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Unusual things can be seen through the many windows of Ricki and Lee Peltzman’s all-white Bethesda, MD, home: shimmering panels of wire mesh, amusing curlicue sculptures, and huge, dramatic collages. Since the couple married five years ago, they’ve scoured local galleries for art they both love to fill their first home together, all the while having the brown, rather boring structure overhauled to resemble a breezy gallery. “No woman was going to live in that house,” says Ricki, who owns Upstairs on 7th, a boutique in Penn Quarter that sells jewelry, shoes, and clothing. So she took charge and interviewed several designers until she struck gold with Thérèse Baron Gurney of Baron Gurney Interiors, who specializes in contemporary spaces.
‘Buy Local’
The Peltzmans don’t buy art in New York. They don’t buy furniture there either, for that matter. Ricki admits that while New York may outshine Washington, DC, in terms of the diversity and scope of what’s available, she’d much rather deck her walls with the work of artists she knows personally. “If you don’t buy from local [galleries and retailers], what happens? We won’t have them anymore, and we’ll have to go to New York,” Ricki says. The only art not born nearby? A few select pieces she brought with her from Cleveland, OH, when she moved to be with Lee.
“Each one has a story,” says Lee, a communications lawyer and partner at Shainis & Peltzman, Chartered. The collage in the stairwell, Remnants by Jon Wassom, incorporates actual leaves and soil the artist gathered from the Peltzmans’ property. The David Richardson piece Achilles Wound 1 above the fireplace was the first art Ricki and Lee bought together. And the Laurel Lukaszewski pieces (Natsu in the foyer and Three Wishes in the dining room) were purchased after Ricki saw the artist’s work in the window of an upscale salon, where it looked more than a little like human hair sculpted from clay.
Art placement was a guiding factor in the design. Untitled by Travis Childers is a collage of gray faces lifted with tape from The Washington Post – but you wouldn’t know it unless you walked right up to it, so it was important to have plenty of space around the piece. Gurney opted for simple furnishings: wide, white dining tables and an oversized sofa and chaise from M2L in a restricted palette so the art would have center stage. Unglazed porcelain bowls by Mila Kagen are placed casually throughout the dining room.
Building Relationships
Ricki encourages collectors, especially those new to collecting or on a budget, to buy the best art they can afford. “Galleries will work with you,” she says, explaining that payment plans are usually available and most galleries will allow you to bring art home for weeks to assess how you respond to it or whether it fits within your space. Adjustments can always be made – she explains that real people are behind the creating, buying, and selling of art, that it’s not such an aloof world as many people think. And gallery owners will be “more than happy to move that art into your home. Just talk to them, see what can be done.”
Art That Changes
The Peltzmans are not averse to commanding artwork and bold colors – they are comfortable taking certain chances. But there is also a clear, focused aesthetic that carries from room to room. They’ll often rotate art before finding where each piece looks its best. “I woke up one night at 3 a.m.,” Ricki says, “and I knew I had to move the Joan Konkel to the foyer.” So, at 3 a.m., she did.
Color abounds, such as in Tom Balbo’s paper drawing Circle in a Square or the gorgeous unglazed pots (also by Balbo) that Lee gave Ricki for a recent birthday. But so does color’s absence, to elegant effect. One of the more striking features of the home is architectural and comparatively subtle – the unusually placed windows, which are everywhere. Ricki compares them to framed art, and enjoys how the light changes and spills in at different angles and in different colors during the day. It all contributes to a look that is calm, cool, and very well collected.
