When Amy and Casey Cooper needed more room, they decided to renovate their former bungalow in northwest Washington. “We bought it in ’98 and lived here for five years before we expanded our family and outgrew it,” Casey says. The couple considered moving from their Palisades perch above the Potomac – for a split second – then decided to work with what they had. “We were faced with the choice of renovating or tearing it down,” he adds.
“Our original intent was to keep many of the walls and bump out others,” Amy says. But as they had remodeling plans drawn it became clear that it would be more cost efficient to simply knock everything down, with the exception of the chimney, fireplace, and one wall, and start over. Once they made their decision, the Coopers wanted to create a new home that didn’t feel new. Second Chance, based in Baltimore, dismantled the original house and salvaged what it could.
Architect Anne Decker and Designer David Benton of Rill & Decker Architects collaborated on the architectural design, reorienting the new house toward the magnificent view over treetops and the Potomac to the rocky cliffs of the Virginia side of the river. Meanwhile, Julia Overton of Julia Overton Interiors focused on supplementing furnishings the Coopers already owned. “We actually didn’t add that much more space, but it’s laid out better than it was. We wanted to keep it in scale with the neighborhood and consistent with the street,” Casey, 41, an attorney, says of what is now a 2,890-squarefoot home. “We spoke to Anne initially and she came back with plans that were exactly what we wanted,” says Amy, 43, a federal prosecutor. “It’s nice to come home to exactly what you love.”
A Home to Really Live In
In redesigning their home, the Coopers wanted to move all of the bedrooms onto one level and maximize the living space downstairs. “Anne moved the stairs back and stacked them to make more living space,” Amy says. “The staircase is the heart and the celebrated feature [of the home],” says Decker, partner of Rill & Decker Architects. “The lantern had to be strong enough to hold up to the architecture.”
Details throughout the home give the Cooper residence great character and warmth. They include 8-inch-deep window casings; beadboard in the back of bookcases; castiron grates over heat registers; oil-rubbed bronze oval doorknobs; pocket doors; and custom millwork, which was designed by Rill & Decker and built by Mauck, Zantzinger & Associates.
Julia Overton’s influence helps create a cozy feel, too. “Amy and Casey love things that you don’t see everywhere. It was challenging finding things that were really distinctive, but casual,” says Overton, who used exquisite yet inviting fabrics throughout the house. “This is definitely furniture you sit in. A lot of furniture you end up perching on,” she says. “We try to design houses that aren’t stage sets, but houses you live in.”
A Comfortable, Classic Kitchen
A fabulous old ship’s lantern that once belonged to one of Casey’s relatives anchors the kitchen, which was designed by Rill & Decker in collaboration with Robin Lynch of Robin Lynch Designs, who did the space planning and provided the cabinets.“The Coopers stayed very engaged in the process, which is helpful,” Lynch says.
Decker designed a wall of cabinets, not shown, that works like a pantry wall. To create a flat, clean feeling, touch latches on the upper cabinets preclude the need for knobs. A built-in Miele coffee system along this wall is among Casey’s favorite features.“That has more than paid for itself, because we don’t go to Starbucks on the way to work anymore,” he says.
Throughout the home, Decker tried to maximize the views. “Even if we’re sitting at the breakfast table or standing in the kitchen, we have a view out to the front porch,” Casey says.
A Room With a View
In the original home, the owners’ bedroom was on the side of the house, but in the new layout, it’s in the front, capturing the amazing view. “Originally, many of the homes in the Palisades were summer homes for people who lived downtown. People built over the bluffs of the Potomac to get summer breezes,” Casey says. The Coopers enjoy those lovely summer breezes and weather the strong, gusty winds of winter. “The view is the nicest in the winter because you can see more, and in the summer, it’s all lush with foliage. It’s great all year round,” Amy says.
