Hidden away on a wooded cul-de-sac, this Tudor-style home leads a first-time visitor to believe that she’s been whisked away from the nearby Tysons Corner corridor and has landed somewhere in the mountains of West Virginia. On a Friday in late August, butterflies and hummingbirds flit in and out of the morning glories and butterfly bushes while the pool tempts guests to laze away an afternoon.
Until recently, the owners’ 1980s-era home barely reflected upon this glorious backdrop. With closed-in rooms and small, poorly placed windows, “the house was an introvert,” says interior designer Marlies Venute of Marlies Venute Interior Design, who just completed a renovation of the home. Without changing the footprint and by moving very few walls, she devised a plan that would expand the home’s interiors and its views of the outdoors. “The house looked inside, not outside. We put in big windows and openings so the light comes in,” she says.
With two grown sons, the couple was ready for a change but reluctant to sell the house, which backs up to land protected by the Chesapeake Bay watershed. “The house was built in 1982 and was very much a product of its time,” says the wife. “It had narrow passageways and a lot of cluttered spaces that didn’t make sense. We needed to modernize it and open it up.”
The homeowners had discussed doing a renovation for a year or two. “We had spoken to a kitchen designer and a contractor. But I told my husband we really needed a decorator because every room looks onto other rooms,” recalls the wife. “We needed help.”
Though they first approached Marlies Venute to remodel their kitchen, the project evolved as she presented additional possibilities for improvement in the foyer, family room and powder room on the main level and in the master suite upstairs. During a three-month design phase, Venute would present her ideas, turning favored concepts into detailed renderings to help her clients visualize the outcome. “When somebody hires me, I familiarize myself with the project, then any idea that comes to me I present informally. If I really think something is a good idea, I present it three times,” Venute explains. “If it’s shot down the third time, I give up.”
It was after the designer’s third presentation that the couple decided to embark on a whole-house renovation. The plan would improve upon the best of what the house had to offer while replacing the most out-of-date features, finishes and appliances. Venute’s goal was to create a sense of openness and light and improve the interior layout while keeping the tone transitional enough to complement the home’s original Tudor style.
The results are dramatic. A new vaulted entry greets guests at the front door, where they enter an airy foyer made more spacious by the removal of an awkwardly placed closet. A widened hallway opens to the kitchen where large windows reveal sweeping views of the backyard.
In the adjacent family room, where there was once a closed wall of shelving, a floor-to-ceiling window now overlooks a stand of old-growth trees. The absence of frames and window treatments creates a striking, modern effect. The existing brick fireplace was re-cast in limestone. A revamped powder room off the family room boasts another frameless window and a custom vanity of Venute’s design.
Major structural changes transformed what had been a cramped, boxy kitchen and separate butler’s pantry into a wide open, inviting space. The wall between the kitchen and living room was moved back 30 inches to provide enough room for a free-standing island in the kitchen. Venute positioned most of the cabinetry and a 42-inch refrigerator along this new wall so that the opposite wall of the kitchen could center on an oversized window where the owners now enjoy views of the pool and gardens.
From the butler’s pantry, a series of archways once led through a hallway and past a laundry room and closet into a sunroom, which was added onto the house in 1994. Venute eliminated the Tudor-style arches and closet and was able to widen the access to the light-filled sunroom—another vast improvement to the overall flow of the house, especially during parties. The wife didn’t want to give up the arches completely, so Venute’s carpenter painstakingly re-purposed some of the existing mahogany millwork to create a wood-framed archway leading into the sunroom.
The master suite also underwent a major overhaul. Previously, two small windows overlooked the backyard while the bed was positioned facing inward. Venute opened up the back wall to create a large window and designed a custom bed that looks out toward the scenery. To solve the dilemma of where to put the TV so it wouldn’t block the view, she devised a cabinet that conceals a flat-screen on a shelf that easily pulls out for viewing. In what was a small bathroom and a separate vanity area, the couple’s new master bath, with its enormous sky light, oversized shower and soaking tub, is a relaxing, spa-like retreat.
Throughout the process, Venute provided the owners with eco-friendly options. Replacement windows are energy- efficient models surrounded by improved insulation. Halogen lights replaced conventional bulbs and dimmers were installed to save energy as well.
The owners also hired American Automation to install an audio-visual system operated by touch panels in every room. “I think one of the things that’s really important is that a house has staying power,” says Venute. “You should install the latest technology you can afford. Whether you have a house that’s traditional or very contemporary, as far as looks are concerned, the technology should be behind the skin.”The owners are now enjoying their home and its peaceful surroundings more than ever. “Everywhere you look, there’s beauty,” says the wife. “We see the change of seasons; we can really observe them. It is a unique property and the house now embraces that.”
Photographer Bob Narod is based in Herndon, Virginia.
DESIGN: Marlies Venute, IFDA, and Amy Chester, design assistant, Marlies Venute Interior Design, McLean, Virginia. CONTRACTOR: Frank Vitiella, JSV, LLC, Stafford, Virginia.
A New York-based couple approached Robert Cole and Sophie Prévost of ColePrévost Incorporated with a time-sensitive proposition. They had just purchased a new penthouse apartment in DC, where the husband frequently commuted for work, and they needed help with its interiors. The catch? With a second child on the way, they wanted this second home completed and fully furnished before the birth a few months away.
“We had to find things that were in stock,” says Prévost. “That was a challenge. But it went really smoothly. The client was wonderful to work with and she knew what she liked.”
With a few bold strokes, Cole and Prévost, a husband-and-wife architecture and design team, transformed the bare, two-bedroom apartment with a study and loft into a warm and inviting home that reflects their clients’ modern aesthetic. The designers established clean lines and a stronger sense of proportion by replacing the standard trim throughout the home with taller, flat-paneled base and crown molding. They departed from the typical layout in the main, L-shaped living space, shifting the dining area away from the kitchen to create a casual spot for lounging and TV—a practical arrangement with little ones afoot. This family room area opens to more formal living and dining areas rimmed by walls of windows on three sides.
The homeowners, who have lived in Hong Kong and Beijing and collect Asian antiques, wanted their home to reflect an Eastern sensibility. In the living room, they selected comfortable furniture with simple lines and calm, neutral colors. For contrast, Prévost sought fabrics and rugs that are “sophisticated and elegant but quiet, without large patterns. It’s all about the texture,” she says. A coffee table by Moroso has two separate, overlapping forms that are moveable, so the owners can morph its overall size and shape. “I just love what it does to a space as opposed to having one big square or rectangular table and everything becomes very stiff,” says Prévost. “It’s much more organic.”
Prévost designed a few custom pieces for her clients, including the sleek round walnut dining table that expands to seat eight guests and the narrow tables flanking the family room sofa, which are made of walnut and hot-rolled steel.
A wall of custom walnut cabinetry provides display and storage space—and lends the dining area a more finished look. Cole created sliding panels painted a bold pumpkin color to conceal the glass doors leading into the home office. “It’s not so great to be staring into an office from the dining room, so we created this really nice backdrop,” says Prévost, “which makes it a cozy, warm, yet more formal space.”
In the kitchen, the designers traded the original Shaker-style cherry cabinet fronts for walnut doors and a darker, more uniform look. They also re-built what was a bulky island, creating a curved granite top that now serves as a breakfast bar for casual meals.
Upstairs, the loft doubles as a guest room with a sleep sofa and a play space for the kids. A vinyl rug from France inspired the cheery blue and green color scheme. ColePrévost widened the stairway leading to a spacious roof deck, where the owners can entertain guests. “We wanted the space to be great for the kids but still be a grown-up place,” says Prévost. “You can have a party up here and it wouldn’t look like you were in the kids’ play room.”
Cole and Prévost also upgraded the condo’s two bathrooms with new doors on the existing cabinets, new limestone countertops and sinks and nature-inspired backsplashes.
Without major construction, ColePrévost was able to elevate the home’s standard fixtures and finishes to a new level. “Changing the framework and adding some accents, like re-doing the bathrooms, makes a big difference,” concludes Prévost. “It really changed it from a developer’s model to a well-designed place.”
Photographer Angie Seckinger splits her time between Potomac, Maryland, and Spain.
INTERIOR DESIGN: Robert Cole, RIBA, and Sophie Prévost, ASID, ColePrévost Incorporated, Washington, DC.
Many Washingtonians clamor to throw their last outdoor parties of the season as the days of summer dwindle. Slightly cooler and less humid than prior months, September still serves up blooming gardens, a bounty of fresh produce and the irrepressible music of crickets after dark.
For interior designer Skip Sroka, principal of Bethesda, Maryland-based Sroka Design, the impromptu dinner party he held last September at his Washington home was especially bittersweet. Not only was summer drawing to a close, but he and his partner, John Kammeier, had just finalized plans for a new custom home in DC and construction would soon be underway. This would be the final al fresco party they would host in their home of 10 years.
But when it comes to entertaining, Sroka has never been one to fuss—for reasons sentimental or otherwise. This casual garden party was meant to be as relaxed and carefree as a worn pair of Topsiders. Seven friends would come over for drinks and a simple dinner on the terrace; later in the evening, Kammeier, an apparel industry executive, would arrive on a flight home from Italy and join the festivities.
No matter how large or small a gathering, Sroka swears by preparing all of the elements—from flowers and place settings to appetizers and main courses—in advance. “If you’re going to have friends over, you can’t spend all of your time in the kitchen because then you’re not with your friends,” he says. In this case, he purchased lilies, peonies and roses a few days ahead of the party and created simple arrangements in his service kitchen that morning. “Buy your flowers tightly budded because they’ll last longer,” he recommends. “You get to enjoy them longer....buy them two or three days before you’re doing an event.”
Sroka pulled out dinnerware a few hours before guests would arrive. The outdoor table was set, the napkins folded and the salad plates placed on trays on the island awaiting last-minute assembly. He also lined up dozens of votive candles on the tables and terrace walls. “Candles are one of the most inexpensive ways to create that festive mood,” he says.
Minutes before the first arrivals, Sroka put a few prepared spreads and crackers on trays. He lit a low fire under the pot of homemade pasta sauce that he had prepared the day before. Then he greeted guests, poured libations and chatted on the terrace until it was time to cook the pasta.
While Sroka makes entertaining look like a breeze, a lot of careful planning and innovation went into designing this home where traffic easily flows in and out through seven pairs of French doors. In 2001, Sroka and Kammeier gutted and completely rebuilt their 1942 residence—once home to legendary broadcaster Edward R. Murrow. Following the interior renovation, they set their sights on improving the outdoor spaces. “About four years ago we decided to expand the terraces and create a few more outdoor rooms,” Sroka says. “The living room had a cocktail terrace, but then we created the sun terrace behind it. And we pushed the area around the kitchen forward with a retaining wall to create a really nice outdoor space.”
Over the years, he and Kammeier used the terraces constantly, whether enjoying a quiet breakfast over the newspaper or hosting a large party. “For as much as people complain about Washington,” says Sroka, “there are actually a lot of nice days that you get to be out.”
Once dinner was finally served (delayed ever so slightly by a photo shoot underway), Sroka’s friends were chatting up a storm. He was the life of the party—only leaving his friends to stir the sauce or open a wine bottle. He also enlisted help from his guests, who were happy to plate the salads or fill the water glasses. “It was a great success,” says the designer.
As he readied for his July move, Sroka reflected on leaving the home where he has celebrated so many happy occasions. “There will surely be a couple of points where it will be very sad. There are no two ways about it. But I’m sure that by the time I arrive at the new house I’ll be back into the present.” And, no doubt, ready to throw another garden party come September.
Timothy Bell is a photographer with studios in Washington, DC, and New York City.
Potenza, a rustic Italian eatery, has opened in DC’s historic Woodward Building. Taking inspiration from this 1911 landmark, CORE Architecture/Design preserved the character of its historic hallway (left), which overlooks Potenza’s antipasto bar and curing room. It is one of several unique dining spaces where guests enjoy a delicious mix of wood-fired pizzas, homey pastas and local charcuterie. 1430 H Street, NW; 202-638-4444. www.potenzadc.com
New York restaurateurs Stefan and Victoria Trummer have opened Trummer’s on Main in a revamped 1869 hotel in historic Clifton, Virginia. With executive chef Clayton Miller (whose resume includes The French Laundry) at the helm and a former sommelier from The Inn at Little Washington, Trummer’s promises to be a culinary destination worth a visit. 7134 Main Street, Clifton; 703-266-1623; www.trummersonmain.com
Here Comes the Sun
A village of 20 one-of-a-kind houses will spring up on the National Mall from October 8 to 18. These compact, modular abodes will bring the latest solar technologies to the forefront as teams from 20 colleges and universities compete to design, build and operate the most attractive energy-efficient solar-powered homes.
The fourth occurrence of this event since its inception in 2002, the 2009 Solar Decathlon will host teams from the U.S., Canada, Germany and Spain. Each home in the competition must produce enough electricity and hot water from solar panels to perform all the normal functions of a home—from powering the lights to cooking, washing clothes and dishes and maintaining a comfortable temperature. Homes will be open to the public for tours from October 9 to 13 and October 15 to 18.
"As part of the building competition, the next generation of green engineers, architects, designers and professionals gains valuable experience that will help them to lead America toward a clean energy future,” says Steven Chu, secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, which sponsors the Solar Decathlon. For more information, visit www.solardecathlon.org.
On a quiet Kalorama street lined with embassies, a modern building stands out amid the stately façades. Given the neighborhood, it’s only fitting that one of its four spacious condominium apartments harbors a veritable United Nations of design. Its homeowner has amassed a collection of European furniture, lighting, rugs and accessories with help from designer Douglas Burton, a principal at DC’s Apartment Zero. It is a serene refuge that is cutting-edge modern and at the same time warm and inviting.
Nestled on four wooded acres, Judy and Stuart Sebring’s new custom home evokes a lodge out West with its stone walls, hand-forged ironwork and rough-hewn beams. Though it would appear right at home in Colorado, this property was built in an established neighborhood in Potomac, Maryland, carefully crafted inside and out with natural and eco-friendly materials. Warm and welcoming, the home suits the Sebrings’ relaxed aesthetic and lifestyle, whether they are sharing dinner for two or hosting a charity event for 200. Despite the home’s rustic shell, chic upscale furnishings and personalized amenities abound, from the dedicated “dog room” with a walk-in shower for their five pets to an indoor spa with a glass wall that can be opened wide to the pool terrace in warm weather.
Photographer Gwin Hunt is based in Annapolis, Maryland.ARCHITECTURE: Neal Hodgson, AIA, Neal Hodgson Architect, Washington, DC. INTERIOR DESIGN: Sharon Kleinman, Transitions, Potomac, Maryland.
Building green should no longer be the exception but the rule, according to Yuri Sagatov of Sagatov Homes. “It is simply fundamental building science,” he says. “It’s not a fleeting new product with an unproven history or even something that is visible in the finished project. It’s more about maximizing the efficiency of the building and minimizing its building-waste stream.”
A case in point is the new custom home Sagatov recently designed and built for Carolyn Miller and Jim Allenchey on an infill lot in Arlington, Virginia. With an open floor plan and clean-lined, vaulted spaces, the property appears to pay homage to good modern design rather than green building. But from the moment the previous house on the lot was demolished, Sagatov embraced the latest energy-efficient technologies, air quality standards and eco-friendly construction practices in building the new home, which ultimately earned it a Five Star-plus Energy Star rating—the EPA’s highest rank.
Miller and Allenchey first met Sagatov on a tour of the builder’s own home. They were drawn to its clean, modern aesthetic as well as its eco-friendly footprint. “It probably never occurred to us not to build green,” says Miller, a principal at Marshfield Associates, a DC-based investment advisory firm. “It’s the responsible, right thing to do and we try to do it in other aspects of our lives so why not do that here?”
After his clients decided on a lot in Arlington, Sagatov embarked on a design program based on their request for an open floor plan with lots of natural light and views of the surrounding woods. “They basically gave me an idea of what they wanted, but free rein on how to design it,” he says.
Sagatov created a home with two large, rectangular masses connected by a center section that houses the foyer and a floating staircase. On the main level, one mass encompasses the living and dining rooms while the other houses a home office and a professional-grade kitchen for Allenchey, a chef and the owner of Dominion Deli in Falls Church. Voluminous windows blur the lines between indoors and out.
Every step of the way, Sagatov incorporated green features that are largely hidden behind the home’s sleek façade. “Most of the things we do for green aren’t really sexy,” he says. “They have to do with building science, trying to build as tight an energy efficient house as possible.”
Even before construction, Sagatov minimized the waste stream. During the demolition of the lot’s previous home, his team sorted and recycled 75 percent of the materials, including metals, concrete, bricks, windows and kitchen equipment. By using pre-fabricated wall panels for framing, they saved 20 percent in scrap material, he says.
Sagatov carefully sited the new house to take advantage of passive solar gain, positioning the living and dining rooms so that they receive maximum exposure throughout the day.
A comprehensive insulation program combines dense-packed cellulose throughout the structure with an air-sealing package focusing on key areas of energy loss. All windows and doors are low-emission, argon filled to eliminate air loss and energy exchange. Even the HVAC ducts are sealed with mastic, a gum-like substance, to prevent minute leaks in the system.
Clean air quality was a high priority for the homeowners, who have three dogs and two cats. The home’s dual HVAC systems employ top-of-the-line air filters and energy-recovery ventilators, which are needed to bring fresh air into homes that are so tightly sealed. Every three hours, they exchange all the air in the house.
Bathed in light with views of the surrounding canopy of trees, the living room enjoys a strong connection to nature. A high-efficiency, wood-burning stove with a custom concrete surround provides warmth on chilly nights. Oversized shaded pendants make a bold statement. Like all lighting in the house, they are on dimmers, which greatly reduce energy requirements.
In lieu of walls, only variations in ceiling height delineate the open living room, adjoining dining room and the kitchen on the other side of the floating staircase. Working closely with Allenchey, Sagatov designed the kitchen for serious cooking, with a professional Thermador cooktop and hood, a large granite-topped island and stainless-steel countertops. The kitchen opens to a large screened porch, where the homeowners enjoy morning coffee with their menagerie.
Upstairs, there are three bedrooms with their own baths, as well as a laundry room. Large, round windows in each of the vaulted bedrooms dapple the walls with sunlight. The master bathroom features a custom cherry vanity and a heated marble floor.
The lower level of the 5,000-square-foot home features a mud room, a guest room that doubles as a yoga studio, an 8,000-bottle wine cellar and what Miller calls her husband’s “man room” complete with a pool table.
Natural landscaping surrounding the house places an emphasis on minimizing runoff. Permeable paving materials were used on the driveway, walkways and patio.
Whether you’re indoors or out, this is a home that revolves around enjoying—and protecting—its environment. Intelligent design and sustainable building practices aside, it’s simply a serene, relaxing place to be. Says Miller, “We love the way our home invites nature into our daily lives. At the end of the day when we walk into our house, the world goes away.”
DESIGN/BUILD: Yuri Sagatov, CR, Sagatov Homes, Falls Church, Virginia.
On a bleak morning in February, the living room in the Chevy Chase, Maryland, home of U.S. Senator Kit Bond and Linda Bond is positively radiant. Pale shades of cream and gray create a sense of calm. The muted color scheme and unexpected accents, including a pair of antique window frames hung on a wall in lieu of art, immediately convey that this is not your typical Washington-area Colonial.
A former gatehouse to the mews of Chevy Chase, the 1937 property possesses good bones, with tall windows and original molding. When she and her husband, a fourth-term Republican senator and former governor of Missouri, purchased the home in 2007, Linda Bond set her sights on updating its traditional interiors. “I knew when I moved that I wanted to really make a transition to a lighter, country look,” she says. “We have a home in Missouri that is a very substantial Georgian Colonial, the house that Kit’s mother built. It’s a little different here. It could be a little more creative. I wanted a fresher, sophisticated cottage-style look.”
Linda Bond was drawn to the simple, unpretentious style of Swedish antiques. These imports often mimic their English or French counterparts in line but were painted, ostensibly to brighten up homes in a country where daylight hours are precious few during the winter months. Bond likes Swedish antiques for their refined lines and for the patina that makes the furniture “less intimidating,” she says. “With their layers of paint, they don’t look like antiques that you don’t want to sit in. They look like antiques that have been worn and are homey and inviting. At the same time, there’s a formal look about them.”
Her plans clicked when she discovered Tone on Tone, a Bethesda shop specializing in Swedish antiques. “Linda came in one day and just absolutely loved what we had,” says co-owner Loi Thai. “I think that it [our collection] really appealed to her because it’s so understated and not pretentious. I explained how the pieces could work with the English and French pieces they already had.”
The two hit it off right away. Thai helped Bond hone her collection, selecting pieces with clean, delicate lines and sending many of the couple’s English antiques down to their home in Mexico, Missouri. He explained that despite their pale coloring, the Swedish pieces do have subtle undertones of blue, green and beige and must be combined with care. But while Thai offered advice on furniture, it was Linda Bond who drove the design process. “Linda has an artistic eye and she knows what she likes,” says Thai.
One of the first steps she took was to bleach and whitewash the wooden floors throughout the home. Then she selected a light gray wall paint to create “a very calm and unified” ambience.
To ground the Swedish furniture, the Bonds retained some of their existing mahogany antiques in the Maryland home, including the three-pedestal Regency dining room table and the Federal mahogany sofa in the living room (one of a pair; its twin now resides in Missouri). “They give the rooms a little more weight,” says Bond. Natural linen upholstery reinforces the simplified look. The icing on the cake is the silk gray Holly Hunt drapery that frames the tall windows with a hint of glamour. “They are a heavyweight silk, which really does contrast with the peeling paint and linen fabric,” says Bond. “I thought they gave the room a formal feel.”
Except for a few botanical prints, the Bonds kept traditional artwork at a minimum. Instead, unadorned architectural elements make bold yet monochromatic statements. A pair of early 19th-century columns discovered at an antiques show in Annapolis flanks a Swedish settee in the living room. On the opposite wall, Bond hung window frames that were once part of a castle in Sweden. “I was going to put some gold or antique mirrors on that wall,” she says. “The frames ended up being simpler, but more interesting.”
The setting provides the perfect backdrop for the Bonds’ silver and china collections displayed in niches in the living and dining rooms. “All of the silver is from Kit’s mother,” says Linda Bond, who grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. “She was a real collector. I never knew her but I feel like I’ve gotten to know her through all of the things that we have here and the things we have in Missouri. She had great taste.”
Ironically, Kit Bond’s mother and wife both collected Old Paris china, which dates back to the 1800s. “When we were married, I discovered that Kit’s mother had all of this Old Paris china. I have one tureen and platter that were hers and one tureen and platter that I collected and it looks like they’re matching pairs.”
The Bonds frequently entertain friends and colleagues in their home. Kit Bond, who serves on four committees in the Senate, is Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Linda Bond is a consultant for not-for-profit organizations including the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation. Their dinner guests have included ambassadors and members of Congress. Linda Bond says that first-time guests are often pleasantly surprised by the subtle palette in her home. “When you first walk in,” she says, “it’s a little hard to put your finger on. It’s almost more of a feeling than a look.”
Loi Thai agrees. “It’s not just the aesthetic. It’s how it makes you feel. It really is beyond furniture.”
Thai credits the Bonds for having the vision and confidence required to pull off the project. “They really surprised me, because in Missouri their house is so traditional,” he says. “But they really appreciate and understand patina and surface. They got it right away.”
Photographer Lydia Cutter is based in McLean, Virginia.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Michael Moran.
Eco-luxury in Portland
Located in the heart of Portland, Oregon, the Nines hotel has debuted in a 1908 building that once housed a famed department store. Today, the 331-room Starwood property is fresh from a major renovation that preserved its architectural heritage while introducing a number of eco-conscious initiatives; Silver LEED certification is pending. The seven-story atrium lobby is bathed in natural light. Rates from $249. www.thenines.com.
Old Town Escape
Kimpton Hotels recently unveiled the chic new Lorien Hotel & Spa in Old Town Alexandria. Noted interior designer Vicente Wolf has created modern interiors that respect the city’s historic charm. Bathrooms juxtapose contemporary vanities in gray stone with elegant claw-foot tubs. The Lorien is also home to the restaurant BRABO by Robert Wiedmaier. Rates from $269, with weekend specials available. www.lorienhotelandspa.com.
Presidential Style
The historic Carolina hotel at North Carolina’s Pinehurst Resort has just put the finishing touches on a new presidential suite. Designed by Gary Inman of Glavé & Holmes Associates in Richmond to reflect the hotel’s provenance, the 1,700-square-foot retreat boasts a bedroom that opens to an octagonal study. Rates from $1,200, including breakfast and dinner. www.pinehurst.com.
Yves Delorme has opened a concept store in Bethesda’s Wildwood Shopping Center that marries its signature textiles and linens with furniture, lighting and decorative objects by French manufacturer Mis en Demeure. Designed to evoke the interiors of a splendid mansion, with dining, salon and bedroom settings, the showroom inspires shoppers to create their own stylish vignettes at home.
The Mis en Demeure collection is classic in line, but dressed with up modern touches and a “negligee” attitude, according to Mis en Demeure project manager Aude de Jaham, She points out a Louis XV-style sofa upholstered in a mix of contemporary fabrics and a framed mirror that’s so oversized that it expresses a new “point of view.”
Yves Delorme’s new location is 10301A Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, Maryland. Phone 301-897-5009 or visit www.yvesdelorme.com. —Sharon Jaffe Dan
Surf and Turf
Bourbon Steak recently debuted at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown. Chef Michael Mina is known for his slow-poaching method of cooking meat, but the restaurant also features seafood dishes, including lobster pot pie with truffle cream, baby vegetables and wild mushrooms. The clubby space was designed by the Rockwell Group of New York.
2800 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW; (202) 944-2026. www.michaelmina.net.
Frederick Find
Chef Bryan Voltaggio has been receiving rave reviews at Volt, located in a restored brownstone in his hometown of Frederick, Maryland. The restaurant emphasizes pure and seasonal ingredients. Entrées include heavenly bronzini with ruby quinoa, cauliflower and petite red ribbon sorrel.
228 North Market Street; 301-696-8658. www.voltrestaurant.com.
Picnic, anyone?
Sebastien Tavel, who hails from France’s Rhône Valley, and his wife Mary tap into some of the top dairy farms in the States to bring an assortment of artisanal cheeses to La Fromagerie, their new shop in Old Town Alexandria. A few foreign imports also join the mix, along with charcuterie.
1222 King Street; 703-879-2467. www.lafromagerieonline.com.
The original home was overhauled and clad in new colors and materials that blend into the surrounding woods.
The four-story house with walls of glass perches on a slope leading down to lush woods and a stream. At first glance, the setting suggests you’re somewhere in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains or the Shenandoah. But if you check your bearings, you’d discover that Arlington’s Spout Run snakes around the opposite side of the woods, and the stream is a tributary to the nearby Potomac River. The property is virtually across a bridge from Washington, DC.
When Andrew and Margaret Davis decided to relocate to DC from their lakefront home in Evanston, Illinois, they were taken by the property’s enviable position and natural setting. But the house itself—a post-and-beam contemporary built in the 1970s—suffered from decades of wear and tear: The previous owners had raised seven children in the original property.
The Davises, who have two daughters, recognized a diamond in the rough and bought the house with the intention of remodeling and furnishing it in a mere seven months, just in time for their planned move. On a recommendation from their real estate agent, the couple met with architect Thomas Flach of Kohler Homes and asked him to take on the challenge. While reviewing Flach’s portfolio, they also discovered the work of interior designer Michael Roberson, who at the time was collaborating with Flach on a project. They hired her to furnish the home in the same time frame.
“We needed a sanctuary in our lives to decompress,” explains Margaret Davis. “We enjoy being close to an urban environment. The view was number one on our list. We realized what it could do to keep us relaxed in an information-overloaded world. So we asked Tom and Michael to find the ‘language’ in this house and make it work.”
Flach set to work on a plan that would upgrade the home’s exterior and interior surfaces, overhaul its kitchen and baths, create a spacious master-bedroom suite and improve flow on the main entry level of the house. Meanwhile, Roberson flew to Evanston to survey and photograph her clients’ existing collection of art, furniture and Oriental rugs.
“The goal was to transform this worn-out house with lower-end finishes and fixtures into a state-of-the-art piece of modern design with full security, whole-house audio and cat5 networking,” says Flach.
Upon entering the original house, views of the woods were blocked and the foyer was cramped by a large bulky staircase. Flach relocated a new custom-designed maple and mahogany stair to the end wall of the great room, opening up the view and creating a more spacious foyer. “The stair became a design opportunity,” explains Flach. “It serves as a sculptural element on what was a blank wall at the end of the great room.” He also added a new floor-to-ceiling window at the bottom of the stair that reveals views of the creek below.
Flach and Roberson proposed a material palette that would reflect and amplify the home’s natural surroundings. They chose African slate floors in the foyer and kitchen. In the great room and dining room, wall-to-wall carpet was replaced with environmentally friendly bamboo. The designers retained the original wood-and-beam ceiling in these rooms—but applied a darker stain.
“The house is about the woods. That’s why you have the beams in here,” says Roberson. “But the beams had been painted a really unfortunate redwood picnic table color. We managed to stain them the way they should look.”
All interior doors and trim were removed and replaced with natural maple doors and minimalist mahogany base boards and casing. Flach also redesigned a new railing on the upper-level balcony, employing the same contrast of light maple with mahogany. This top floor is home to a guest bedroom suite and Margaret Davis’s office.
The design team worked at breakneck speed to meet their clients’ move-in date. “The entire project had to be designed, permitted and built in six months. Some long lead items had to be ordered before the architectural drawings were even completed,” recalls Flach. “At a certain point in the project, the painters lived in the house and took breaks only to eat and sleep in sleeping bags on the floor.”
Roberson and the Davises decided to adhere to a subdued, natural color scheme that wouldn’t compete with the panoply of scenery outdoors. In the great room, the brick fireplace was parged and painted a putty color so it became a simple architectural element. Complementary fabrics on the modern sofas and chairs echo the shade. Grass cloth wall covering softens the two-story room’s acoustics and adds subtle texture and color.
Roberson settled on a clean, pared-down look that would emphasize her clients’ collection of art and rugs. Oriental rugs in the great room once graced Margaret Davis’s childhood home; they were part of her mother’s collection. A lithograph that the couple purchased in Holland makes a bold color statement above the fireplace. It is the work of Belgian artist Corneille, one of the founders of the CoBrA art movement in Paris in 1948. Completely by coincidence, Margaret Davis recently discovered that the artist who painted one of her mother’s paintings, Karel Appel, was also a founder of the CoBrA movement and a close associate of Corneille’s. Appel’s painting hung in her mother’s living room and presided over the very same Oriental rugs. “My mother is not alive any longer,” she says, “but she’s with us here.”
“The goal was to transform this worn-out house with lower-end finishes and fixtures into a state-of-the-art piece of modern design,” says architect Thomas Flach.
The Davises travel frequently and seek out indigenous art wherever they go. “We have a deep interest in native art and crafts. When we travel, we want to buy pieces that are high-quality native art, including rugs, paintings and sculpture like wood and soapstone carvings,” says Margaret Davis.
The Davises, who host frequent dinner parties, report that guests love to linger in their newly appointed home. Andrew Davis is the president and executive director of the American Press Institute and is also a Major General in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Margaret Davis works with non-profits in the fields of art, religion and education. When they entertain, whether it’s a social gathering, a work-related event or a bit of both, “People walk in and they start relaxing,” says Margaret Davis. “They don’t want to leave. I always think that’s a test if people are comfortable or not.”
Roberson created a sense of intimacy in the two-story dining room by hanging lights with white lamp shades just a few feet over the dining table—a solution she has applied to a number of dining rooms. “I love lights like this,” she says. “They create this beautiful, romantic kind of ambiance. And they put a glow on the table—better to get it on the table and not on the people.”
During the renovation, the existing kitchen with its outdated cabinets and appliances and fluorescent lighting was entirely gutted. Judy Bracht from Stuart Kitchens worked with Flach and Roberson to create a modern new space with stainless-steel appliances, granite countertops and generous cabinetry. A sitting room and dining table in the kitchen survey the natural scenery behind the home and provide the perfect spot to linger over morning coffee.
The master bedroom is located one level below the main entry and public spaces. During the design stage, Flach and his clients decided to incorporate an existing library and small bedroom into a significantly larger master suite. The epitome of serenity with an Asian flare, the master bedroom is swathed in muted colors. A wall of windows lets in the views; a sliding shoji screen can shutter the windows for privacy. The adjoining master bath, also designed by Judy Bracht from Stuart Kitchens, ties into the nature theme with its use of river rock tile, dark wood and a limestone surround on the oversize tub. A spacious dressing room and sitting area round out the bedroom suite.
One of the Davis daughters has a bedroom on the same level, though she is now in a public-service program in DC and lives on her own. Her sister, who’s still in high school, enjoys a bedroom on the bottom floor, which is also home to Drew Davis’s study, a mini-kitchen, a big-screen TV, a pool table and foosball. In short, it’s the perfect hangout for guests of all ages. The main room opens up to the back deck and its terraces and pathways leading into the woods and down to the creek.
Originally painted battleship gray with white trim and a brown asphalt roof, the exterior of the home also underwent a transformation. Flach and Roberson had all of the siding stained a uniform shade of green and added copper gutters and a cedar-shake roof. “Now it just nestles in the woods, whereas before, it really stood out,” Flach says.
Roberson enjoyed working with the Davises because their personal treasure trove of art and craft brought meaning to the process; the pieces project who her clients are. Says Roberson, “It’s nice to work with people’s collections and know that when you walk out of the house, it’s their house and it looks like their house.”
The homeowners, meanwhile, are delighted with the way their new home complements and showcases their art. “Because they are native pieces and very much influenced by nature, it’s perfect for them to be in this home where nature is part of the architecture,” says Margaret Davis. “It’s a wonderful symbiotic relationship.”
Photographer Gwin Hunt is based in Annapolis.
Architecture: Thomas Flach, AIA, Vice President, Kohler Homes, Burke, Virginia Renovation Contractor: Thomas Flach, AIA, Vice President, and David Pierce, Project Manager, Kohler Homes, Burke, Virginia Interior Design: Michael Roberson, ASID, Michael Roberson Interior Design, Arlington, Virginia. Technology: Stewart Rankin, Silver Screen & Sound, Towson, MD.
Architect Tom Flach's design replaced the original stairway that crowded the entrance and blocked the views with a sculptural new stairway.
On display in the great room are a totem pole carve by Francis Horne, Jr, and two nature-inspired prints given to Andrew Davis while he was on command in Korea.
The original brick fireplace was parged and painted a putty color. Grass cloth wall covering, bamboo floors and natural maple and mahogany-stained trim let the natural surroundings and art take center stage.
RESOURCES
ENTRY
Chinese Chest: East & Beyond, McLean, VA. Lamp: Holtkötter. Photograph: Michael Johnson, Mt. Carroll, IL.
LIVING ROOM
Antique Chinese Chest: Marco Polo, Kensington, MD. Sofas: Tokay Blue through Hines, Washington, DC. Sofa Fabric: Pollack through Donghia, Washington, DC. Chair: Dunbar Furniture. Armless Sofa: Donghia, Washington, DC. Coffee Table: Florence Knoll Collection, Knoll, Washington, DC. Lighting: Tech Lighting Monorail System. Rug: Clients’ Collection. Wall Covering: Maya Romanoff Woven Straw, through Donghia, Washington, DC.
DINING ROOM
Custom Lighting: Michael Roberson. Chair Fabric: Pollack through Donghia, Washington, DC.
POWDER ROOM
Vanity: Antique Indonesian Table, Marco Polo, Kensington, MD. Vessel Sink: “Iron Bell” by Kohler. Mirror: Antique. Sconces: Nessen. Wall Covering: Maya Romanoff Woven Straw, through Donghia, Washington, DC.
MASTER BEDROOM
Lamp: Holtkötter. Bedside Chest: East & Beyond, McLean, VA.
MASTER BATH
Bath Design: Judy Bracht, Stuart Kitchens, McLean, VA. Stone & Tile: Renaissance Tile, Alexandria, VA.
Michael Roberson designed hanging lights in the dining room that cast a romantic glow on the table.
In the powder room, Roberson converted an antique Indonesian table into a vanity.
A sliding shoji screen creates an Asian feel in the tranquil master bedroom suite.
The master bathroom also incorporates elements of nature from its limestone tile and dark wood to the silver gelatin print by Michael Johnson.
Finnegan Henderson law firm by Davis Carter Scott architects. Photo by Jim Tetro.Washington, DC-based architecture and interior architecture firm Davis Carter Scott recently completed a 250,000-square-foot office for law firm Finnegan Henderson—a highlight of which is this grand, seven-story glass-encased spiral staircase. Designers were challenged to create a functional, interconnecting stair that would aesthetically blend with each floor and pass DC building codes. The end result, as shown in this photograph, is sheer magic. Last May, Davis Carter Scott received a 2006 Award of Excellence from the Maryland/DC chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties for its stunning, whole-office design.—Sharon Jaffe Dan
