Claude Zein has come a long way since growing up in war-torn Lebanon. His family moved three times when he was a child – after their homes had been burned and they’d lost everything. Recently, he and his lovely wife, Zoomie Zein, moved from an apartment near Foxhall Road in Georgetown to a stone house perched high on a hill at the top of a winding cypresslined driveway in Leesburg, VA. They’re now enjoying what began as a window and door renovation project that grew into a whole-house transformation. Claude carried his sophisticated city sensibilities to the country, where the juxtaposition of contemporary furnishings in a renovated stone house is unexpected and exciting.
“This has always been a dream,” Claude says, standing beneath a wooden pergola covered with a cloak of vine-ripened grapes. He gazes at his spectacular view, which includes Sugarloaf Mountain in Maryland miles away. “This is an inspiration of my travels,” the globetrotter says. “Tuscany is my favorite place in the world. This is a true Tuscan villa.” Claude left Jounieh, Lebanon at age 19 to attend Babson College in Boston, MA. “I am the only one in my family who always dreamt of coming to the US,” says Claude, who has one brother. “It was the time of the war, things were very difficult there. I was always a dreamer; I always dreamt of achieving a higher level of success.” Coincidentally, Zoomie left her native Philippines at age 19 and attended the University of Maryland.
‘Just-in-Time Living’
Fast forward to the present and Claude, 39, and Zoomie, 35, are flush with excitement from the convergence of milestone events in their lives. Married for only a year, they had no sooner completed the renovation of their dream house than their first child, Miguel Alexandre, was born. Miguel chose to enter the world on the same day that Claude held a party for hundreds to launch his newest venture, Boffi Studio, a cutting edge Italian kitchen and bath showroom on M Street in Georgetown. (Claude managed to be at Zoomie’s side for his son’s birth in the afternoon, and make a brief appearance at the party later that evening.)
Zoomie, a senior manager and consultant at Accenture, does supply chain management, which includes advising clients on “just-in-time” planning for the manufacturing process. “This is ‘just-in-time’ living,” Zoomie says. “The house just got done, the baby was born, and Claude opened his new store.”
A Family Home
When Claude bought the eight-acre property from his best friend a few years ago, before he and Zoomie got engaged, a long-neglected log house from the late 1700s stood on it. The house had been remodeled and enlarged about 15 years ago. While Claude wanted to preserve parts of the original cottage, he also envisioned expanding it into a more modern villa. Specifically, he wanted “an organic, minimal look.” Claude turned to Designer Tina Ruiz-Ellen to collaborate. The two had previously worked together designing Bo Concept stores, which he owned in Georgetown and Tysons Corner, when she worked with George Gordon Architects. They later worked together on the new Boffi showroom in collaboration with Rich Markus of Rich Markus Architects, where she currently works.
With Claude’s clear and passionate vision and Ruiz-Ellen’s technical expertise, they transformed the house into a crisp, clean-lined stone home with a copper roof and a striking 12’ by 16’ plate glass window in the living room that soaks in the mountain view. The three-bedroom house was intentionally kept to a human scale rather than built to be oversized. “We wanted to keep it as cozy for the family as possible. We also have a two-bedroom guesthouse and a gardener’s house,” Claude says.
Details Make the Difference
The house seamlessly connects the indoors and outdoors. Several major interior walls are stone, such as two expansive walls in the dramatic living room, which features a two-story high cathedral ceiling and the huge plate glass window. The kitchen reflects an Old World feel with a vintage brick floor and beams. In the family room, the oldest part of the house, Claude preserved a wonderful original wall made of thick stone and rough-hewn, slightly bowed wood that is loaded with character, pictured above. A few other vintage features, including an old woodburning stove in the dining room were preserved, too. He also restructured all three original fireplaces.
The mantel in the family room holds one particularly cherished black and white photograph. “The only picture of me left from my childhood is that picture on the mantel. When our house burned, we lost everything – three times. That’s normal in Lebanon,” Claude says.
As he built his dream home in Leesburg, Claude integrated the finest details throughout the house including hand-carved doors, wide-plank floors, and trim made of solid mahogany from Honduras that he bought through borano.com. Exotic mosaic tiles in the bathrooms are from Italy through Waterworks, a handsome hand-forged wrought iron banister for the stairs is by David Wilt of Wilt’s Custom Ironwork. His stonemason, Pettie Coates, used a rare V-neck mortar treatment throughout much of the stonework and repointed and cleaned up the rest.
Outside Rooms
The exterior of this exceptional home has two distinctive areas that feel like outdoor rooms. The pergola, inspired by remnants of a previous pergola, now houses a deluxe outdoor kitchen complete with a rotisserie grill, a hand made brick pizza oven, an outdoor sink, and cement countertops. Working with grape vines that were more than 20 years old but in poor condition, Claude’s landscape gardener – Zachariah Lester of Tree and Leaf – nurtured the vines back into good health. As they’ve thrived over the last year-and-a-half, they’ve formed a canopy over the new pergola. Exotic pendant lamps bought in a grand bazaar in Jounieh, Lebanon, and an old rough-hewn table that is a single slab of wood found in the basement of an antique store in Milan, Italy, complete the setting that is ideal for entertaining family and friends.
Another inviting space, a stone patio just outside the front door, holds large wooden sofas with soft cushions and pillows that provide a comfortable place to linger and contemplate the view. Deborah Kalkstein, owner of Contemporaria, collaborated with Claude to find this furniture and most of the furniture throughout the Zeins’ home.
A Lifestyle Change
Moving from the city to the country is a big lifestyle change that Claude and Zoomie are adapting to. “Since we live far from the city, I want to work from home,” Claude says. The whole gorgeous compound will be a good place to invite business people to meet and brainstorm. A loft overlooking the living room is Claude’s new personal workspace with a perk that is dear to his heart – it’s right next to Miguel’s nursery. “It’s time to be with family and enjoy true life,” Claude says. “I’ve lived to
