Out of Asia
Mango Tree DC is serving contemporary Thai fare in CityCenterDC. Barcelona-based Lázaro Rosa-Violán Studio designed the interiors, which evoke Thailand with a European twist. Chef de cuisine Paul Kennedy focuses the menu on the country’s four main culinary regions; mango cheesecake makes a fitting finale. 929 H Street, NW; 202-408-8100. mangotreedc.com
California Dreaming
Summer House Santa Monica brings a sunny, Golden State vibe to North Bethesda’s Pike & Rose development. The second outpost of the eatery conceived by chef Jeff Mahin serves fresh, casual fare including Beach Bum Ceviche, sushi and steak frites. 11825 Grand Park Avenue; 301-881-2381. summerhousesm.com
Farm to Table
Owner Reese Gardner pays homage to his native Pennsylvania—the second state to ratify the Constitution—in his recently opened DC restaurant, Second State. Designed by Maggie O’Neill of SwatchRoom, the spot serves American fare and sources ingredients from local farmers with an emphasis on Pennsylvania. 1831 M Street, NW; 202-466-3010. secondstatedc.com
A biennial exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, “Organic Matters—Women to Watch 2015” examines the ways in which contemporary women artists view and treat nature in their work. Thirteen artists from the U.S., the U.K., Chile, France, and Italy were selected to exhibit in the show; their photographs, drawings, sculptures, and videos will be on view from June 5 to September 13.
A companion exhibit on the same dates, “Super Natural” showcases the ways in which artists past and present engage with the natural world. Including 50 works and installations by 25 artists, the show will juxtapose early work with bold, modern creations. For example, viewers can study the stark contrast between 17th-century Dutch artist Rachel Ruysch’s floral still life and large-scale collaged images in Maggie Foskett’s Rain Forest (1996).
Both exhibits promise an adventurous trek through the wild—free of mosquitoes and humidity. 1250 New York Avenue, NW; 202-783-5000. nmwa.org.
Sometimes unraveling challenges reap unexpected rewards. Such was the case when homeowners planning a new residence on Aberdeen Creek decided they wanted to live on the property during construction. They moved into the existing house on the lot while their new home was being built nearby; the original was then torn down and a new guesthouse built in its place. It was at this point that architect Scarlett Breeding’s plan cleverly connected the two structures with a bridge housing a home office with panoramic water views.
Not only does the bridge lend a unique signature to the Shingle-style home, it also beckons residents and guests to explore what lies beyond 4.4 acres of sweeping gardens that encompass both large spaces for entertaining and secret niches enveloped in greenery. “We designed a garden under the bridge to pull you in and draw you into this water view,” says landscape architect Kevin Campion. “It’s pretty dramatic.”
Throughout the property, the team created an outdoor aesthetic that reflects the architecture of the house. “The owners wanted a welcoming house,” says Breeding. “The gardens follow that—they’re much more informal.”
Campion agrees, “There’s a strong armature that runs along the back of the house. But then it’s adorned with naturalistic plantings.” The garden includes a pool, kitchen and dining area on the main terrace, rambling “rivers” of lawn that meander down to the creek and a sports court for the couple’s two kids.
From the house, a path of boulders leads to a secluded hot tub. Walnut Hill Landscape Company, which installed and maintains the landscape, “did a great job creating stairs that look like an outcrop—very informal and organic,” says Campion.
But nothing feels more organic than the sweeping Lord Baltimore hibiscus, switchgrass and Black-Eyed Susans that sway in the breeze along the banks of Aberdeen Creek.
Photographer Jay Stearns is based in Annapolis.
ARCHITECT: SCARLETT BREEDING, AIA, Alt Breeding Schwarz Architects, Annapolis, Maryland. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: KEVIN CAMPION and BOB HRUBY, principals; MEREDITH BEACH, project manager, Campion Hruby Landscape Architects, Annapolis, Maryland. LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR: MIKE PROKOPCHAK, Walnut Hill Landscape Company, Annapolis, Maryland. BUILDER: BRET ANDERSON, Pyramid Builders, Annapolis, Maryland.
Speed Demon
Jaguar recently unveiled its 2016 F-TYPE R Coupe at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. It boasts new all-wheel drive technology as well as convertible and manual transmission options. Both the coupe and convertible can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. Available in spring 2015; pricing to be determined. jaguar.com
Crystal-Clear Sound
Craftsmanship meets the latest in technology with the Sennheiser HD 800 Headphones. Hand-assembled in Germany of precision stainless steel, they offer the largest transducer of any headphone on the market, creating a natural, dynamic listening experience. $1,500; sennheiser.com
Sweet Dreams
The compact Sound Oasis Bluetooth Sleep Sound Therapy System streams built-in therapeutic soundtracks for up to eight hours; 10 nature soundtracks are built in and others can be downloaded. It is 2.5 inches tall and has a USB-rechargeable battery. $60; soundoasis.com
Fresh Start
Mornings sound better with iShower2 by iDevices. This waterproof speaker can connect via Bluetooth with a mobile device or tablet up to 200 feet away, bringing music, phone calls, podcasts and more directly into the shower. $100; idevicesinc.com
After Dark
Kay Unger’s metallic lace-yoke cocktail dress combines a boat-illusion neckline with a V-back and an embellished sheath silhouette. $550; neimanmarcus.com
Perennial Pearls
Dior’s latest Mise en Dior necklace collection is sure to make a statement. This piece combines pearls in palladium, gold and pink-gold finishes on a ribbon chain. dior.com
Belle of the Ball
Kate Spade’s Evening Belles Feather Mimi clutch adds a touch of fun to any evening ensemble. Made of silk satin with 14-karat light gold-plated hardware, it includes a hidden chain strap. $398; katespade.com
Tropical Getaway
Opened in late 2013, The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba occupies an enviable spot on pristine Palm Beach. Its 265 guest rooms and 55 suites boast balconies with views of the Caribbean Sea. The resort is also home to the island’s largest spa, plus four restaurants including Madero Argentinian Grill, featuring poolside dining (pictured). Rates from $629; ritzcarlton.com
Alpine Aerie
A five-minute walk from Switzerland’s St. Moritz ski resort, Giardino Mountain is housed in an old hotel that’s been dramatically transformed. Beyond its traditional façade, modern interiors unfold. Seventy-eight guest rooms and suites blend natural woods with tactile fabrics and offer stunning mountain views. A spa, two restaurants, and a children’s program round out the action off the slopes. Rates from $355; designhotels.com
Modern Update
Overlooking Thomas Circle, DC’s Donovan House, a Kimpton Hotel is fresh from a multi-million-dollar renovation. Inspired by the travels of its namesake, “Wild” Bill Donovan who founded the precursor to the CIA, the new interiors by Boston-based CBT are influenced by sleek Asian and European design. Rooms boast canopy beds swathed in Frette linens and minimalist workspaces. Weekend rates from $140; donovanhoteldc.com
On the Road
James Beard award-winning chef RJ Cooper of DC’s Rogue 24 has opened Gypsy Soul, a new restaurant in Fairfax’s Mosaic District. Cooper was inspired to create a spot where his wife Judy and their twins Ava and Bridgett (pictured with the chef, inset) could enjoy casual American fare made with ingredients from local farms. Interiors with cast-metal and leather accents pay tribute to Cooper’s love of motorcycle riding. 703-992-0933; gypsysoul-va.com
New Hot Spot
Matt Baker, formerly of The Occidental, is now executive chef at City Perch Kitchen & Bar in North Bethesda’s new Pike & Rose development. The concept menu by California chef Sherry Yard incorporates seasonal American fare, from rotisserie meats to raw bar seafood (pictured), along with handcrafted cocktails. 301-231-2310; cityperch.com
Just Dessert
Pastry chef Meredith Tomason (pictured), a veteran of Tom Colicchio’s Craft Restaurant in New York, has opened the RareSweets bake shop in the new CityCenterDC. Guests enjoy heirloom cakes, cookies, ice creams (inset) and breakfast pastries in a modern setting designed by CORE, featuring an open kitchen. 202-499-0077; raresweets.com
SHIFT INTO SPRING Adrianna Papell’s Split Front Shirttail Shift Dress makes a smooth transition into warmer weather. Uniquely detailed with a notched neckline and exposed back zipper, it comes in cobalt, red and black and regular and petite sizes. $118; nordstrom.com
SILK ROAD The Maison des Carres scarf playfully documents the creation of an Hermès silk square, from concept and creation to final sale. Made of hand-rolled silk twill, it is available at Hermès boutiques nationwide. $450; hermes.com
TWO-WAY STYLE MCM’s Petal Visetos reversible belt sports bright orange leather on one side and coated canvas on the other. It makes a bold and versatile statement, either way, you wear it. $295; bloomingdales.com.
TASTE OF PERU José Andrés celebrates Peruvian cuisine, along with its Chinese and Japanese influences, at the new China Chilcano in Penn Quarter. Designed by Spanish architect/designer Juli Capella, the colorful spot boasts a dramatic mural and red neon lighting that evokes ancient indigenous art. Featuring one of the largest pisco selections in the U.S., the bar serves a mean Machu Pisco. 418 7th Street, NW; 202-783-0941. chinachilcano.com
DOUBLE PLAY: KAPNOS TAVERNA Mike Isabella has opened a second Greek restaurant, Kapnos Taverna, in Ballston. He and executive chef/partner George Pagonis (a Season 12 “Top Chef” contestant) will run the new outpost, focusing on the cuisine of coastal Greece and its islands. (The DC Kapnos serves Northern Greek fare.) Streetsense designed the new restaurant’s rustic, Mediterranean-style interiors. 4000 Wilson Boulevard; 703-243-4400. kapnostaverna.com
SAFE HARBOR Azumi is making waves in the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore. Though its name means “safe harbor” in Japanese, this new restaurant dishes up a daring menu crafted by native Tokyo chef Eiji Takase. Take, for example, the live Santa Barbara sea urchin. Interiors by Patrick Sutton. 725 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore; 443-220-0477, azumirestaurant.com
ITALIAN ESCAPE The St. Regis Venice San Clemente Palace debuts in April on a private island in the center of the city’s lagoon. Housed in a former monastery, the property’s 191 guest rooms and suites were restored and redesigned by Hirsch Bedner Associates and GA Design. A private boat service connects guests to the city’s many attractions (which include the requisite gondola ride). From $625, including breakfast. stregis.com
ZEN SANCTUARY Perched on the top six floors of a high-rise in the financial district, the new Aman Tokyo marries traditional Japanese design with modern style. Designed by Kerry Hill Architects, the 84-room property boasts three restaurants, a swimming pool and a sprawling wellness facility with dramatic views of the city skyline. Rates from $630. amanresorts.com
MODERN RETREAT Designed by GCA Architects Associates, Barcelona’s ABaC Restaurant & Hotel encompasses a new building integrated with a former home that historically served as the American Embassy in Spain. Today the 15-room property boasts sleek, modern guest suites with Bang & Olufsen TVs and sound systems and Hermès toiletries, a spa and a lounge adjoining a restaurant with two Michelin stars. Rates from $244. abacbarcelona.com
March 21, 2015, will mark the opening of a new building housing the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum. Designed by Hartman-Cox Architects, the six-floor, state-of-the-art structure recently earned LEED Gold certification. The building adjoins historic Woodhull House, which has been renovated as part of the museum.
Finally relocated after the 2011 announcement that it would join the GW campus, The Textile Museum will continue to showcase its collection of more than 19,000 objects. The complex will also house the Albert H. Small Center for Washingtoniana Collection and serve as a hub for arts education and special events.
The museum is located at 701 21st Street, NW. museum.gwu.edu
John Haslett had a clear vision in mind when he set out to transform a Reston penthouse from a builder-grade shell into a contemporary, Manhattan-style loft showcasing his art collection. The only catch: Much of the artwork—from paintings and sculpture to one-of-a-kind light fixtures and place settings—had yet to be created.
“I thought it would be a one-year process,” he reflects. “But that year turned into three because of my commitment to finding exactly what I wanted. If it didn’t exist, I found someone to build it.”
Unlike most homeowners who rush the design and build-out process, Haslett savored every moment. The financial-planning executive had recently retired to pursue a second career as a painter—though he hadn’t picked up a brush in more than 20 years. So he viewed this project as an opportunity to interact with artisans of all kinds, not only to realize his urban dream home but also as a refresher course in the creative process.
While Haslett purchased or commissioned art on whirlwind trips around the country, he entrusted the overall design of his two-bedroom penthouse to Alice Busch and Lucas Trunnell of Great Falls Distinctive Interiors, Inc. The mother-and-son team set out to create bespoke interiors that would reflect a level of refinement and attention to detail equal to their client’s art.
“With Alice’s more traditional background and her son Luke, who does more contemporary work, I thought they were a good combination,” Haslett explains. “Getting the best of both generations was going to meet the criteria I was looking for.”
From the entry hall, where niches in the Venetian plaster walls display works in blown glass, metal and ceramics, to the master bedroom with its suspended bed and metal “wave wall,” the completed residence is full of custom finishes and millwork fabricated by RKI, Inc. “We were inspired by a mix of materials such as wood, stone, and concrete,” explains Trunnell. “We wanted to make it feel like a very special environment that you would not see anywhere else.”
Delineating the living room’s two seating areas, a bulkhead in a faux-concrete finish provides a rough contrast to the Kravet sofas covered in soft chenille. Along one wall, horizontal stainless-steel reveals in the mahogany paneling align with grooves in the adjacent Delano marble housing a fireplace and flat-screen TV.
“We carried the exact reveal from the wood into the marble, continuing the linear pattern,” Trunnell remarks. “We worked with the millwork company and the granite studio to make sure it was all perfect.”
An abstract stainless-steel sculpture by Lyle London creates a focal point in the adjacent dining area, which boasts a Venetian plaster accent wall in lavender, one of Haslett’s favorite hues. In lieu of a traditional chandelier—which would have been impossible to center in the asymmetrical space—the team designed a custom fixture. Inspired by the clouds floating by outside his 21st-floor abode, Haslett commissioned California-based Lusive Décor to create a metal-mesh “cloud fixture” through which LED lights shimmer like stars.
The dining area is open to the kitchen, where a sleek bar of Trunnell’s design replaced a lackluster pantry. “The kitchen is one of my favorite rooms,” says Busch. “Behind the bar there’s a frosted acrylic back with LED lighting. John can create any color he wants.”
Once the penthouse was complete, Haslett resided there for a year before he purchased a loft in Chicago that now serves as his permanent home and studio. However, he still returns to the Reston apartment monthly for business meetings. “It feels like I’m in a luxury resort,” he says of his visits.
As he delves into painting, Haslett credits the renovation with helping him transition from a structured business environment to the “free-flowing” career of an artist. “For me, it was about drawing on the experience of these artisans and designers—and decades in their craft—to help me find my creative vision,” he reflects. “It was a learning experience that just happens to be a home.”
Photographer Bob Narod is based in Herndon, Virginia.
INTERIOR DESIGN: ALICE BUSCH, Allied Member ASID; LUCAS TRUNNELL, Assoc. AIA, Allied Member ASID, LEED AP, BD+C, Great Falls Distinctive Interiors, Inc., Ashburn, Virginia. CONTRACTOR: ROGER C. VASSILIADIS, RCV Real Estate, Great Falls, Virginia.
Buying real estate was not on Tom Gilday’s agenda when he took a family ski trip to Montana back in 2004. But on a drive to see a friend’s new vacation property, he spotted a split-level home for sale at the edge of a pristine lake with an idyllic view of the Swan Mountains—and was smitten.
“It was breathtaking. You look across the lake and the mountains are right there,” recalls Gilday, vice president of Silver Spring-based Gilday Renovations. “The house is on a peninsula. If you stand in the living room and look right and look left, there’s nothing but water.”
Gilday and his wife Karen considered the possibilities and commitments of owning a vacation getaway 2,700 miles away from their Maryland residence. The idea of skiing and ice skating in a winter wonderland and spending summers hiking in nearby Glacier National Park won them over. They bought the property and have gone West—with four kids and their dog in tow—once or twice a year ever since.
Though lackluster in style, the 1990s-era, five-bedroom house had good bones, was well insulated and made a perfect base for the family’s outdoor pursuits. But over the years, Tom Gilday studied architecture prevalent in the area and gathered ideas for a future renovation. “The original house didn’t take advantage of the views,” he says. “I kind of knew what was possible but it took me a while to figure out how to do the transitions.”
A few years ago, the Gildays decided the time was right to update the house in order to improve the views and also to create an aesthetic that would better reflect its surroundings. While Gilday’s design would add about 108 square feet to the existing structure, it would ultimately create a more spacious feel by reconfiguring rooms and introducing more windows.
First, he eliminated the raised front entry door and split-level staircase and landing. A new front door on the ground level now opens to a streamlined staircase, making room for a large closet in the entry foyer and built-in bookcases in the living room above.
On both gabled ends of the second floor, walls with modest windows were traded for great expanses of glass. In the living room, Gilday added a large fireplace—curiously missing in the original home, given its location—and bumped out new glass windows to offer unencumbered mountain views. A new covered porch on the west-facing dining room side helps eliminate solar gain and offers a perfect outdoor perch.
Gilday also shifted the master bedroom to the mountain side of the house for better views, expanding it by four feet. A new master bath built into the bedroom left space for a home office in the bedroom’s former location. He completely gutted the kitchen, replacing it with new cabinetry, Silestone countertops and updated appliances.
Gone are the builder-grade drywall and painted masonite exteriors, replaced by a rugged material palette that lends the home authentic Western style inside and out. Working with J. L. Halverstadt of Wild Wood Eccentrics in Whitefish, Montana, Gilday selected a wide range of reclaimed materials to be used throughout the property for style and sustainability. “All the lumber, siding, stone, everything used in the house was reclaimed—the beams, the siding on the inside and the outside and the horizontal logs. This is about as green as you can get,” he says.
Montana-based Brian Quay oversaw construction on-site for Gilday, who managed the project remotely. One of the most challenging details was executing Gilday’s window design: The glass was installed into notches in massive reclaimed-wood beams. “It looks like the glass comes out of the beams themselves,” explains Gilday.
Karen Gilday furnished the interiors in comfortable, rustic style and selected all of the kitchen and bath cabinetry and materials to complement the home’s new look. Artwork the couple has acquired in the region also reflects a Western theme.
The family now enjoys vacations in the newly completed home more than ever. In the summer, they gather with neighbors around the fire pit and enjoy meals on the new porch. “The family is always together out there,” says Gilday. “We play chess, read—and there’s not as much emphasis on TV.
“The first time I went out there when it was all done,” he recalls, “I remember sitting on the porch and looking through the house towards the mountains at dusk. They turned purple, then they turned golden when the sun set. It’s a magical place.”
Photographer Heidi Long is based in Kalispell, Montana.
RENOVATION DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION: TOM GILDAY, principal and designer; KAREN GILDAY, interiors, Gilday Renovations, Silver Spring, Maryland. CARPENTER: BRIAN QUAY, Kalispell, Montana.
“It gets better,” whispers architect Scarlett Breeding, touring a new home she designed near Annapolis. Surveying this virtually transparent steel, glass, and stone creation with sweeping water views, a visitor wonders what could possibly get any better than this.
The sheer simplicity instills guests with a sense of calm—precisely what its owner, CEO of a high-tech company, had in mind for this weekend getaway. “My company provides technology that is all about accountability and transparency,” he says. “I wanted this house to have those qualities. I did not just want to blur the lines of inside and outside; I wanted there to be none.”
The owner assembled a team of experts he knew could create the modern retreat he imagined. Scarlett Breeding, landscape architect Kevin Campion, builder Bret Anderson and interior designer Helen Sullivan had already collaborated on his DC home and other residences. Together, they delved into the project—possibly one of their most challenging to date.
As a starting point, Breeding found inspiration in the local vernacular. “The form comes from the traditional Chesapeake cottage, with its simple gabled roof,” she explains. “There is one gable form in the middle and matching ones on either side. We reduced them to their simplest elements, then subtracted out the roof and wall planes so they became far more transparent, to maximize light and views.” Even the garage doors are glass.
Dormers and skylights create lofty second-story spaces, yet allow the house to maintain a single-story presence. “It has large room volumes but does not feel inappropriate for the neighborhood, which is primarily cottages,” says Breeding.
The pure geometry makes a powerful statement. In fact, the structure is built on a single plinth without changes in grade on the ground level, from the water threshold at the front door to the curb-less shower entries and glassy backyard pool. “The biggest challenge,” says landscape architect Kevin Campion, “was integrating vulnerability when it comes to water—our friend and enemy at the same time. We also had to respect architecture so pure that it has no gutters on the vertical roofs.” The team devised a subterranean system that filters water away from the house. Catchments of black Mexican pebbles in the driveway and perimeter of the house capture water and serve as a strong design motif.
The home’s three connected volumes form an “L.” One stretches from the street toward the water houses the garage and guest suite and upstairs, a bunkroom with built-in beds and an office commanding views of the river. Perpendicular to this volume is the central, most transparent one containing the great room, dining pavilion and kitchen and another on the same axis housing the master suite and a bedroom for the owner’s son. A lower level includes a nanny suite, rec room, and wine cellar.
Throughout the interiors, a clean-lined, pared-down aesthetic prevails. Conventional building details are either nonexistent or so well hidden that nothing competes with the simple palette of bluestone floors, stone walls, steel, and glass. As the owner explains, “We wanted a seamless transition from inside to out and vice versa. Everything is elemental, honest and true.”
In the great room, exposed trusses counterbalance the loftiness. “The trusswork gives intimacy and warmth to this glass house,” says Breeding. “We’ve succeeded in making a very contemporary house not feel cold.” A massive stone chimney adds context and texture. It houses a fireplace and TV on the seating room side and on the other, anchors kitchen appliances and cabinetry. Made by Premier Custom-Built Cabinetry, casework in the kitchen and throughout the home cleverly eliminates clutter and enriches the material palette with German raked-oak surfaces. The precise fit of each detail, from air diffusers recessed in the stone floors to floating staircases, presented challenges at every turn. In fact, one of the cabinet installers nicknamed the house “Scarlett’s Rubik’s cube.”
“In modern construction,” says builder Bret Anderson, “everything is a zero-tolerance fit and is exposed. How these materials come together sets the quality level of the project. All of the interior trim and millwork in this house is integrated in such a way that it is seamless and holds the design together.”
With its proximity to the Magothy, guests in the dining pavilion almost feel as though they’re on a yacht. Glass panels slide open to expose the room to the elements. Automated screens bordering the kitchen shield the house from insects. The room’s only adornment, a balsa wood light fixture, floats above the table; it is one of three commissioned by the owner, who loves the glow they cast at night. “In the wind,” he says, “they look like a modern, Asian-inspired homage to Calder.”
The glass-walled master bedroom and guest suites flank the dining pavilion. The guestroom appears to hover above the pool, installed so completely flush with the stone deck that it resembles an aquamarine pane of glass. From the master bath, a door leads to an outdoor shower and hot tub sunken in stone.
In furnishing the home, designer Helen Sullivan sought pieces with an organic feel, from their colors and shapes to the fabrics. “Everything is soft and mellow,” she explains. “More than just comfortable, the house is very calming. It has a Zen quality.”
Behind the home, lawns terrace down to the river, rimmed by native grasses and perennials. “The plantings manage stormwater and connect the site to the Chesapeake,” says Campion.
After arriving at his new retreat on weekends, the owner admits, he rarely leaves. “This team executed perfection,” he insists. “Who would want to leave?”
Photographer David Burroughs is based in Annapolis.
ARCHITECTURE: SCARLETT BREEDING, AIA, Alt Breeding Schwarz Architects, Annapolis, Maryland. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: KEVIN CAMPION, ASLA, Campion Hruby Landscape Architects, Annapolis, Maryland. INTERIOR DESIGN: HELEN SULLIVAN, Helen Sullivan Design, Washington, DC. BUILDER: BRET ANDERSON, president; STEVE MICEK, project manager; BRUCE HART, site supervisor, Pyramid Builders, Annapolis, Maryland.
Visiting the DC Design House is a rite of spring on Washington’s design calendar. On board for the 2015 event, 24 design teams will transform a new farmhouse-style residence in McLean designed by Harrison Design and built by Artisan Builders.
Visitors can enjoy the first glimpse of designers’ creations on April 11th’s Preview Day—along with light bites served by “Top Chef” Bryan Voltaggio’s restaurants. That evening, Voltaggio will host a Preview Night wine dinner at Aggio restaurant in Friendship Heights, where he’ll sign copies of his new cookbook, Home.
Proceeds from all events benefit Children’s National Health System. Admission is $50 on Preview Day and $250 for Preview Night. Regular admission is $30; closed on Mondays. The house is located at 956 Mackall Farm Lane. For more information and a list of designers, visit dcdesignhouse.com.
When self-taught chef Patrick O’Connell opened The Inn at Little Washington in a former auto repair shop in 1978, few would have wagered that the venture would not only succeed but would garner top accolades from restaurant critics for decades to come.
Though it has grown to include 24 guest rooms in the original structure (which also houses the restaurant and public spaces) and several outbuildings, the Inn still recalls another time and place. Inspired by notable European properties, O’Connell’s fanciful creation centered on the main streets of rural Washington, Virginia (population: 150), transports guests into a world where walls are painted in monkey motifs, cheese is served atop an anatomically correct cow sculpture and ceilings are bedecked in kaleidoscopic cutouts of designer wall coverings—and that’s just for starters. No two guest rooms are alike.
“What is lacking today [in hospitality] is a sense of place, an identity, an authenticity, a personality,” says O’Connell. “We want guests to feel like they’re in someone’s home and we want it to look as if it has been here a long, long time.”
To O’Connell, nailing the ambiance and timeworn patina is just as critical as serving an impeccable foie gras. “Your eye can never be bored, just as your palate can never be bored,” he says. “It’s all parallel, to keep guests intrigued and amused and to sustain that fascination.”
O’Connell grew up in “big” Washington, where he studied theatre at Catholic University. One could argue that he hasn’t strayed far from his first calling. In his forthcoming book, The Inn at Little Washington: A Magnificent Obsession (Rizzoli, New York, April 2015; $50), O’Connell reveals that in his mind the Inn is a “healing cocoon” and a “folly and stage set for whatever drama is being played out” in guests’ lives.
If the Inn is theatre, O’Connell’s leading lady is Joyce Conwy Evans, a London-based set designer who has decorated every room on the property—most of them sight unseen. After she receives a blueprint of a new project, he explains, “Joyce goes into a trance and starts painting a rendering in watercolor. She has a vision and then steps into it. It’s been a wonderful collaboration for over 35 years.”
In addition to guest quarters, Evans also collaborates with O’Connell on his private residences on the “campus.” One of these was Claiborne House. After O’Connell purchased the 1899 “eyesore,” he hired Alexandria architect Allan Greenberg to transform it into a stately, two-bedroom cottage that would look like it had always been there. The architect’s plan created a kitchen, library, media room and veranda and gave the house presence with a front porch and two-story foyer.
Named for a frequent guest, food writer, and critic Craig Claiborne, the cottage was O’Connell’s own home until 2006 when he moved into 1885 Victorian he’d purchased nearby. Soon after, Claiborne House became the Inn’s presidential suite. In addition to its namesake, the retreat has hosted Al and Tipper Gore, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, designers Carleton Varney and Charlotte Moss and many a celebrity chef.
In the design of his current home, O’Connell and Evans are following their proven approach. “Each space, each piece of architecture, has a narrative that it needs to have told. It’s a little like raising a kid; it can’t necessarily be exactly what you want it to be. You follow its orders—and try not to go broke doing it,” O’Connell quips. Once they find a “clue,” whether it’s a piece of furniture, a color or wallpaper, everything falls into place. While his master bathroom is done (heated floors, marble-slab walls, Waterworks tub), the residence remains a work in progress.
However, readers will soon be able to survey the rest of O’Connell’s domain in his handsome and eloquent new book. “People who have worked here for 10 years have never seen it all,” he says. “The book is a window into the extent of the nuttiness.”
Chef, proprietor, co-designer and star of the show, O’Connell has clearly found his oeuvre. “My love,” he concludes, “is the art of transformation. Transforming anything. Like a turnip into something incredible, or a tear-down into something magical.”
Photographer Gordon Beall is based in Bethesda, Maryland.
Portrait by Michael Ventura
