See All Architecture Art Audio/Video Closets + Organized Spaces

Custom Build Design/Build Remodeling Fine Furnishings Floors + Windows + Doors Interior Design

Kitchen + Bath Landscape Design Lighting Real Estate Top Custom Builders

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

The annual Georgetown Jingle at the Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC, celebrates design and the holidays—while raising funds for the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Georgetown University. This year, 12 area designers will partner with young “patient ambassadors" to create festive trees and holiday vignettes that will festoon the hotel. Guests at the Jingle will also enjoy chef’s tastings from DC's hottest eateries while a children’s workshop treats kids to craft making, cookie decorating, movie watching, dancing and a visit with Santa.

Funds raised from the sale of designers' creations; an elaborate silent auction of luxury vacations, furniture, toys, sports packages and restaurant and spa certificates; and admissions all benefit the hospital. Since 2006, the Georgetown Jingle has raised $1.7 million for the cause.

The sixth annual Georgetown Jingle will take place on December 11 from 4 to 8 pm. Admission is $150 per person, $50 per child or $350 for a family of four. Visit georgetownjingle.com.

**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.

Cachet: Holiday House Tours NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

During this festive season, homeowners happily open their doors to reveal interiors decked with garlands and glitter. The following list details local house tours ushering in the holidays, from quaint beachfront retreats to elegant DC rowhouses.

45th Annual McLean Women's Club Holiday Home Tour
December 1
This year's tour will take place in Evans Farm Village, a historically significant neighborhood in McLean, Virginia. Four homes will be open to the public, while the Stone House (the only remaining building from the original Evans Farm) will be filled with holiday items for sale. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. mcleanwc.org

29th Annual St. Albans Christmas House Tour
December 2 and 3
The 2011 St. Albans Christmas House Tour will feature six homes in DC's posh Kalorama neighborhood, each decorated by floral designers. A holiday boutique will be open at St. Albans and lunch is served both days. Proceeds benefit the faculty and staff of St. Albans school. $35; stalbansschool.org

Candlelight House Tour: Celebrate Frederick
December 3 and 4
The self-guided, 26th annual candlelight walking tour takes visitors inside seven elaborately decorated historic homes throughout picturesque downtown Frederick. A free booklet includes a walking map and descriptions of each house. $20; celebratefrederick.com

33rd Annual Logan Circle Holiday House Tour
December 4
Tour traditional and contemporary homes around DC’s Logan Circle and enjoy a wassail reception at nearby Studio Theatre on 14th and P Streets. Proceeds support the Logan Circle Community Association’s mission to improve the quality of life for residents and businesses in Logan Circle and DC. Tickets are $25 in advance/$30 on the day. logancircle.org/house-tour

25th Annual Christmas in St. Michaels Tour of Homes
December 9 to 11
This annual tour is part of a weekend of holiday festivities in the historic bayside Maryland town. Multiple homes within walking distance of each other will be open to the public; tickets are $25 in advance and $30 on the day. stmichaelsmd.org

**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.

Smooth Transition NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Bunny and Greg Lamb originally bought their Potomac home in spite of the house. With three young kids, the neighborhood was just what they wanted, from the sleepy cul de sac out front to the pool in the spacious backyard. “Those are the things we loved,” Bunny Lamb recalls. She smiles, adding: “And now we love the house.”

Of course, the journey to this happy ending took a lot longer than it takes to reminisce about it—two years, to be exact. It started with a renovation design team that included George Myers of GTM Architects and George Papaheraklis, president of FineCraft Building Contractors. Their job was to enlarge the cramped, outdated center hall Colonial, imparting elegance and convenience and giving the family what Bunny describes as “an easy, family-friendly space” to live in.

“The program was to add informal square footage—a kitchen, family room, mudroom and office—updating the house to achieve these things,” says architect George Myers. “We wanted to give it more stature, more of a custom look.”

To reach this goal, Papaheraklis and his team moved the three-foot-wide staircase that originally bisected the entry, widening it and shifting its location to a less central spot in the house. With the staircase removed, the entry became a presence in itself, communicating a grander, more formal sensibility. The FineCraft team dramatically widened the doorways to the living and dining rooms on either side of the entry, and carved a broad hallway leading straight back to the addition.

A primary concern was how to transition from the existing house to the addition. The owners wanted the sections to flow seamlessly, and Papaheraklis worked hard to match moldings and create millwork to bridge the spaces. He even conceived a way to make the dark Brazilian cherry floors in the renovated parts of the house complement the old, light-stained oak floors of the existing rooms, by cleverly inlaying a floor design that combines both woods in every threshold that separates the addition from the rest of the house.

“The most difficult challenge was to take what the architect said and then build it so you’d never know where the old house ended and the new one began,” says Papaheraklis. “The floors are the transition between the old and new.”

The addition comprises Myers’s list of rooms but also includes an extra bath, a butler’s pantry, a master suite with a balcony on the second floor and—off the family room—a screened porch (Bunny Lamb’s “favorite room in the house”). Myers’ challenge was incorporating the square footage the family wanted without moving the pool. “The pool limited the depth of the house,” he says. “The constraint was to keep [the addition] shallow.” It now runs the width of the house, and at 17 feet wide, feels perfectly spacious.

At one end of the family room, a large wood-burning fireplace clad floor to ceiling in natural stone draws the eye; coffered in a grid pattern, the ceiling adds interest to the space. Beyond the family room, the screened porch is visible, complete with slate floors, comfortable outdoor furniture and a gas fireplace.

At the other end of the room, a large kitchen offers all the amenities that were missing from its previous incarnation (in a space now occupied by the new staircase and butler’s pantry). For this important family gathering place, the Lambs hired kitchen designer Steve Church of Stuart Kitchens, who helped devise a design that includes an island more than 11 feet long.

“I wanted a big island for entertaining and baking Christmas cookies,” says Bunny. Cabinetry from Virginia Mountain Woodworks, quartz countertops, a honed marble backsplash and a host of conveniences such as warming and refrigerator drawers complete the design.

Upstairs, Papaheraklis widened the narrow hallway to create easier access to the second-floor bedrooms and the third floor, which now houses the bedrooms of two of the Lambs’ children along with a large renovated bathroom which they share. The master bedroom, his and hers walk-in closets and a spacious bath with soaking tub now occupy the space above the first-floor addition; the former master bedroom in the older part of the house has been consigned as a guestroom.

The final transformation took place in the basement, which originally encompassed a home theater with a coffered ceiling and a game room. The renovation added another, popular basement-level space to the house: an unfinished room big enough for basketball, hockey and even for driving golf balls. “We wanted a place so the kids would want to hang out here, so home would be fun,” Bunny Lamb says.

Clearly, the Lambs reached their goal—for the whole family. And the house has seen success in another way as well: As winner of a 2010 Contractor of the Year Award for whole house renovation.

Kenneth M. Wyner is a photographer in Takoma Park, Maryland.

ARCHITECTURE: GEORGE T. MYERS, AIA, NCARB, GTM Architects, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland. CONTRACTOR: GEORGE PAPAHERAKLIS, FineCraft Building Contractors, Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland. INTERIOR DESIGN: SUSAN ABBOTT, Susan Abbott Interiors, Kensington, Maryland. KITCHEN DESIGN: STEVE CHURCH, Stuart Kitchens, Bethesda, Maryland.

**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home design and building/remodeling features. Wonderful visuals of custom homes and eco-friendly resources are combined with expert advice to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing amazing home interior design and remodeling projects to life.

An Open Plan NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

When Shannon and Mike Nifontoff approached several architects about updating and enlarging their down-at-heel Arlington, Virginia, home, the responses varied from “Tear it down” to “Move somewhere else.” Only architect Randall Mars saw what they saw—a 1940s Cape with good bones in a great location, with a neighborhood the couple didn’t want to give up. Tearing down the home, says Mars, “would have been an enormous waste of use and structure.”

Working together, the Nifontoffs and Mars decided to add on to the existing house. The architect designed a two-story addition comprised of an open-plan kitchen/family room with a breakfast nook, a dining room area (currently in use as a home office), a mudroom with access to the backyard, and on the second floor, a master bedroom suite with walk-in closet and bath and rooftop balcony. An unfinished basement—which will one day become an in-law suite—boasts large picture windows and French doors out to the backyard.

What made the project distinctive was the owners’ decision to go modern. “I like the more contemporary, clean lines,” Shannon Nifontoff says. “I wanted lots of light.” She adds, “We looked at Randy’s past work and there is always lots of light in his projects.”

Mars’s plan creates squared-off blocks of space with a modern, pitched roof over one side. “The request was for modern and the house isn’t,” Mars says, “so we had to transition.” While the owners plan eventually to clad the whole house in gray HardiePlank, the siding now covers the addition—with the striking exception of one square section off the back that is clad in vertical mahogany panels. Eventually, says Mars, the modern accents that dress the back will “be brought around to the main part of the house too.”

The focal point of the newly built family room is the fireplace, which covers the length of one wall. Adorned in a spare, charcoal-hued fiber-cement material called Eco-Cem, the wall blends seamlessly with the bluestone mantel and hearth; a panel of slate-like stone tile embellishes the space below the mantelpiece, and custom shelving has been built in to one side.

With a family of six (a fourth child was on the way during construction), the kitchen was a pivotal element for the Nifontoffs. To ensure its design met their needs, the couple called in kitchen designer Jennifer Gilmer. Like Mars, she was challenged to bridge the old and new styles of the house. “I designed a warm, contemporary look using dark wood cabinetry because [homes of that era] typically have dark wood already,” Gilmer says, adding that “kitchens can be a little different from the rest of the house anyway.”

Gilmer chose engineered horizontal-rift wenge cabinetry, using open shelving above the counters to create a light, floating effect. “Open shelves are a great solution for dishes,” she explains. “Dishes naturally stack neatly and they are in use all the time so they don’t gather dust.” Backsplash windows bring in natural light and a wall of back-painted glass behind the cooktop adds color. Gilmer chose light Caesarstone countertops because “what’s at eye level is what determines if a room appears dark or light.”

Upstairs, the master bedroom flows into a roomy walk-in closet and bath complete with a skylight and glass-block walls that admit light while retaining privacy. Light and openness are, in fact, the themes of this renovation. “What I love about it,” says Shannon Nifontoff, “is how it lets us live.”

Anice Hoachlander is a principal with Hoachlander Davis Photography in Washington, DC.

ARCHITECTURE: RANDALL MARS, AIA, Randall Mars Architects, McLean, Virginia. CONSTRUCTION: Thorsen Construction, Alexandria, Virginia. KITCHEN DESIGN: JENNIFER GILMER, Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath, Chevy Chase, Maryland.

**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home design and building/remodeling features. Wonderful visuals of custom homes and eco-friendly resources are combined with expert advice to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing amazing home interior design and remodeling projects to life.

Applause: Reading Room NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

The DC Public Library system is building and renovating libraries across the city. The most recent addition to the mix is the Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Library, a sleek, glass-enclosed structure in DC’s Shaw neighborhood that juts out above visitors as they enter. With state-of-the-art services and a sustainable building program—including green roofing, energy-saving plumbing and lighting and recycled materials—the library encompasses three levels and 22,800 square feet, and occupies a triangular site near Howard University. In front of the entry, a 22-foot sculpture by local artist Craig Kraft greets all comers.

ARCHITECTURE: Peter D Cook, AIA; J. Max Bond Jr., FAIA; Christiane deJong, AIA, LEED AP; Nathan Hoyt, FAIA; Cody McNeal, LEED AP, Aedas Architects LLP, New York, New York. CONTRACTOR: Forrester Construction Company, Rockville, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL RIVERA/ARCHPHOTO.

**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home design and building/remodeling features. Wonderful visuals of custom homes and eco-friendly resources are combined with expert advice to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing amazing home interior design and remodeling projects to life.

A Charmed Life NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

"I dreamed of this,” Darrell Green says, waving his hand expansively around the comfortable yet elegant home he shares with his wife of 27 years. “I didn’t see this exact street of life, but with my marriage, my kids, I am close. I am definitely in the neighborhood.”

At 51, Green has had some time to consider just how that journey has unfolded. Retired in 2002, he is a football legend who won two Super Bowls, earned the title of NFL Fastest Man four times, and played for the same team for 20 years (“that’s 15 years longer than the typical player gets,” he points out). In 1991, he was named World’s Fastest Athlete.

He’s also a successful businessman and the founder of The Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation, which helps inner city kids reach their potential. President George W. Bush appointed him Chairman of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, and he’s been honored repeatedly for his humanitarian work.

“Perspective is the key,” he says, sitting in his spacious kitchen while his wife, Jewell, and daughters wander in and out. “We’re very fortunate with our perspective. The world saw me as a Washington Redskin, but I always saw myself as a father and husband trying to take care of my family. I saw football as a job. That’s probably why I lasted 20 years at it.”

It was a job to which Green gave his all—he was voted Player of the Year several times—but he never lost sight of what was important to him. “My parents taught me the importance of stability and family,” he says. “My father had the same job for 30 years and that taught me longevity.” In fact, Green turned down several lucrative offers from other teams over the years in favor of keeping his family ensconced in the community they knew.

Originally from Houston, Green was 25 and a rookie Redskin when he met Jewell. They were engaged within six months, and he found an “unexpected blessing” in her being from the DC area, as it gave him a built-in family and the stability he craved. An added bonus: Having studied interior design in school, Jewell was able to create a beautiful home environment for the couple—and she’s been doing it ever since (though she now runs Posh Couture, an online fashion company).

For the past 11 years, the Greens have lived in a gracious Northern Virginia house, part of an NVHomes development. Perched on two acres that slope down behind, the property is definitely part of the neighborhood. Over the years, it has served as a magnet for their three kids (now all grown) and their friends. “The concept was a pool, basketball court, pool table and home theater,” says Jewell. “We wanted to bring the kids into the house.”

Inside, the style is traditional with a modern vibe imparted by vaulted ceilings and an open front entry. The layout includes formal living and dining rooms, a family room, a kitchen with an octagonal breakfast nook, six bedrooms and six baths. The basement, which Green designed, offers a home theater, a workout room and a bar/rec room. This level houses the sports memorabilia, including Green’s Hall of Fame bust, Fastest Man awards and original jersey. A mural depicting a favorite game covers one wall, while other walls are scattered with kids’ sports mementoes. In fact, son Jared, a recent graduate of UVA (where he played wide receiver), wants to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Jewell opted for “soothing colors” for the house, which they moved into during that period when kids and chaos were all around. She wanted the house to feel “lived in” for the family, yet formal enough to accommodate the social and fundraising events the couple frequently host.

In fact, their newest venture just went live recently. Even in retirement from football, Green continues to advocate fitness and exercise; he and his wife have created a Web site called WalkFitHealth Nation, which provides a social network for walkers to plug into. According to Green, everyone should walk 10,000 steps a day; join the network and receive a wireless pedometer the size of a quarter that tracks steps, calorie counts and other information.

“We are a thinking family,” Green says. “We are always thinking, ‘how can we live in a way that is valuable to ourselves and our community?’ That is what’s important.” He smiles and adds, “Oh, and by the way, I played for the Redskins.”

Photographer Bob Narod is based in Herndon, Virginia.

**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.

Planning Ahead SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

After going untended for a mere 20 or 30 years, the property of a Bethesda couple needed a facelift—at least that’s why they initially hired McHale Landscape, Inc. Once they began the process, however, the owners’ vision for their overgrown yard—and their wish list—grew exponentially. Soon, says Will Smith, the landscape architect on the project, it had become a full-scale renovation.

Smith started the way most landscape architects do: with a schematic drawing of the landscape plan. “A schematic or preliminary drawing gives us a feel for the layout of the design, so you can see the hardscaping and beds, etc.,” he says. “It’s not the details but an overview of what the design will be and how the elements will relate to each other.”

Instead of refurbishing the rundown old pool, Smith installed a new one farther from the house to take better advantage of the three-acre property, creating what he calls “a destination pool” with a pergola on its far end as a focal point. A cutting garden for the wife and a bird sanctuary for the husband, plus a dry creek bed for collecting rainwater, a waterfall and a flagstone path round the perimeter of the yard, completed the job.

A Federal-style house in Chevy Chase had a similarly overgrown yard when Bob Hawkins of Hawkins Signature Landscapes first encountered it. “It was a great lot,” he recalls, “but it had no distinctive characteristics for entertainment areas or pathways. We essentially had to blow up the yard completely to create a pathway system, patio, cook center, fireplace and pergola—the whole gamut.”

The complications of the job were compounded by the fact that the house had an historic designation, which meant lots of hoops for Hawkins to jump through with the zoning board. For example, no trees measuring more than 3.4 inches in circumference could be removed, so Hawkins had to transplant them. Similarly, boulder slabs had to be used for steps because they were deemed “non-permanent.”

Throughout the process, Hawkins relied on communication with his clients to make everyone’s goals clear. “I tell people, ‘I’m interviewing you as you’re interviewing me,’” he says. “That’s how I find out what they like and don’t like.” After that, “I come out with schematic plans that allow me to show them the process step by step.”

Because he finds that most clients are overwhelmed by details, he does this in stages, first showing them a quick overview design. “A loose schematic overview helps people get the feel for what we’re doing,” he explains. “They can start to visualize without getting exposed to so much information that it gets lost.”

He later creates detailed schematics of individual elements in the design—the significant areas that will be the priorities of the project—to show to clients. “It’s easier for them to understand when they see those smaller sections instead of the whole plan in detail,” he says. “It’s less overwhelming.”

For the landscape of a custom home in Vienna, Virginia, Josh Kane of Kane Landscapes had his hands full. “We had to work around a septic system that was in the center of the backyard,” Kane says. “Project plans were very important to us because they showed us the nitty gritty of what we were doing.”

However, these were not the plans he showed his clients, who saw instead an overall schematic that reflected all their requirements for the project. “Most people just want to know where things are going,” Kane says. “They don’t want to see whether we’re using 45- or 60-foot pipes for drainage; they just want to know where it’s draining to.”

The wish list for the project was long. The couple, who love to entertain in large numbers, wanted a grand backyard with a pool and adjoining Jacuzzi; a spacious pool deck of pavers accommodates lots of guests. An outdoor pavilion houses a fireplace and a full kitchen complete with Viking appliances, a 53-inch grill, electric and smoker ovens and more. Kane did the job in phases, the first being the pool construction and the second, which happened after the homeowners moved in, being the construction of the outdoor room. He also had to contend with a protected tree area and a steep slope towards the back of the yard that required major retaining walls.

According to Kane, extensive jobs such as this one are more prevalent now than they were five years back. “People are going more all out,” he says. “Since the economy changed, people are staying put and investing more in their homes.”

With a proper landscape plan in place, they are well on their way to enjoying an outdoor space that’s uniquely tailored to their needs and lifestyle.

**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home designs and landscape design ideas. 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, and outdoor spaces to life.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Nestled atop a 140-foot cliff overlooking a graceful bend in the Severn River, a classic Georgian Revival home peaks out from behind stands of trees. This stately brick structure was modeled after the James River Plantations and enjoys the privacy of 23 picturesque acres—and a history that is truly unique.

Up until recently, it was also a mess. Years of neglect interspersed with makeshift renovations had left it a shadow of its former imposing self. Built in 1922 (by an arms dealer who ostensibly concealed illegal weapons in a hidden basement passageway), the property changed hands several times before the Catholic Church purchased it in the 1940s and converted it into St. Conrad Friary, which at its peak housed more than 60 Capuchin monks. Thirty years later, the monks’ numbers had dwindled and the house—then complete with a medieval-style chapel and a boxy five-story dormitory—was sold. Over the next 30 years it remained largely empty, an intimidatingly massive and dilapidated structure that caused prospective buyers to run the other way.

Enter Phillips Seafood CEO Steve Phillips and his wife, Maxine. “We were looking for a house on the Severn with privacy,” Maxine says. “But we didn’t look at this one because it was listed with 27 bedrooms!”

Eventually, the acreage and dramatic views convinced the couple to take a look. Three hours later the house was theirs—despite the presence of a large family of raccoons living in it. “We thought we’d buy it for the land and tear it down,” says Maxine. “But as we started going through the house we found little hidden elements to it, and the history captured our fancy. It turned out to be in shockingly good shape structurally too. We thought, ‘This building wants to be here. We shouldn’t tear it down.’”

The couple tasked Annapolis architect Charles Anthony with restoring the mansion to its original splendor and adding the touches and conveniences that would make the place feel like home. “Though respectful, they weren’t interested in a strictly historic approach,” Anthony says. “They wanted a functional, comfortable home for living and entertaining.”

In fact, Steve Phillips had a specific vision for a home that would incorporate his own preferences—particularly a love of all things Southeast Asian and Indian, amassed during many years of travel to those regions for Phillips Seafood. “Steve was fascinated by all the details,” Anthony recalls. “He would have an idea and he’d say, ‘Be an architect and make that happen.’ The challenge was to pull [the Asian influences] together while being true to the Georgian vocabulary.”

When the restoration began, the house was divided into three sections: the central core, now faithfully restored in the Georgian Revival style, and the two wings, angled off the rear of the house, which were added during the monks’ tenure. The owners thought about tearing down the chapel but decided ultimately to keep it as a giant entertainment hall. They took out the confessionals and the organ and replaced the dais with a massive limestone fireplace that accents the medieval sensibility of the room. They removed beat-up parquet floors in favor of smooth, lush teak.

Retaining the institutional dormitory wing was a non-starter. In its place, Anthony designed a one-story guest wing with two bedrooms and a spacious common room filled with Asian artifacts. Eye-catching as these antiques are, the room’s ‘wow factor’ definitely comes from two windows that, like giant portholes, offer underwater views into the adjacent outdoor pool’s interior, aquarium-style—while bathing the room in a bluish glow.

All three sections of the house were linked by what Anthony describes as “a tiny knuckle—only one doorway to get to all three wings.” In order to create a better connection between the spaces, Anthony designed an expanded, two-story circular hub clad in limestone, encompassing a conservatory upstairs and an atrium below. The conservatory leads to the former chapel and the guest wing, as well as to the infinity pool and adjoining terraces; the rotunda provides access to an indoor resistance pool, sauna and whirlpool. An oculus in the center of the conservatory admits light while recalling the home’s Classic Revivals roots.

Anthony also had to contend with a steeply graded property when making his plans. “Maryland Critical Law is strict with steep slopes and proximity to water,” he says. “We had both.” With the help of landscape architect Jay Graham, the property was restructured in a range of grades, both inside and out (a common room, for instance, is built below the level of the adjacent pool—which in turn drops off on one side 14 feet to the natural grade of the property). Taking advantage of the sloping land, Anthony created functional underground spaces, such as a giant garage concealed beneath a walled terrace to the side of the house.

The Phillipses called on designer Henry Berman of Johnson | Berman for guidance with the interiors. The central, Georgian-style structure remains traditional with classic Western furnishings and original heart pine floors. Upstairs, a spacious master suite features his and hers dressing rooms and gorgeous views of the Severn from a private, landscaped roof terrace. However, adherence to the Georgian sensibility loosens as one moves farther from the center of the home; for example, heart pine floors give way to limestone from a quarry in India, with paneling in imported teak. Yet Berman ensured that the interiors would all blend seamlessly together. After six years of construction renovation, the couple is finally able to enjoy their remarkable property. “It’s our home now,” explains Maxine. It was well worth the wait.

ARCHITECTURE: CHARLES E. ANTHONY, Charles E. Anthony Architects, PC, Annapolis, Maryland. INTERIOR DESIGN: HENRY JOHNSON, Johnson | Berman Interior Design, Baltimore, Maryland. CONTRACTOR: FRANK YOCKEY, ILEX Construction, Baltimore, Maryland. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: JAY GRAHAM, FASLA, Graham Landscape Architecture, Annapolis, Maryland.

**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home design and building/remodeling features. Wonderful visuals of custom homes and eco-friendly resources are combined with expert advice to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing amazing home interior design and remodeling projects to life.

House Proud SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Avenel, an enclave of sprawling brick homes on wide, tree-lined lots, would be anyone’s idea of a great place to lay down roots and raise a family. So when a play date lured a Chevy Chase mom to the Potomac, Maryland, development, it wasn’t surprising that she fell in love with a particular street as she drove along. “I called my husband and said ‘this street is where we need to live,’” she recalls. The couple had been wanting more land for their kids to play in and space for a pool. So when a house came on the market on the very street the wife had fallen for, they decided to buy it.

The original plan was to renovate, and the couple eventually tapped Rui Ponte of Ponte Mellor Architects for the job. After contemplating the 1980s house with its low ceilings and poorly conceived addition however, they decided to tear it down and start afresh. “This was what we wanted,” the wife says, “to design our dream house.” As luck would have it they were able to rent the house next door for the 18-month duration of construction.

The architect’s first task was to jump through the necessary hoops to satisfy Avenel’s planning board. “It was the first teardown in the community and they were very particular,” he recalls. They dictated, for example, the brick exterior of the home, which Ponte enhanced with creamy stucco and a slate-and-copper roof to create an English manor look. “Part of the challenge was to make the house distinct in a neighborhood of similar houses,” he explains. He built the new house on the footprint of the old one and retained part of the two-car garage from the original structure.

The homeowners, too, were particular, and their long wish list included an additional two-car garage, a walk-in pantry, an office with a view to the family room for the husband (who frequently works at home and didn’t want to feel disconnected from his family), a dedicated playroom on the main level, a mudroom, elevator and coffered ceilings at a height throughout of 10 and a half feet.

Ponte also had to reconcile a more casual sensibility on the wife’s part with a desire for something more formal on the husband’s. “There needed to be a public and private side to the house,” Ponte says. “The entry was very important to [the husband]; he wanted a sense of entry in the foyer.” To create this drama, Ponte designed the space symmetrically, with matching arched doorways to either side, leading to tastefully appointed living and dining rooms. A curved staircase flanked by a simple but elegant wrought iron rail leads upstairs while in the living room, a custom, cast-stone fireplace offers a striking focal point. “Those were the two elements that took the most time to plan out,” says the wife.

With two acres of picturesque property to play with, Ponte designed an 11,000-square-foot house that is wide but fairly shallow to ensure that every window would have a view. Sightlines from the front entry straight back to the family room reveal views of the backyard—now complete with patio and outdoor fireplace, pool and pool house and a play area for the kids—all against the backdrop of a sweeping lawn and bucolic stands of trees beyond.

Flanked by a wall of French doors, the family room is spacious at 28 by 18 feet and opens into the kitchen and breakfast nook; to divide the two spaces visually and to create a more formal appearance, Ponte placed pillars at the entry between them. “They should look like two distinct rooms though they are connected,” he says. The Wood-Mode cabinetry, topped with limestone counters, extends to the crown moldings all around the room for a more cohesive look, while a butler’s pantry connects the kitchen with the dining room.

When it came time to decorate, the wife turned to her long-time interior designer, James Hawes of Caldwell-Beebe, to create the look she wanted. “I am a tone-on-tone person,” she says. “After years of working with Jim, I trust him completely.” Hawes envisioned interiors that are perfectly in sync with the home’s exterior style: classic but with a transitional flair. Shades of cream, beige and butterscotch impart warmth to the living, dining and family rooms, while the office boasts wood paneling punctuated by walls upholstered in brown Ultrasuede. Upstairs, the master suite is a restful vision in creamy white and beige, divided into a comfortable sitting room with a fireplace and a spacious bedroom. Sweeping views to the backyard are visible from both ends of the room.

While wide-plank, quarter-sawn white oak covers most of the floors, beyond the kitchen, a more private, slate-floored wing of the house is revealed. This area provides access to the garages, the back staircase, the elevator (installed largely for the benefit of grandparents), the mudroom and the kids’ playroom, which is separated from the kitchen by French pocket doors so the kids “can be seen but not heard,” says the wife.

The finished basement, which includes a gym, TV room, playroom and en suite guest bedrooms, is also accessible from this end of the house. Future house plans are centered on this lower level, where the couple—who are expecting their third child—have ensured that space for a movie theater and a bar stand ready for the next phase.

Kenneth M. Wyner is a photographer in Takoma Park, Maryland.

ARCHITECTURE: RUI PONTE, AIA, LEED AP, Ponte Mellor Architects, Bethesda, Maryland. INTERIOR DESIGN: JAMES BEEBE HAWES II, Caldwell-Beebe, Ltd., McLean, Virginia. CONTRACTOR: JEAN ASSUNCAO, Estoril Construction, Bethesda, Maryland.

**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home design and building/remodeling features. Wonderful visuals of custom homes and eco-friendly resources are combined with expert advice to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing amazing home interior design and remodeling projects to life.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

A recent visitor to Porcelanosa’s Rockville showroom had real marble flooring in mind—until she got a glimpse of the marbleized porcelain tiles nearby. They ultimately became her first choice—not only because they looked like the real thing, but for other reasons as well. “Clients prefer the porcelain Carrara marble because you can control the look,” explains Porcelanosa’s regional vice president, David Carmona. “The veins aren’t random the way they are in real Carrara.”

And that’s only a part of the allure of porcelain tile. While a slab of Carrara or Calcutta Gold marble costs $20 per square foot, the same look in porcelain runs about half that—yet unlike real marble, it requires absolutely no maintenance against scratching or staining and doesn’t need to be polished or sealed.

Porcelain that looks like marble is only the beginning. Other look-alikes abound, including natural stone surfaces like slate, travertine and onyx, as well as leather, fabric and wood—all in the same lower price range and all maintenance-free. In fact, wood-like porcelain is now among the most popular porcelain surfaces available. “Interest in wood-like porcelain products really started up in early 2010,” says David Benson, store manager and co-owner of Architectural Ceramics, which has five area showrooms. It took a little while for the trend to get off the ground, but “now it’s a huge seller.”

Wood look-alikes are available in a wide assortment of finishes and “species.” Porcelain tiles now duplicate oak, maple, cherry, walnut, wenge, driftwood (Architectural Ceramics’ most popular PorcelainWood tile) and more, and come in both rustic and contemporary styles. “The manufacturing process actually puts indentations in the tiles so the texture even feels like wood,” Benson says, adding that the tiles come in planks, usually six by 24 inches (though Porcelanosa offers one in an eight-by- 47-inch plank) to give them the look of wood when the floor’s been laid; by contrast, porcelain tiles duplicating natural stone usually come in 12-by-24-inch rectangles.

According to Carmona, the large-format tiles contribute to a more minimalist look, as does a trend he’s noted towards solid hues such as gray, white and black. The marbleized colors create the exotic stone looks that mimic onyx and Carrara. “It’s inkjet technology that makes it all possible,” explains Carmona. “A computerized program prints the pattern you wish to achieve. It creates a stone look you could never achieve before.” For instance, he says, “The porcelain tile that looks like slate is identical to that stone in texture and look.”

While this new technology allows control over the marble-izing process, it also perfects the marble-like look of the porcelain, which, according to Benson, “was the hardest [surface] to imitate because of its inherently random veining. We now have a glazing method that doesn’t repeat the same pattern for 100 tiles, so the tile pattern is unlikely to reappear [on a single project].”

Aside from wood and stone, a wide variety of other porcelain look-alikes have joined the mix. Porcelanosa carries a product called Ston-Ker Ecologique that not only approximates the clean, contemporary look of concrete but is made with 90 percent recycled content—an increasingly popular alternative. Leather and fabric look-alikes, which have been available longer than wood and marble, are created by imprinting cross-hatching onto the surface of the tile during the manufacturing process, then glazing it. In all cases, the cost of porcelain remains about half the cost of the real material, be it stone, leather or wood. Porcelain products are not only appropriate for flooring and wall applications; they also enhance accents, backsplashes and more.

Stepping Out JULY/AUGUST 2011

APPALACHIAN TRAIL
HomerWood hardwood flooring is manufactured in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania out of whole trees, with an effort to retain the inherent characteristics of each specimen’s grain, markings and knots. Pictured here, the Carbonera Hickory Smoked Red Saddle floor, made from smoked and scraped hickory lumber. homerwood.com

MAGIC CARPET
Fabric designer Kevin O’Brien is collaborating with Capel Rugs on three new carpet lines: Droplets, Daisy Climber and Zanzibar. Pictured here, Daisy Climber is hand-tufted in India from pure wool and is available in two lines and one colorway, Blue Multi, in a five-by-eight-foot rectangle. capelrugs.com

VINYL TRANSFORMED
Armstrong Alterna 16-by-16-inch vinyl tiles offer defined textures and colors approximating travertine, quartz and slate. Alterna features Armstrong’s aluminum oxide coating, which provides scratch, stain and wear resistance. Available at Flooring America Design Build in Fairfax, Virginia. fadesignbuild.com; armstrong.com

TRUFFLES, ANYONE?
Echoing the look of mushrooms, the Champiñones collection for Gan Rugs (a subsidiary of Spanish manufacturer Gandia Blasco) features whimsical carpets made with virgin wool and cotton backing. Available in circular or rectangular shapes. ganrugs.com

WONDERFULLY WOVEN
Chilewich’s brightly hued floor mats are made of the company’s distinctive woven vinyl, a durable, washable product that has an intrinsic sheen. The floor mats—including those in the Basketweave collection pictured here—come in a range of colors, sizes, shapes and textures. chilewich.com

EXOTIC ADDITION
Mirage offers prefinished hardwood floors in easily renewable woods. The African mahogany line is the latest addition to its Exotic Woods series. Also known as Sapele wood, African mahogany is available in three finishes—Terracotta, Bronze and Brass—and offers unique color variations and grains; the flooring comes in engineered five-inch boards with a semi-gloss finish. miragefloors.com

MARBLE MADNESS
Onice is a rectified, high-gloss tile that looks like natural marble—soft in color with deeper tones of veining throughout—yet offers the easy maintenance of a porcelain tile. Onice is available from Porcelanosa in Arena, Blanco, Marfil (pictured) and Siena, in a range of sizes. porcelanosa-usa.com

HIGH TECH
Slaty by Edimax reflects the latest technological advances in tile manufacturing. To create the slate-like tiles pictured here, high-resolution images are transferred to a durable porcelain tile surface via “inkjet” technology, resulting in the unique appearance of natural stone. Available through Mosaic Tile Company; mosaictileco.com

**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home design and building/remodeling features. Wonderful visuals of custom homes and eco-friendly resources are combined with expert advice to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing amazing home interior design and remodeling projects to life.

Bazaar - A Modern Mix JULY/AUGUST 2011

A LAYERED EFFECT
The Sushi collection by Edward Van Vliet for Moroso is constructed in layers: first a hard shell, then pillows of medium firmness and a final layer of soft cushioning. Each layer is distinguished by different fabrics specially developed for the collection—which includes poufs, sofas, chairs, rugs and lighting. moroso.it

LUSCIOUS LEATHER
A soft leather shell characterizes the design of the Ginger chair, created by Roberto Lazzeroni for Poltrona Frau. Available in a swivel or fixed model, it comes in Dark Brown or Camel leather, with a base of wenge-colored ash. poltronafrau.com

MADE IN ITALY
This sleek, Italian-made wood dining table from Theodores boasts a steel base with a chrome finish for high reflectivity. It’s pictured with a round, chrome-accented wall mirror. theodores.com/products/living/

SPACE SAVER
Resource Furniture’s Cabrio Space Saving System doubles as a spacious seven-foot desk in its daytime configuration and a twin bed by night. The desk is easily lifted up—no need to remove a single object from the desktop—then shifts back via a special piston-operated mechanism to reveal sleeping quarters. resourcefurniture.com

AWARD WINNER
Swiss manufacturer Vitra, whose innovative furnishings earned the company the 2011 ICFF Editors Award for Body of Work at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, collaborated with Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec to produce the Alcove High Back Loveseat. It’s made with a chromed tubular-steel frame, belt upholstery and fiberglass-reinforced plastic panels. Available through Contemporaria. contemporaria.com

FINE FINISHES
The Manning Console Table by Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams is made with a mix of materials including a smooth ash veneer, polished stainless steel and clear and white glass. The console features a floating drawer with a painted black interior and three glass shelves. mgbwhome.com

GOING MODERN
A modern take on the Adirondack Chair, the Emmet Lounge Chair from Room & Board is made of HDPE, a material that is 100 percent post-industrial and post-consumer recycled plastic; each chair is made from the equivalent of 400 recycled milk jugs. roomandboard.com

**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.

Let There Be Light JULY/AUGUST 2011

Rabbit Run
Part of the Moooi lighting collection, the playful Rabbit Lamp by Front is made of PVC/viscose laminate on a metal frame with a closed top; the rabbit is covered in polyester and the light reflects off the base so as to create the impression of fur. Available through SagartStudio in DC. poliform-dc.com

Groovy Glass
Troy-CSL Lighting’s new Fizz collection employs acrylic glassware in clear tones as well as in muted eggplant, garnet and moss green hues. It combines the glass with polished chrome, polycarbonate and a linen shade. troy-lighting.com

Flower Power
The Venus Table Lamp from Layla Grayce gives the appearance of a cluster of lotus petals. Made from tinted capiz shells trimmed in gold, the lamp is also available as a pendant, and comes in an assortment of colors. laylagrayce.com

Classic Contemporary
The Paloma table lamp by Kerry Gibhardt for Wildwood Lamps’ Studio W Collection is comprised of three stacked ceramic orbs separated by brass bands in a Greek key pattern to create a classic look. It comes with a silk shade. wildwoodlamps.com

A Feminine Touch
With its delicate flower motif, the Retro collection from Crystorama Lighting Group is designed for a youthful, feminine space. The wrought iron frames finished in antique white are accented with multi-colored, 24-percent lead crystal rosettes; the collection includes a mini pendant, a wall light and a chandelier. crystorama.com

Fantasy Time
The Walt Disney Signature Chrome Pendant Light by Metropolitan blends a shiny chrome finish with a cascade of reflective glass beads. Also available as a floor or table lamp through Annapolis Lighting Company. annapolislighting.com

Colorful Crystal
Pictured here, the Pendant Round Style from Artistry Crystal Lighting comes in a choice of Swarovski or Egypt Asfour crystal. Pendants are available in amber, red, green, purple and jet, and in circular, oval, square or triangular designs. Available through the Artistry Lighting and Furniture Outlet in Chantilly, Virginia. artistrylighting.us

Botanical Beauty
Hubbardton Forge’s Flora chandelier showcases Art Nouveau-inspired vines of forged steel asymmetrically entwined to evoke a soft, botanical feel. Contemporized versions of a traditional theme, Flora chandeliers and sconces are offered with finish and glass options through Dulles Electric Supply. dulleselectric.com

A Delicate Balance
Part of the Marcella Collection, the intricately designed four-light Uplight Chandelier in British and oxidized bronze from Murray Feiss is also available in an eight-light chandelier, a semi-flush mount fixture and a wall sconce. The chandelier pictured here includes a beige shade. Available through Dominion Electric Supply. dominionelectric.com; murrayfeisslight.com

**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.

Applause - On Stage JULY/AUGUST 2011

Completed in 2009, the 58,000-square-foot Montgomery College Performing Arts Center on the school’s Takoma Park campus is innovative in more than just its sleek, modern design. The glass, concrete and metal interior houses a 500-seat theater for music and dance, a 125-seat performance studio for drama, plus classrooms, public gathering areas and a dance studio with floor-to-ceiling windows. A roofscape and glass-walled street front deftly connect the building to its surroundings, while the Center itself provides a bridge between the east and west sides of the campus. It also offers a new county-wide venue for live theater that enhances the college and community alike.

ARCHITECTURE: DAVID GREENBAUM, FAIA, LEED AP, design principal; BILL JONES, AIA, LEED AP, project manager, SmithGroup, Washington, DC. CONTRACTOR: BOVIS LEND LEASE CONSTRUCTION, Rockville, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: ALAN KARCHMER, Courtesy of SmithGroup.