no specifications,” the designer says. “They gave me free rein to do whatever I wanted.”
Dahlia envisioned a high-end, hotel-style environment for the bath, which she felt would speak to her well-traveled clients. With the age and style of the homeowners in mind, “I decided to create something luxurious yet young,” she says. “I kept it elegant, glamorous, timeless and classic.”
The floors, tub surround and his-and-hers vanity tops are Carrara marble. Custom cabinetry perfectly fits the space, and elaborate custom millwork embellishes the walls and encases the Kohler whirlpool tub. Adorning the half-moon bank of windows are lush draperies in a satin/cotton blend from JK Drapery, paired with a layer of sheers that allow for privacy while admitting natural light.
An ornate chandelier and sconces from Holly Hunt illuminate the room and convey a touch of sumptuousness; on the ceiling, a reflective faux finish treatment by decorative artist Stacey Tranter of Twin Diamond Studios adds to the sparkle—as do all the fixtures and cabinet hardware, which are accented in Swarovski crystal.
Dahlia chose Grohe fixtures for both the vanity basins and the spacious walk-in shower, which boasts a Rainshower Jumbo Showerhead that measures 16 inches in diameter—the only item the homeowners specifically requested. A pair of plush, tufted chairs from Edward Ferrell + Lewis Mittman completes the look.
INTERIOR DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION: DAHLIA, Dahlia Design LLC, Ashburn, Virginia.
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Designer Lori Graham’s signature blend of fine art, luxury furnishings and vintage flair is now on display in her new showroom/design studio, located in DC’s trendy 14th Street Corridor. Showroom 1412 is a collaborative effort, combining Graham’s line of furnishings, LG Place, with the talents of gallery curator Lauren Gentile, who runs the fine art component of the showroom, Contemporary Wing; and of Mid-Century Modern furniture dealer Mike Johnson, who shuttered his beloved Georgetown boutique Sixteen Fifty Nine by MRJ last year and has since joined Graham’s team.
In the two-story space, Graham’s custom furnishings share space with a rotating art collection and Mid-Century Modern pieces—along with lighting by Ochre and furniture from Shine by SHO. “We hope the collaborative atmosphere created by the art gallery and working design studio surrounding Showroom 1412 will inspire designers and customers,” Graham says.
Showroom 1412 is open Monday through Friday or by appointment. 1412 14th Street, NW; 202-745-0018. showroom1412.com; contemporarywing.com.
Maryland’s Eastern Shore is home to many an old, white clapboard farmhouse. It was one of these structures that inspired a Northern Virginia couple after they purchased 16 waterfront acres near Annapolis and were looking to build a vacation house. “We used to live in Deale and I always passed it,” recalls the wife of the traditional farmhouse which was composed of three separate volumes. “I thought, ‘That’s what I want.’”
However, while she “was partial to white clapboard,” she and her husband were interested in something a bit more modern than the house that had inspired them. The couple turned to Annapolis-based architect Marta Hansen, who understood their vision immediately. She obtained a picture of the abandoned structure and used it as a jumping-off point to design what she (and the couple) refers to as an abstracted farmhouse. Like the original, the new structure has three distinct parts to it, but they exist within a more contemporary vernacular.
At 6,100 square feet, the new home fulfills the owners’ list of requirements: It had to look like it belonged in its setting; each main-floor room had to admit light from three sides; and every room throughout the home had to maximize the views. The couple had chosen the property because it offered views of the Bay Bridge at night and of the region’s brilliant waterfront sunsets; they wanted to enjoy them.
Hansen’s design deftly interpreted the original farmhouse structure into something fresh and new. With the help of Easton-based contractor Jay Chance, she created three volumes which she terms pavilions, connected to one another by hyphens. “Each pavilion serves a different function,” she explains. The house is spread out and the hyphens provide “an attenuated floor plan that yields more daylight and better ventilation.” In keeping with Hansen’s program, landscape architect Jay Graham created a simple yet elegant landscape plan. Courtyards between the pavilions bring natural light to three sides of each pavilion and a picturesque view from each window, while creating welcoming outdoor gathering places.
The center pavilion houses the entry, front staircase and spacious living room. To the left, another pavilion encompasses the kitchen and adjoining dining area, mudroom, garage and back staircase. To the right, the third pavilion houses the master suite. Areas for outdoor entertainment abound with a wide porch off the living room that leads directly down to the pool, patios off the master bedroom and dining area, and a screened porch off the kitchen.
Both hyphens have sets of windows that offer direct views from the front of the property through to the back and down to the water. One-and-a-half-story, built-in shelves and clapboard siding clad the interior walls, setting the hyphens apart visually from the rest of the house. The homeowners display their collection of model sailing ships and books on the shelves.
Upstairs, Hansen ingeniously designed open bridges within the hyphens to connect the second floors of each pavilion. The bridges, with peaked, two-story ceilings visible just above them, add a modern edge. They were also an engineering challenge, says contractor Jay Chance, who had to ensure they were supported by both visible and concealed steel beams. “There was so much detail in the project,” he recalls. “A lot of work went into the details.”
The second floor of the center pavilion houses an office area for the wife and a wood-paneled study for the husband, complete with stained-oak built-ins that Chance’s team crafted on-site. Above the kitchen, a full guest suite with its own kitchenette accommodates privacy-minded guests, while above the master suite there are two more guest bedrooms, each with its own bath, that sit at the ready for both children and grandchildren.
Throughout the house, the windows measure six feet high and three feet wide, and they’re placed close together to take advantage of the views. The windows have moldings and mullions in the traditional vernacular, yet their scale and placement denote a modern edge. “We abstracted the traditional forms,” Hansen says. “‘Traditional’ no longer fits our lifestyles the way it once did. This house is more in keeping with the way we live today.”
Photographer Celia Pearson is based in Annapolis, Maryland.
ARCHITECTURE: MARTA HANSEN, AIA, LEED AP, Hansen Architects, Annapolis, Maryland. CONTRACTOR: JAY CHANCE, Chance and Associates, Inc., Easton, Maryland. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: JAY GRAHAM, FASLA, Graham Landscape Architecture, Annapolis, Maryland.
Perched atop a gently sloping hill, the property fairly embraces its panoramic view of the South River. To the right, the vista opens onto the Chesapeake Bay and on a clear day, the Eastern Shore takes shape in the far distance. Directly across the river, picturesque swatches of green lawn meet the water in a peaceful tableau.
This is the scene that a couple encountered when, after 15 years of looking, they first glimpsed the plot of land in Annapolis that would serve as their weekend retreat. Naturally, it was love at first sight—although the 1.7-acre site was then home to a decrepit brick rambler that revealed only a sliver of the views beyond its walls.
The initial plan was to renovate, and they hired Cheryl Mohr, a principal of Gardner Mohr Architects, for the job. Mohr describes two goals: to create water views from as many rooms as possible and to design the most sustainable house the owners’ budget would bear. When they started delving into the project, however, it quickly became clear that the house was in terrible shape. “All the exterior walls were unsound,” Mohr says. “It was like pulling a thread on a sweater and the whole thing comes unwound. It was in structural failure.”
Add to which, the circa-1980s design of the house was terribly unappealing. Mohr was confounded by the lack of windows in the riverfront home. “It’s like they bought house plans and then built the house with no relation to the view,” she marvels.
Ultimately, she and her clients decided to take the house down to its foundation and then build back up from there, sustainably and with those remarkable vistas in mind. “They had their sights set on making the whole project green and on capturing the specialness of the site,” Mohr says.
The first step was to obtain a variance that would allow construction to take place on the property even though it was less than 100 feet from the water’s edge. The variance was contingent on Mohr’s building within the existing home’s footprint, though it allowed her to add a partial second story. She and her team deconstructed the previous structure so painstakingly that the only parts of it that weren’t recycled or repurposed were the roof shingles and the carpet.
In the finished, 7,000-square-foot house—which recently became LEED Gold-certified—dramatic views abound from a spare, modern setting that invites the outside in. With help from interior designer Susan Anderson of Interior Concepts, Inc., the owners carefully furnished the open-plan interiors of the main floor, selecting low-slung pieces that would not impede the views. In the living room area, a sleek, cream-colored sectional from Anora Home shares space with two custom settees to create separate gathering areas. They are grouped around a propane-powered fireplace encased in Venetian plaster with a stainless-steel chimney.
The adjoining dining area flows into a kitchen lined with Poggenpohl cabinetry and Caesarstone countertops. A separate family room, walk-in pantry and foyer lead off from there. Floor-to-ceiling windows span the entire open area overlooking the water, with a deck big enough to house areas for both relaxation and dining.
The master suite also occupies the main floor—ideal for one-level living when the homeowners eventually retire. Upstairs, four bedrooms—each with a water view—accommodate three grown daughters when they visit. On the basement level where the original structure remained with the foundation, an open rec room along with a second family room and separate caretakers’ apartment all enjoy their own views of the river.
To meet her clients’ sustainability goals, Mohr embraced myriad green design strategies for energy conservation, including geothermal heating and cooling via ground-source heat pumps; a solar photovoltaic system that feeds power back into the grid; a hydronic radiant floor heating system; an ultra-efficient building skin of formaldehyde-free plywood, solid polystyrene and foam-insulated walls and roof; and triple-coated low-E glass.
Operable skylights and windows supply natural ventilation and deep overhangs block summer sun while admitting winter rays. Water for domestic use is heated on demand with a propane tank-less water heater, and low-flow plumbing fixtures have been installed throughout the house. A 2,500-gallon underground cistern catches rainwater as it runs off the butterfly roof that Mohr designed for that sole purpose; the water that’s collected is used to replenish the swimming pool and irrigate the property.
Exterior steel supports were hot-dipped and galvanized rather than coated with toxic paints. Silica-treated TimberSIL and fir used in construction are low in VOCs as are all other finishes, inside and out. Non-toxic, recyclable polyethylene pipes were used throughout in lieu of those made of resource-intensive copper or toxic PVC. Mohr installed smart thermostats in each room to conserve energy.
The architect also had to meet the demands of building in a storm-prone environment with the potential for high winds. “The most challenging aspect of the whole project was getting all the windows we wanted while meeting the county’s requirements,” Mohr says. All solid corners are constructed with plywood as well as drywall and anchored in concrete to provide stability for the walls of windows that the owners craved.
Outside, the existing swimming pool has been retiled and a new slate patio installed. A retaining wall keeps the pool and decking “from slipping into the South River,” says Mohr. The owners’ plan is to grow native sea grasses on the slope down to the water to prevent erosion. “This is a wonderful place to just be,” says the wife, sitting in her living room with what seems like an endless expanse of blue water before her. “It’s exactly what we wanted.”
Photographer Kenneth M. Wyner is based in Takoma Park, Maryland.
ARCHITECTURE: CHERYL MOHR, AIA LEED AP, Mike Binder, project designer, Gardner Mohr Architects LLC, Silver Spring, Maryland. CONTRACTOR: CHARLIE BERLINER, Berliner Construction, Annapolis, Maryland. INTERIOR DESIGN: SUSAN KNIGHT ANDERSON, Interior Concepts, Inc., Annapolis, Maryland.
Paradigm Building Group’s founder and president, Tim Winter, was with NVHomes for six years and had built at least 150 houses for clients when he decided it was time to build one for himself and his wife. He was itching to try his wings as “a smaller builder with a custom approach,” and thought, “If I can build my own house, then I can do it as a business.”
He was right. He launched Paradigm Building Group, LLC, soon after and has been going strong ever since—in spite of the fact that he established his business in 2007, just before the recession hit. He plunged in with three spec homes and though it took a year and a half to sell them, he was already on his way with a full plate of additions and renovations. A burgeoning sideline of commercial projects has included a historic restoration of the Hermitage Inn in Clifton, Virginia (now a restaurant called Trummer’s On Main), and the renovation of Charles Luck Stone Center’s new Georgetown showroom.
Paradigm Building Group recently completed a 10,000-square-foot custom home in Fairfax that boasts two kitchens, a two-story living room clad with moldings and millwork and an entry with a marble floor. Winter says the company is moving towards more high-end projects like this one, but for now continues to do a lot of what he terms “pop-top renovations,” which are essentially projects in which ramblers are enlarged with second floors. “They’re a smart way for people in [desirable] areas like Arlington and Alexandria who have older rambler-type houses to stay put in great locations yet open up their space,” Winter explains. “We’re able to do them pretty fast—the average time is about four months.”
Paradigm puts a premium on being “on time and on budget” with all their projects. The team strives for transparency in business, wanting clients to be able to “see behind the curtain to understand all the costs of what we do.” It’s a customer-oriented philosophy that emphasizes partnering with the client and trying to make the construction process as easy as possible for them to understand.
According to Winter, his least favorite aspect of the job is dealing with the red tape of applying for permits and handling paperwork, which always takes longer than anyone anticipates. But this hassle pales beside his favorite part of the process: “It’s the end result,” he says. “We bring the concept to people in the beginning and then they get to have it become reality. I love to see the excitement on the client’s face when they walk in the door for the first time.”
Facts & Stats
Paradigm’s five-person staff includes field and operations managers and sales and marketing people. They hire a team of qualified subcontractors for the work.
Specialties: Paradigm Building Group, LLC, does additions, renovations, custom homes and commercial projects.
Inquiries: Paradigm Building Group, LLC, 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 105, Fairfax, Virginia 22030; 703-476-5877; paradigmbuilding group.com; email: [email protected]
Two-Tone Tile
Marble Systems has launched a new line of decorative tile designs by the Sara Baldwin Design Studio. Pictured here, Vildiz is a two-tone design that integrates the Skyline and Dolomite stone collections. Suitable for flooring as well as walls, bathrooms, counters and backsplash. marblesystems.com
An Ancient Technique
Inspired by old-fashioned kilims, the Medina collection of wool rugs by Spanish designer Nani Marquina is handcrafted in northern Pakistan using a traditional kilim-making technique. Pictured here, black and white geometric patterns or bands of color are woven together by hand to create vivid, one-of-a-kind rugs. nanimarquina.com
Building Blocks
The unadorned elegance of industrial concrete was the inspiration behind On Square, a line of ceramic tile now available at Architectural Ceramics. On Square mimics the foot-worn look of concrete and comes in four colors—Avorio, Sabbia, Cemento and Lavagna—and multiple sizes. architecturalceramics.net
Contemporary Vibe
Pioggia is a glazed porcelain tile with a subtle, contemporary striae design. It can be installed horizontally, vertically or even as a checkerboard for a unique graphic pattern. Pioggia is available through Mosaic Tile Company in four colors and three sizes: 12 by 12 inches (pictured), 12 by 24 inches and 24 by 24 inches. mosaictileco.com
Modern Motif
The latest addition to Gan Rugs’ hand-tufted wool line is Kenia, a vivid, brightly hued collection by Spanish design team Odosdesign that was introduced in the 2012 catalog. The rugs come in two sizes and are available through Adlon in DC. gan-rugs.com; adlondesign.com
Wall to Wall
The Porshim design is part of the Wide Collection from Wilton Carpets. Made in the U.S.A. out of wool and metallic nylon thread, this collection is now being sold exclusively through Stark Carpet. Available in denim (pictured here), charcoal and opal.
starkcarpet.com
The Beauty of Cork
Cork is a completely renewable resource harvested as bark from living trees that are unharmed in the process. Durable, sound
absorbent, warm and resilient, cork makes the perfect flooring surface. Available in a rich collection of colors and patterns through FA Design Build/Flooring America. ecofinishes.com
Seamless Style
FLOR’s Rake Me Over carpet tiles are solid with waves of soft, twisted fiber. Its squares align seamlessly so the look is closer to
traditional wall-to-wall carpet than the
company’s popular carpet tiles. Visit the newly opened FLOR showroom in Georgetown for a look. flor.com
Marble Madness
Porcelanosa’s Calacata series mimics the look of marble with subtle variations in veining and an almost translucent quality. Rectified edges create a seamless finish when the tiles are laid with a tight grout joint. Low-maintenance Calacata is
available as a ceramic wall tile or a porcelain floor tile, in gold and silver. porcelanosa-usa.com
Back in 2003, 22 contemporary architects designed teapots for Alessi. The experiment in international design relations was a big success, yielding a range of fanciful, innovative teapots that were sold by the Italian design dynasty. This time around, the company has chosen a different product—the serving tray—and has asked eight well-known Chinese architects to design their own interpretations of this iconic household object for an industrial design project titled (Un)Forbidden City. One of the eight architects, Hong Kong-based Gary Chang, took part in the 2003 endeavor and is also the 2012 project’s curator. “(Un)Forbidden City aims at exploring the potential of Chinese design in terms of domestic products,” Chang says. “I think these eight designs are collectively a good start to a dialogue exploring cultural differences and similarities, as well as geographic boundaries.”
The architects were given free rein creatively to achieve what Alessi hopes is “a sort of bridge between cultures, aiming to make a common landscape of household goods,” according to a company release. They drew inspiration from a variety of cultural influences including a dried lotus leaf from the Old Summer Palace; a roll of bamboo sticks (used for writing in China before paper was invented); a floating “urbanscape;” and Ming furniture. Stainless steel, aluminum, wood and melamine were among the materials used to create the trays, which are truly unique.
The eight trays premiered at Beijing Design Week 2011 and have been launched this summer as part of Alessi’s catalog. They are available through Alessi, located in Cady’s Alley in DC. alessidc.com
J. Allen hails from Los Angeles, but crossed the continent in 1997 to attend Howard University. She never went back. “I liked the pace of living here,” she says. Most of all, however, it was the city’s history and the architecture that fascinated her. As she explains it, “We don’t have much of that in L.A.!”
Amid pressure from her parents to pursue a law school track, Allen began taking electives in design. She knew right away this was what she wanted, but it took her parents a little longer to get on board. When she’d finished school with a major in political science and a minor in interior design, they cut a deal: Allen would take a year “to see if she could get work” as an interior designer.
“I’ve been doing it ever since,” she says. It wasn’t always easy; her first job was the overhaul of a basement condo unit for a single mom with a total budget of $3,000. “I was willing to take anything,” Allen recalls. “It required me to be creative!”
Today, Allen’s projects run the gamut from a classic Kalorama Colonial to a sleek Reston condo. She also appeared in season six of HGTV’s “Design Star.”
Despite her success, Allen remains an equal opportunity designer. “I believe everyone should have access to a great space to live in, no matter what their budget,” she explains.
In any price range, Allen stresses the importance of “getting creative.” For example, on a recent project she grouped magnolia-shaped plates from Arhaus Furniture on the walls to create eye-catching, decorative art. “Sometimes,” she says, “you have to think outside the box.”
INTERIOR DESIGN: J.ALLEN, Perceptions Interiors, LLC, Washington, DC.
Other Hot Talent:
ELIZABETH REICH
Jenkins Baer Associates
Baltimore, Maryland
JUILE DASTVAN, ALLIED ASID
Dastvan Designs, LLC
Darnestown, Maryland
WILLIAM M. McGOVERN, ASID
McGovern Design Studio, LLC
Washington, DC
DARLENE MOLNAR, ASID, LEED AP
Darlene Molnar LLC
Washington, DC
European Edge
Javier Martin Muriel, who founded the high-end contemporary Spanish furniture company Baltus, designs all its furniture—including the curvaceous Picasso chair, pictured here. Beech wood legs are hand-painted to look like rosewood; the upholstery comes from Casamance, a European fabric company. Fully customizable. baltuscollection.com
Light and Airy
Designed by Jean-Marie Massaud for Poliform, the Paris-Seoul line of coffee tables recently debuted at the 2012 Milan Furniture Fair. While they are generously proportioned, the tables are made of thin bronze sheets that give them a light and airy look. The metal is covered in hide or in a spessart oak veneer. poliform.it
Oh, Canada
Designed by Dan Sunaga, the Itomaki coffee table from Karl Andersson & Söner is made of interlinked lengths of wood that fold ingeniously. The glass-topped table comes in four heights and diameters, in a choice of stained oak, birch or walnut. Available exclusively through Apartment Zero. apartmentzero.com; karl-andersson.se
Quilting Party
Designed by Inga Sempé for Ligne Roset, the Ruché sofa series consists of a simple, solid wood frame draped by an upholstered piece of quilting. With 35 fabric and leather choices, hundreds of color options and four frame variations, it is highly customizable. The collection also includes beds and tables. ligne-roset-usa.com
An Uncommon Vision
Known for his use of nontraditional joinery, award-winning furniture designer Peter Harrison recently debuted a reinterpretation of the classic Zig Zag Chair, originally created by Gerrit Rietveld in 1934. Called Zig Zag Redux, it is made of maple and reveals its aluminum joints; available in a black or red lacquer finish. peterharrison.com
Framed in Steel
Designed by Berry & Clark for Hancock & Moore, the Flexx Metal Oval Chair features simple, clean lines executed in steel. This
lounge chair, pictured in purple leather, is part of the company’s contemporary collection. Available through Baker Furniture.
bakerfurniture.com
X Marks the Spot
Designer Philip Jackson used an angular, X-shaped base to convey the geometry of his Spyder dining table for Cattelan Italia. The base comes in a choice of matte-white or matte-graphite varnished steel; stainless steel; or Canaletto walnut or wenge. The glass-topped table is available through Theodores in Georgetown. theodores.com
Coming Home
Industrial designer Karim Rashid was inspired by the stark, natural landscape around his hometown when he conceived the Ottawa collection for BoConcept. The Minimalist line includes a dining set featuring a table, chairs (pictured), sideboard, cabinet and more. The chairs are available in multiple fabric and leather choices. boconcept.ca
Spanish Style
Pure lines and glossy finishes characterize Event, a new collection of case goods from Spanish furniture manufacturer Hurtado. Pictured here, a media unit is finished in high-gloss lacquer with cross brackets of polished steel and leather handles. Available through IMI Furniture; for more information, contact [email protected]
The newly built Residences On The Avenue in Foggy Bottom at Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, is a mixed-use development. Owned by Boston Properties, this 72,000-square-foot complex of four buildings contains bustling retail, office and residential spaces. It also boasts cutting-edge landscape design that is both sustainable and beautiful.
Designed by Mark Delaney of Sasaki Associates, Inc., the elaborate landscaping plan encompasses sidewalk promenades, terraces and courtyards. The two office buildings have green roofs that form a microclimate to reduce heat, provide an avian habitat, insulate the buildings and minimize runoff. The rooftops of the two residential buildings focus on recreation, particularly the West Tower (pictured), which offers a lap pool bordered by decorative gravel and arborvitae. The pool area shelters guests beneath a removable metal shade structure: a perfect perch from which to enjoy the DC skyline.
DESIGN ARCHITECTURE: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, New Haven, Connecticut. EXECUTIVE ARCHITECTURE: Hickok Cole Architects, Washington, DC. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Sasaki Associates, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts. CONSTRUCTION: Clark Construction Group, LLC, Bethesda, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: Jim Tetro.
Like many designers, Julie Dastvan loved rearranging her dollhouse for her Barbies when she was a child. Unlike most designers, however, she didn’t realize that, as she puts it, “I was making a career choice at the time!”
Even as an adult, Dastvan didn’t recognize where her real interests lay. She worked as an administrative assistant, then went to school to learn real estate. It was at this point that it finally began to dawn on her: Getting into the houses to see how they looked was far more compelling than selling them. She changed course, enrolling in some design classes at Montgomery College to test herself, and was thrilled with the results. “It was intoxicating and validating,” she recalls. “I loved every minute of it. In fact, I would love to be a professor of interior design someday so I could teach that first design course and see the lights go on for other students.”
Dastvan interned with DC designer Camille Saum while she was still in school, then landed a job as an assistant designer for Sharon Kleinman of Transitions, where she worked for three years. Combining her administrative and artistic abilities, she launched Dastvan Designs in 2007; clients found her through word of mouth and even the faltering economy hasn’t slowed her down.
Dastvan prefers to work with a range of clients and budgets. “I like to mix little jobs with big ones,” she says. “I love a big project but I get such immediate satisfaction from the small, tweaking jobs.” She adds: “Everyone should be able to walk in their door and be happy they’re home—no matter what their budget.”
INTERIOR DESIGN: Julie Dastvan, Allied ASID, Dastvan Designs, LLC, Darnestown, Maryland
Other Hot Talent:
ELIZABETH REICH
Jenkins Baer Associates
Baltimore, Maryland
WILLIAM M. McGOVERN, ASID
McGovern Design Studio, LLC
Washington, DC
DARLENE MOLNAR, ASID, LEED AP
Darlene Molnar LLC
Washington, DC
J. ALLEN
Perceptions Interiors, LLC
Washington, DC
About halfway between the historic Belgian cities of Ghent and Bruges, a forested area flanks a bucolic, six-acre slice of pastureland. For 200 years, a narrow farmhouse occupied this isolated spot; by the time Natascha Folens and her boyfriend, Luc Dejager, first glimpsed it, it had been empty for so long that trees were literally growing through the roof.
Folens and Dejager, who live in Great Falls, Virginia, were looking to buy a vacation home in their native country. They fell in love with the picturesque scenery surrounding the farmhouse, and their first thought was to tear the ramshackle structure down and build a new home on the site. However, it turned out the land was protected, which meant they couldn’t get permission to build on it. They took a deep breath and bought the property anyway.
“We loved the land so much,” Folens recalls. “We decided to fix the [existing] house up. Since we live in the States we didn’t need anything bigger than this for a vacation home.”
This was fortunate because as it turned out, the authorities would only allow them to redo the house if they didn’t alter the exterior—in other words, no additions. The couple was also prohibited from moving any of the interior walls, so the configuration of the rooms had to stay the same.
However, authorities did give the owners some leeway, allowing them to create a second floor within the single-story home’s existing roofline and also permitting them to add windows and doors around the perimeter of the structure.
Over the next year, the designer supervised a massive overhaul—much of the time from Virginia, where her kids attend school—that took the house down to its bare brick walls. New exterior siding, popular in Europe, is made of “a cement paste like stucco that has the color in it so you never have to paint,” Folens says. The new roof is European terracotta tile.
The project was fraught with challenges, beginning with the Herculean task of getting power and running water out to the property, which sits at the end of a long dirt road and, not surprisingly, had no modern amenities when Folens and Dejager bought it.
Building the upstairs level, which now houses a master bedroom suite and two other bedrooms, also presented a major challenge. “The house has a saddle roof that’s steeply angled on both sides,” Folens explains. Because the structure is only 26 feet wide, it was difficult to fit everything beneath the saddle roof and still have the ceilings at a functional height.
Downstairs, the foyer encompasses an airy, open stairway leading up to the second floor. Off to the right lies the family room, where a limestone fireplace creates a focal point and the family gathers to watch TV. The rest of the house opens up to the left: living room, home office, kitchen and adjoining dining area. The third challenge: “Working with these rooms that were already here since we weren’t allowed to modify them,” Folens comments.
She chose unfinished, wide-plank European oak floors throughout, framed the glass-paneled doors in metal and imparted a cozy, welcoming vibe through a careful lighting plan. Beyond that, however, she tried “to create a different atmosphere for different rooms so that there isn’t one specific style to the whole house. It’s not a typical Belgian interior because they tend to be sober and neutral,” she says. “But it’s also not American with formal extras like crown moldings. I wanted to respect the feel of a country house but give it my personal touch.”
In the family room, which faces north and gets no sunlight, Folens emphasized coziness. However, the kitchen/dining area gets plenty of sun, so she went sleek and contemporary there, choosing a bright, floral Missoni Home fabric for the dining chairs that surround the custom table to evoke sunlight and blooming. The living room looks directly out into the woods, so the designer, wanting to capitalize on the immediacy of the view, selected a 16-foot-wide window. Challenge number four: getting it installed.
Both Folens and Dejager travel frequently, so Folens focused on filling the house with objects collected on their trips: Paintings from Argentina adorn the living room wall and a coffee table made from a door found in Mali is a centerpiece. In the family room, Folens embellished the old fireplace with a limestone mantel that she got through a dealer who salvages them from French and Belgian castles. In a nod to Belgium’s history in the Congo, the rooms are punctuated with African artifacts.
“I try to get clients to think about what they really want instead of buying everything off the shelf,” Folens says. “I think it’s important to put some thought and soul into your house to make it a home.”
Photographer Priscilla Bistoen lives in Ghent, Belgium.
RENOVATION & INTERIOR DESIGN: NATASCHA FOLENS, NF Interiors, Great Falls, Virginia.
Like so many of the stately buildings that line DC’s Embassy Row, 1708 Massachusetts Avenue boasts an illustrious history. The elegant brick house began life at the turn of the 20th century as a private residence, had a sojourn as the Turkish Embassy, then returned to private hands when a DC-based technology executive bought it. In 2009, the home was sold to the government of Trinidad and Tobago for use as its embassy in DC.
The house was beautifully designed for a family but not exactly fitting for the needs of a working embassy. Since funding was not immediately available for a renovation, the embassy staff made do. By the time funding had come through, a dynamic new ambassador had taken the helm.
Dr. Neil Parsan, a veterinarian, business consultant and one of Trinidad and Tobago’s youngest ambassadors, arrived in Washington with his wife, Lucia Mayers-Parsan, and daughter in February 2011, and quickly turned his attention to renovating the embassy. He tapped Daniel Steinkoler of Superior Home Services for the job and Steinkoler brought in interior designer Barbara Hawthorn.
“We wanted it to be functional in orientation but maintain the integrity and originality of the architecture,” says Ambassador Parsan. On the list of alterations: an overhaul of the ground-floor foyer with a newly designed reception area; a renovation of the second floor to accommodate the Ambassador’s office and create a “gathering room” with an attached kitchen for a less formal affair; a repurposed third floor (formerly home to family bedrooms) that would house two offices and a private guest suite, kitchenette and bath; and the creation of offices on the fourth floor.
According to Steinkoler, the greatest challenge lay in seamlessly matching the existing materials in the house with new doors, trimwork, hardware and various other installations. “The bulk of the work was obtaining original specifications for the doors and trim because they aren’t made anymore,” Steinkoler says. “We replicated everything exactly—we even custom-ordered solid mahogany doors that weighed 200 pounds each to match the existing ones.”
The Ambassador wanted the redesign to reflect the architectural style of the house while injecting color and light that would harken back to the sunlit Caribbean. “We updated the space but we didn’t touch the moldings and ceilings,” Parsan says. “We changed some of the colors to give you that bright blaze of the sun but we tried not to dilute the dark Colonial woodwork.”
With that mandate, Hawthorn began by repurposing select furnishings, draperies and accessories that had been chosen by Barry Dixon, who had designed the home during its previous incarnation. “We started with great bones,” she says of the project. “Then we had a head start with Barry’s furnishings, which we left in place when appropriate. We had to make sure it all fit. It had to be a seamless conversion.”
In the ground-floor entry hall, Hawthorn designed a grand reception desk “fit for the environment” with a hand-carved, inlaid wood base and a quartz-stone top that matches the stone floor. There was already a grand piano in the room, so the designer echoed the curves of the piano in her design of the desk.
Throughout the embassy, art by Trinidadian and Tobagan artists is showcased on the walls. It spans the period from 1962, when Trinidad and Tobago became independent, to the present. “We selected pieces that reflect the ethnic diversity of our people,” Ambassador Parsan says. The elaborately paneled main conference room—formerly the dining room—still reflects many of Dixon's design choices, including the upholstered chairs and massive table, but the space has been enlivened by colorful artwork and Conrad shades that evoke a sense of the Caribbean.
The Ambassador’s office is bright and airy, with window treatments that provide privacy while admitting light. “It’s formal but fresh and happy,” says Hawthorn. On the same floor, the gathering room, which was once the kitchen and family room, can accommodate at least 16 people at one time, with furniture groupings of swivel chairs around coffee tables and a dining table. “They can switch furniture around as needed,” the designer explains. Its gold, coral and green palette, she says, “expresses the warmth of the culture, the colors of the sun.”
The guest suite was another challenge for Steinkoler, who had to reconfigure a portion of the third floor so that visiting dignitaries could rely on complete safety and privacy. “Guests can stay in a secure space, a home away from home,” says Parsan. Hawthorn enhanced the space by creating a comfortable seating area before the fireplace.
The newly renovated Embassy is now bustling, entertaining diplomatic corps and hosting art exhibits, book launches and cultural events. In addition to its own national holidays, the Embassy celebrates those of Muslim, Hindu, Christian and Jewish faiths, among others. As Ambassador Parsan explains,“We want to represent, substantially and symbolically, all diverse nationalities.”
Kenneth M. Wyner is a photographer based in Takoma Park, Maryland.
INTERIOR DESIGN: BARBARA HAWTHORN, Barbara Hawthorn Interiors, Ltd., McLean, Virginia. RENOVATION CONSTRUCTION: DANIEL STEINKOLER, Superior Home Services, Inc., Washington, DC.
MAY/JUNE 2012
For a kitchen renovation, Montgomery College design student Christy Leu submitted a concept that blended the home’s historic, Federal-style aesthetic with the demands of the homeowners’ contemporary lifestyle. The kitchen, rendered here by Leu, is traditional in style with a dedicated surface for baking and plenty of storage behind rows of custom cabinetry. Because the homeowners love to cook and entertain, Leu ensured a high level of functionality with double ovens and cooktop from Wolf, a paneled Wolf hood, and Sub-Zero refrigerator and refrigerator drawers; a Sub-Zero wine fridge occupies the dining adjacent area. Granite countertops unite the painted cabinets along the periphery with the dark, cherry-stained center island. Glossy, white ceramic subway tile backsplash lends a classic vibe while dark-stained pine floors add warmth. The new space retains its openness with the adjoining dining area,which is separate yet connected to the working kitchen.
**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.
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