A Fresh Start January/February 2010

Going Modern JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

Aziz and Badria Azimi purchased a traditional Falls Church, Virginia, Colonial for its scenic, private grounds, which include a meandering creek. Though the property was everything they wanted, the 2001 home, with its small windows and closed-in rooms, made it difficult for the couple to appreciate its surroundings. They decided to build an addition that would provide the openness the house lacked, and turned to Forma Design architect Andreas Charalambous to do the job.

However, Charalambous had other ideas. At 7,000 square feet, he told them, the house was large enough. What it needed was for the first floor to be reconfigured and opened up. “There were a lot of chopped-up rooms,” he says. “They didn’t need an addition; they needed a space without all those walls and doors.”

Eventually, the architect was able to persuade the couple to change tracks—a task made easier by the fact that Badria had always wanted an open, contemporary-style home—and work within the existing footprint of the house. The result is a clean-lined, modern expanse full of light, with easy access to the picturesque, quarter-acre yard and nearby Lake Barcroft.

Charalambous began by opening up the entryway, replacing the traditional, curved stairwell with a straight, open-backed staircase of oak treads and white-painted steel railings intended “to let light come through.” Instead of a solid wall at the top of the stairs, a steel railing imparts a contemporary feel. A newly widened hallway runs along the staircase to the back of the house, which has been dramatically transformed into a large, airy living space delineated by columns and dropped ceilings that, says the architect, “are all about defining the area and differentiating space.”

Charalambous’ innovative design decisions all reflected his goal of creating an open environment. He raised the family room’s sunken floor to establish the sense of an uninterrupted plane. Windows now line the whole rear wall of the home, admitting light as well as views of nature. A 10-foot-wide EcoSmart fireplace has replaced the traditional hearth; it separates the main seating area from the front hall without obstructing the light or creating a barrier. Furnishings are light and contemporary, occupying the space without dominating it. A wide, wrap-around deck with cable railings offers access to the outdoors with a virtually unobstructed view.

While he removed most of the walls on the main floor, Charalambous left the wall that separates the front hall from the kitchen intact to provide a visual and structural anchor. He painted the wall brick red, then added red and burnt-orange accents throughout the house “to animate the space.”

For owner Badria Aziz, the kitchen was the most important part of the renovation. The couple, who owns an engineering and management-consulting firm, has family and friends over all the time. “I love to cook,” Badria says, “so I needed a space I enjoy being in.” Traditional cabinetry made way for a striking combination of dark wenge and glossy white-lacquer cabinets and Silestone countertops. The island was extended to include a table-height section big enough to seat five. Charalambous took down upper cabinets along the outside kitchen wall, substituting an extended bay window. He eliminated the large pantry cupboard, which blocked the kitchen from the formal dining room, then installed cabinetry on the wall opposite the window. Nearly transparent shades let in light while softening the lines of the room.

The final component of the project was the basement, which the Azizes envisioned as a party and recreation area, with a media center, bar and plenty of space for large gatherings. As you descend the staircase, “it feels like you’re going to a basement but you’re definitely not,” Charalambous says. “It’s very unexpected.” The stairs lead to a landing with an exercise room off to the left; turn the corner and the staircase widens to reveal an imposing space with 18-foot ceilings (made possible by the steep slope on which the house is built). Spare, contemporary furnishings echo the reds and oranges from upstairs. A concrete-topped gas fireplace occupies the center of the room.

Tucked into one corner there’s a big, gracefully curved bar topped with black granite; at the other end of the room, a media center offers “a more intimate area,” as Charalambous describes it. “The ceiling is about eight feet high and it comes out like a theater marquee.” Outside the wall of windows, the creek burbles along, bringing the outdoors in.The Azizes couldn’t be happier with their renovation—and they enjoy the contrast between the exterior and interiors. “People are amazed when they walk in,” Badria says. “From the outside it looks totally different.”

Geoffrey Hodgdon is a photographer based in Deale, Maryland.

ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN: Andreas Charalambous, AIA, IIDA, Forma Design, Washington, DC. RENOVATION CONTRACTOR: EHO Construction, Alexandria, Virginia.

**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.

Kitchen Karma JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

Chill Out
Miele introduces the Independence Series refrigerator and wine storage unit. The handcrafted refrigerator comes in a stainless-steel finish or can be concealed behind custom cabinetry. The wine storage unit offers three independently controlled cooling zones and Miele’s ClearView lighting system, which illuminates bottles without altering their temperature. www.mieleusa.com.

Glass Blox
This new line of glass tiles from Crossville, Inc., boasts a palette of 44 colors ranging from dazzling brights to subtle neutrals, available in a variety of sizes. Buy Glass Blox (pictured) at any Mosaic Tile location, and a percentage of the profits will be donated to The Common Thread for the Cure Foundation, which raises funds within the design industry for battling breast cancer. www.mosaictileco.com.

A Technology First
Anvil Motion’s innovative computerized cabinetry system has motion sensors that allow doors and panels to rise and fall vertically in response to a hand wave, while drawers glide open and shut at a touch. Anvil Motion integrates with your home’s automated lighting, HVAC, security and media systems, and features biometric security to control access to areas that may contain valuables or dangerous items. www.anvilmotion.com.

The Poetry of the Curved Line
The cabinetry system LaCucina Alessi was designed by Alessandro Mendini with Gabriele Centazzo for LaCucina. With its undulating curves and cut, painted, etched and stain-resistant glass fronts and surfaces, it’s not only unusual, it’s also eco-friendly: All materials are recyclable and only water-based paints are used. www.alessi.com.

Decorative Detail
Kohler’s Artist Editions apron-front kitchen sinks equally enhance
a traditional or contemporary space with intricate, carved patterns and textures. Here, a cursive design adorns the Alcott undercounter sink in Translucent Cashmere. These sinks are made from fireclay that’s been glazed to highlight their carved texture. www.us.kohler.com.

Steel Art
German manufacturer Blanco is known for its trademark
STEELART stainless-steel sinks and faucets. The new Blanco Quadris kitchen faucet offers a sleek geometric design that hides a convenient pull-out spray feature. The fixture has a solid brass body; it’s available with a polished chrome or stainless-steel finish. www.blancoamerica.com.

Internal Affairs
This year, semi-custom cabinetry maker Diamond is introducing some additions to its line of Logix kitchen organization
cabinets, including the SuperCabinet (pictured here), with
sliding and adjustable shelves and double wire pullout racks designed to hold any and every small appliance a home chef could ever want. www.diamondcabinets.com.

Pro Level
Italian appliance manufacturer Bertazzoni has introduced a new line of professional-grade ranges called the Master Series. It includes the company’s signature one-piece worktop, a large-capacity gas convection oven and infrared gas broiler, as well as triple-ring burners, a dedicated simmer burner, matching backsplashes, adjustable ventilator hoods and more. www.bertazzoni-italia.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.

Industrial Art JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

A new gallery opens its doors in DC on January 16. Industry Gallery will focus on functional art created with industrial materials, from wire mesh and Lucite to fiberglass and rope. Exhibitions will highlight limited-edition pieces by such innovative artists as Harush Shlomo, whose sculpture is pictured above, and Tejo Remy, whose installations are shown on the left.

Industry Gallery will occupy a 4,300-square-foot space at 1358 Florida Avenue, NE—also home to Conner  Contemporary Art, a venue for artists who specialize in diverse media. According to Industry Gallery director Craig Appelbaum, contemporary design is attracting more and more attention. “Conner has helped make DC a destination for contemporary art connoisseurs,” Appelbaum says. “My intention is to make it a destination for aficionados of design too." Call 202-399-1730 or email [email protected].

**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.

A Well-Appointed Pub JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

When a Laytonsville, Maryland, couple bought their sprawling nine-year-old home fully furnished back in 2005, it was exactly what they wanted—right down to the furniture. They left the interior virtually untouched from the ground floor up, but from the beginning they knew the cavernous, unwelcoming basement would need an overhaul. After living in the house for several years, they decided to renovate. “We wanted a space to entertain, one we could enjoy with two people or 40,” the homeowner says. Their vision encompassed a range of entertainment options as well as a lively new look.

The couple tapped interior designer Samantha Friedman for the job, which ultimately would include an audio/video area, a bar, a wine cellar and billiards. The homeowners wanted the space to remain as open as possible and the husband, who frequently travels to England for work, was attracted by the idea of creating a pub-style atmosphere in the space. “I like the friendly look and feel of a pub,” he explains. Friedman embraced the concept, creating what she terms “a modern take on an English pub,” with a color scheme and finishes that also worked with the rest of the home.

Friedman accomplished much of the transformation through the use of warmly stained maple wainscoting and deep gold-yellow walls throughout; the cream-colored Berber carpet was replaced with scratch-resistant oak floors and richly patterned area rugs. Columns are paneled in maple with drink rails to approximate the feel of a bar. Built-in, custom designed benches line the walls beside the billiard table, tucked behind marble-topped café tables that add to the pub atmosphere.

At the far end of the room, the media area offers plush reclining chairs and ottomans on wheels that can be pushed out of the way for large gatherings. Friedman installed a nook for relaxing in an already existing niche and added two more niches on either side of the 103-inch flat screen television, with more built-in seating and storage space underneath. Each niche is elegantly appointed with seat cushions and throw pillows so the wife—and various young nieces and nephews—have a place to curl up. AV equipment is concealed behind fabric-lined custom cabinetry.

Friedman converted the former laundry room, which adjoins the media area, into a climatized wine cellar. She replaced the plain, squared-off doorway and rectangular windows with Tudor-style archways to echo the English pub theme. Recycled cork floors and unfinished granite surfaces create a rustic, Old World feel.

Friedman designed a tasting table and stools so the couple can entertain in the wine cellar. According to the husband, he and his wife eat dinner in the space about once a week.

As far as the homeowners were concerned, the bar was the pivotal element in the renovation. “The clients were very specific,” Friedman recalls. “They didn’t want it to be your average basement bar area.” In fact, as the husband describes it, he wanted something authentic enough so that “if I put someone in a blindfold, took them to the bar then took the blindfold off, they’d think they were in an actual bar.”

Friedman, who used to design commercial kitchens, outfitted the space with commercial-grade bar equipment, including an authentic beer tap, roll-top cooler, cocktail station, ice chest and blender station with a sink and wine refrigerator. She used the same cork flooring and unfinished granite countertops that are installed in the wine cellar to unify the spaces.  An antique mirror lines the wall behind the bar, which also holds a flat-screen TV. “One of my favorite things is the fact that I can have the football game on at one end and something else on TV at the bar,” says the husband. “It really works out great.”

Photographer Kenneth M. Wyner is based in Takoma Park, Maryland.

INTERIOR DESIGN: Samantha Friedman, ASID, Samantha Friedman Interior Designs, LLC, Gaithersburg, Maryland.

**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home designs and coverage of luxury living.  Wonderful visuals of luxury getaways and dining options are combined with inspired decor to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing luxury to life in home interiors and beyond.

Window Dressing JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

For their newly built weekend home in St. Michaels, a Davidsonville, Maryland, couple wanted a classic look—comfortable yet more formal than a typical beach house. The home has numerous windows overlooking the water, so they turned to designer Cristina Uria of Carlos Interiors, Inc., to dress them up without obstructing the scenery. Pictured above, the daughter’s bedroom features bishop’s sleeve window treatments with wrap-around swags in a soft-lined, sheer fabric from Fabricut in aubergine and gold. Gold tassels and hardware pick up the gold accents in the room. 

In the dining room the homeowners chose a decorative inlay on the floor rather than a rug, so Uria softened the lines of the room using wrap-around swags with flat-pleated panels in a luxurious fabric from Kravet.

In the spacious kitchen (below), panels in the seating area impart a sense of height to the room; a corner pleated valance in the same Kravet fabric maintains an unobstructed view in the dining area. Over the kitchen sink, a soft cascade wrap-around swag in a complementary fabric from Duralee lends interest to the space. 

WINDOW TREATMENTS: Cristina Uria, Carlos Interiors, Inc., Crofton, MD.

**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.

Georgetown Gem January/February 2010

Classic Colonial January/February 2010

A Modern Mix January/February 2010

KITCHEN DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION: Sonny Nazemian, Michael Nash Custom Kitchens & Homes, Inc., Fairfax, VA. CABINETRY: Blackstone Cabinetry. COUNTERTOPS: Blue Pearl granite. APPLIANCES: GE Monogram. BACKSPLASH: Stainless steel. SINK: Blanco. FIXTURES: Danze. LIGHTING: Progress Lighting. FLOORING: Imola Ceramica-Antares, Sita Tile Distributors, Capitol Heights, MD. PHOTOGRAPHY: June Stanich, Fairfax, VA.

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** 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.

Clutter Be Gone

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Attorneys Joann Neth and Ford Farabow, Jr., spent four years searching for just the right house. The problem wasn’t finding a house—it was finding a house on a property they loved as much as the one they already owned. Ultimately, they concluded that while their home’s expansive, private setting could not be surpassed, they could certainly improve the mundane, uninspired rambler that came with it. Instead of moving, the couple embarked on a major renovation. Their goal was to improve their home’s interior space and to create an exterior that would do justice to the landscape around it.

The couple chose Glen Echo, Maryland, architect Richard Leggin to realize their ambitious vision. Farabow, an avid golfer, already had some ideas in mind, inspired by a favorite Stanford White-designed golf club in Long Island. “The golf club was a long, low structure like this house,” Leggin says. “The two-gabled approach we chose was like the golf club.”

Prior to the renovation, the front façade was unremarkable. Though the house had two levels, they were invisible from the front. The main front door was obscured by shrubbery crowded too close to the house. “You could barely find the front door,” Leggin recalls. “All you saw was roof.” In addition to the gables, Leggin designed a substantial portico at the front door. The family entrance—facing front but off to one side—now has a covered porch over it. The house, which had been painted brick, is now a combination of fieldstone and cedar shakes.

Inside, the couple had a few more requirements. “We wanted a living space we could be in all the time, modern and updated but cozy,” Neth says. “And we wanted to be able to live entirely on the first floor.” The original floor plan was far from efficient: The front stairs were accessible only from a side hallway, the kitchen could only be entered through the dining room, and the cramped, narrow mudroom shared its space with the laundry room, resulting in unwanted clutter. Upstairs, there was no hallway; three bedrooms sat railroad-apartment-style, so that occupants had to walk through one to get to another.

According to Neth, in the course of addressing this list of problems “there was not a room that didn’t get touched.” The most conspicuous change was the creation of a new family room with a dramatic two-story vaulted ceiling and exposed, arched beams. Opening onto a completely gutted and refurbished kitchen, the room is now 20 by 40 feet and includes a spacious sitting area and a dining area that easily accommodates a table for eight. A pre-existing brick fireplace has been refaced with an iridescent slate tile surround; Leggin designed a charming Craftsman-style inglenook, or niche, around it with benches on either side.

Throughout the house, the architect moved or created doorways and walls to establish a flow between rooms. In order to redesign the exterior façade, he pushed the front wall of the house out four to six feet; he used that extra space inside to shift the dining room forward and install a hallway between it and the living room that would directly connect the entryway to the family room/kitchen. He opened the front stairs onto the living room and created a door from the foyer to the study, which has been beautifully paneled from top to bottom in honey-colored pine.

Leggin reorganized the master suite, which was already on the first floor, to better accommodate the closets and renovated master bath; he coffered the bedroom ceiling for interest. Upstairs, he radically altered the layout, adding a common room, an extra bedroom and a much-needed hallway stretching between the front and back staircases. Behind the mudroom, a powder room (also serving as a pool changing space) and a laundry room were installed; this addition converted the existing mudroom into an open corridor with closets for belongings and access to the three-car garage, the back staircase and the family entrance.

At the rear, it also accesses the backyard, where the resurfaced swimming pool and new slate patio beckon visiting family and friends. Gorgeous natural surroundings notwithstanding, all the existing landscaping has been replaced. The winding driveway, which was situated too close to the house, has been moved. Set back from the road on 2.2 rolling acres, the couple’s sprawling country home now provides the perfect centerpiece to this idyllic setting.

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

ARCHITECTURE: Richard Leggin, AIA, Richard Leggin Architects, Glen Echo, Maryland. BUILDER: Macon Construction Company, Kensington, Maryland. INTERIOR DESIGN: Linda Steimke, Linda Steimke & Associates, North Potomac, Maryland. KITCHEN DESIGN: Galen Harley, Nancy Thornett Associates, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland. LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Guy Williams, DCA Landscape Architects, Washington, DC.

ULTIMATE HOME GYM NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Like so many renovation projects, this one started out small. When Andy Axelrad and his wife Kaleen Kittay moved into their Vienna, Virginia, home in 2003, they planned to convert the deck into a porch. But after living in the house with their two children for a while, the porch idea was replaced by a more ambitious plan. “The covered porch became less important when we saw how we lived in the house,” Axelrad says. Instead, he and Kittay, both doctors, decided to renovate their basement and create a full home gymnasium complete with a resistance pool, weight room and more.

For this formidable task, the couple turned to Sun Design Remodeling Specialists, Inc., the company they’d already consulted about their original covered porch idea. The project manager, Jeremy Fleming, guided them through the complicated renovation process, which included a 280-square-foot addition to house the indoor pool, as well as the reapportionment of the existing basement space to create a more convenient layout. The basement level now includes a guest room, separate billiard and ping-pong rooms, a movie room and a bath with all new fixtures and finishes. Though the original basement housed what Axelrad refers to as “a poorly stocked exercise room,” its walls and doors were moved during the renovation to accommodate a larger space for a treadmill, elliptical system, full weight circuit and high-definition television.

Impressive as the now-roomy basement is, however, the pool is definitely the main attraction. Twelve feet long by six feet wide and 50 inches deep, it’s constructed out of a fiberglass shell that encases a balsa wood mold. As Fleming explains it, “Balsa maintains heat and is very durable.” Sun Design dug the hole for the foundation, poured the concrete, and positioned the pool in the hole. “We built the room around the pool,” Fleming says, adding that getting the pool into place was the most challenging aspect of the project. “We had no access to the property for our digging equipment, so we used a 100-foot crane to transport the pool the 90-foot distance from the street to the hole in the ground,” he recalls.

In order to create a space beneath the pool area for equipment, Sun Design had to dig deeper than the existing foundation, placing underpinnings for support along the wall of the foundation facing the addition. The six-foot-deep space is accessible through a door in the floor, while the pool itself sits on a sturdy layer of foam atop the concrete foundation. “Fiberglass will expand and contract so it needs a giving surface,” Fleming explains. “Concrete doesn’t give, so we needed a layer of foam.”

The SwimEx pool is programmed using a panel on the wall which controls currents, therapy jets, variable times for exercising, temperature and underwater lights. “There’s no chlorine,” Axelrad says. “The pool is disinfected with an ozonator, which filters water with oxygen.” Axelrad explains that the filter oxidizes contaminants and eliminates the need for chlorine; it is set to turn on for a duration and frequency based on how often the pool is used.

Fleming designed the pool room to take advantage of views of the owners’ secluded, one-acre property, which boasts lush gardens and a Koi pond. To admit as much natural light as possible, he installed large picture windows along the back, placed windows high up on the wall that faces the neighbors’ house and added skylights.

Though the pool is one piece of fiberglass, the owners chose two different colors for it: blue for the interior and warm beige for the surround. Oversized porcelain tiles that resemble slate but in a warm beige color scheme pave the floor, while subway tiles in the same style and hue cover the walls. The bathroom tile and shower interior are done in the same tile, unifying the spaces.

The homeowners appreciate every inch of their new home exercise and entertainment center. “It’s a pleasure to have an idea and see it through,” Andy Axelrad says. “Sun Design was with us every step of the way.”

Photographer Greg Hadley is based in Fairfax, Virginia.

DESIGN & RENOVATION CONTRACTOR:
Jeremy Fleming, Sun Design Remodeling Specialists, Inc., Burke, Virginia.

Applause- At Home

Two years ago, The Washington Design Center initiated a tradition that continues today:  Every six months, a local designer is asked to decorate the Center’s lobby. This time around, Justine Sancho took the reins, and she brought a very definite vision to the project. “I wanted an inviting residential space instead of a commercial one to represent the Design Center, which is residential,” she says.

Her greatest challenge was creating a living room in a lobby with 20-foot ceilings. Sancho used draperies from Duralee and Highland Court and a border painted on canvas by decorative painter Tom Warnock to impart the feeling of an elegant home. The project required that the designer use at least six sources from the Design Center; Sancho’s choices included a Toledo sofa from Kravet, Sophia wing chairs from Century Furniture, Ondoso lamps from Donghia and a Stark area rug. “We worked together,” Sancho says. “It’s a great way to give back to the design community.”

INTERIOR DESIGN: Justine Sancho, ASID, Justine Sancho Interior Design, Potomac, Maryland.

BAZAAR - HIGH Style Lap of Luxury
Maxalto’s plush Febo collection is noted for its elegant, completely upholstered form and prominent stitching at the seams. It includes a sofa, armchair, chaise longue and bed; pictured here, the queen-sized bed is $8,246, including three small cushions and the slatted base. It is available at Adlon in six different sizes. www.adlondesign.com.

Pretty as a Peacock
Using three layers of felt and a minimal, dark-varnished metal frame, Israeli furniture designer Dror Benshetrit and Italian furniture manufacturer Cappellini have created Peacock, a unique armchair with soft, folded edges. The felt—which comes in different colors-—is one big piece; no sewing, weaving or upholstery is used. Priced at $6,406 (for one color) or $10,000 (for two colors). At Contemporaria; www.contemporaria.com.

Perfect Fit
Confluences, French designer Philippe Nigro’s playful collection of seating for furniture manufacturer Ligne Roset, is a rainbow of brightly colored lounge chairs that fit together in different configurations to offer a range of sitting positions, seat depths and back heights. Prices vary; the configuration pictured starts at $4,635. At Ligne Roset; www.ligne-roset-usa.com.

Under Glass
The singular beauty of glass is clear in French designer Cedric Ragot’s Silly Cat collection, a series of tables that includes dining, coffee, pedestal and end tables made from tempered gray European glass in eye-catching geometric shapes. Available at Roche Bobois in extra clear, smoked (shown) and bronze. $3,090. www.roche-bobois.com.

Continental Collaboration
Marry French furniture designer Jean-Marie Massaud with Italian furniture maker Poltrona Frau and the result is the elegant Archibald armchair, a contemporary take on a masculine leather club chair. Folds in the leather give the chair its originality, and cast aluminum legs lend it a delicate feel. Available at Poltrona Frau in 96 shades of leather. Chair, $4,490; matching ottoman, $1,550. www.frauwashington.com.

East Meets West
Asian antiques like the graceful a-line Chinese cabinet pictured here add a touch of the exotic to any décor. Imported from Shanxi, China, by East and Beyond, Ltd., the cabinet dates from the early 19th century. Eighty inches tall and made from elm wood, it would have been used to store clothing. $3,500, though similar cabinets may be less expensive. East and Beyond sells Japanese furnishings as well. www.eandbeyond.com.

Home Tech: State of the Art
Musician’s Choice
When bass guitarist Jay DeMarcus of the country band Rascal Flatts installed the Carl Tatz-designed JBL Synthesis Digital Home Theater System in his home recording studio, his choice spoke volumes. The sound system includes eight speakers, all of which apply synthesis technology, using digital algorithms to create a near-perfect, 360-degree soundscape. www.carltatzdesign.com.

Home Movies
BeoVision 4-103 by Bang & Olufsen lets you go to the movies without leaving your house. The 103-inch-screen plasma television has VisionClear: Automatic Picture Control sensor technology that measures the ambient light in the room and adjusts the light output from the screen accordingly. A tiny built-in camera—part of the Automatic Color Management system—checks the screen every 100 hours and adjusts the color levels. www.bang-olufsen.com.

Tuned In
The GenevaSound Model L speaker system from Geneva Lab delivers high-quality sound in a sleek, modern package. The single cabinet is constructed from piano-lacquered wood and includes an iPod universal dock, built-in CD slot and FM radio with digital tuner. Available in red, black and white. www.aplusrstore.com.

Energy Efficient
Crestron’s energy saving Inwall Touch Panel Picture comes highly recommended from Charles Carlson at Performance Home Automation, Inc., in Riva, Maryland. This integrated system controls heat, lighting and HVAC, automatically decreasing them when you’re not at home and increasing them when you are. Pictured here, an iPhone with an application that conveniently allows the user to operate the Inwall remotely. www.performancehomeautomation.com.

Cable Buy
HDMI cables transmit the highest quality video and audio to your TV screen. However, HDMI signals typically travel about 200 feet—less than ideal if you have your A/V system installed in a central location and your TVs located throughout the house. According to Aegis Technologies’ Dan Wittig, Crestron has the solution: the Digital Media System, which uses fiber optic technology to send HDMI signals up to 1,000 feet. Compatible with the HDMI cable system. www.aegistechnologies.com.

Home Style
Trend Setter
The latest kitchen cabinetry emphasizes natural wood grains that add a touch of the exotic to kitchen décor. With its bold striations, the cabinetry line Alnochic from German manufacturer Alno illustrates this trend. Made from
high-gloss walnut, it provides an alternative to more traditional cabinetry styles. www.alnousa.com.

Air Supply
Fanimation’s new Torto Ceiling Fan offers function and style. A modern, innovative design lends the fan a contemporary flair while its three blades create angled airflow that efficiently covers a room. Available in Metro Gray (pictured) or Oil Rubbed Bronze with a frosted glass light fixture. www.fanimation.com.

Less Is More
The Fire Ribbon Vent-Free 3 ft from Spark Modern Fires takes a minimalist approach. No chimney, flue or hearth is necessary, and the Vent-Free gas fireplace can be installed anywhere. Buyers select their own surround details, custom fit to their own space. www.sparkfires.com.

Water Play
Introducing Betty Blue, a freestanding, basin-less washstand designed by Sieger and manufactured by Alape. When water hits its flat surface, it is directed into an overflow channel just millimeters wide, and out through pipes that are concealed in the basin’s legs. Made of steel with a homogeneous glass coating, Betty Blue is available at Union Hardware in Bethesda. www.unionhardware.com.

Filtered or Tap?
Faucet and fixture manufacturer MGS has a new, triple-lever kitchen faucet with a built-in filtration system. Though it looks and operates like a traditional faucet, this streamlined stainless-steel fixture disperses tap and filtered water through two separate waterways. www.mgsdesigns.com.