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A win-win situation arose when St. John’s Episcopal Church in Georgetown offered its rectory to be used for the 2009 DC Design House: The rectory got some sorely needed TLC, and the Design House raised more than $100,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center.
A mere 42 days passed from the time the 16 design teams were selected until the house was opened for tours. In the end, the three-story Victorian, which was built in 1874-1875, was left with a beautiful new kitchen, powder room, and owner’s bathroom, not to mention the other existing rooms that were splendidly transformed. The designers utilized 77 rolls of wallpaper and 109 gallons of zero-VOC paint in the process, all donated by Farrow & Ball.
Washington Spaces was proud to be the media partner for this show house, which more than 7,500 visitors toured during the 20 days it was open in late April and early May. From the inviting dining room designed by Camille Saum, which beckons with warm color and character, to the crisp urban sitting room by Sally Steponkus, and the luxurious laundry room by Draza Stamenich, designers impressed us with their ingenuity, talent, and ability to work on a tight schedule. Take a look.
Warm Hospitality
Camille Saum gave the dining room a soft glow that hugs you as you enter. The warmth from the color on the walls (Orangery by Farrow & Ball) is only part of the story. Ali Nassiri from Atelier Artists hand-stenciled the ceiling and then hand-painted squares on the floor. Saum designed monogrammed linen “bibs” for the Karges and Caron chairs and selected Sunset china by Missoni Home for her place settings. She sent colors from the china to Elizabeth Dax when she commissioned Dax to create a work of art for above the mantel. (The two never met; everything was done by mail.) And, Saum adds, “Deborah Gore Dean [of Gore Dean] beaded the Swedish chandelier in clear and aubergine crystals especially for my room.”
Surprise and Serendipity
The whimsical iron chandelier that crowns the library by Sarah Wessel is not the one the designer originally envisioned. That one arrived broken. But Wessel’s always loved David Iatesta’s light and airy chandelier, and the metalwork designer came to her rescue when she needed him the most. “I’m actually happier with this than the one I originally ordered,” she says. Another challenge Wessel overcame was the floor that sags three inches from the room’s perimeter to the center. Pieter Felix Boogaerts of Boogaerts Fine Cabinetry custom-built the bookcases so no one would ever notice. Wessel covered books in Farrow & Ball papers, because it was harder than she’d expected to fill the bookcases with leather-bound tomes. “The thing about bookcases is you always need more books than you think because they swallow them up.” Eco-friendly wing chairs by Lee Industries, a cloverleaf ottoman, an étagère from AmericanEye, and cream wool draperies enhance this wonderful space.
A Gem of a Powder Room
Samantha Friedman kept things in scale when she updated a small powder room beneath the center-hall stairs. She enclosed exposed pipes, created a sink alcove, and dressed the tiny sink with a sheer mint-green skirt. The delicate winding branches of The Ringwold Papers help guide the eye upwards. And the window sheers and valance by Pilchard Designs invite natural light. The mini chandelier from Ferguson Enterprises reflects in the mirror from Robert Allen.
A Soothing Room To Live In
Faced with a long, large living room, David Mitchell created two lovely seating areas, one with a sofa and chairs, the other oriented towards the garden with an Oly daybed. A skirted table in front of the fireplace divided the two spaces. He mixed “high and low, elegant and casual” elements using sisal rugs on hardwood floors and a soothing Pale Powder on the walls. “It’s that beautiful combination of earth and sky,” Mitchell says. “The outside world is so full of drama; you want your house to be peaceful.” The creative way he filled two walls was most noteworthy. Mitchell cut graphic art paper into 9-inch-by-6-inch rectangles, then paired them in combos he liked and framed them to create original art statements.
A Crisp Sitting Room
Sally Steponkus and Heather Safferstone collaborated on a sitting room that has a crisp, urban look. Two Windsor Smith wing chairs with a quatrefoil pattern inspired the room, which features Mouse Back walls, a Dayroom Yellow ceiling, and Wimborne White trim. Angie Seckinger took the striking photograph above the mantel. Yellow accents inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama, who often wears yellow, Steponkus says, lift the room. A Julian Chichester mirrored screen in the corner camouflages a radiator. And a cubical lantern from Circa Lighting highlights it all.
A Handsome Setting
“I wanted to create a retreat, where the whole family can come hang out for a while,” says Iantha Carley. She included two sofas covered in Kravet fabric, a white armoire and ceiling fixture from Baker, and side tables from Century Furniture in a sitting room off the owner’s bedroom. Cowtan & Tout draperies featured a botanical print of sunflowers with a vintage feel. A Warp & Weft rug, walls painted Dauphin, and colorful accents created a soothing aura.
Carley also gave the owner’s adjacent bath a warm, tailored look. She removed a large tub and replaced it with a smaller one. “Most people just shower these days,” says the designer, who used fixtures from Ferguson Enterprises Inc. and tile from Architectural Ceramics.
A Big , Comfy Kitchen
Susan Thompson created an old-fashioned, welcoming kitchen, the kind you’d like to simply sit and relax in. “Being a church rectory built in 1874, it seemed like it needed an English-country kind of kitchen,” Thompson says of the spacious room. Thompson replaced the tired cabinetry with eco-friendly Executive Cabinetry from Amicus Green Building Center. She designed the island with open shelves, built by David Tressler of Mountain View Millworks, and had it painted Incarnadine, a warm red/coral. The gray/green/blue wall finish, applied by Cherlyn H.T. Jones, is American Clay. Thompson had multiple layers of vinyl flooring removed until she reached the original pine flooring. After the floors were sanded, O’Neill Studios stenciled them. Thompson, inspired by Swedish painters Carl and Karin Larsson, personally handpainted fruits and flowers above the mantel.
Answered Prayers
Wayne Breeden encountered one challenge after another as he decorated the owner’s bedroom. First, the fabric he ordered for the window treatments arrived with a streak of grease down the entire 40 yards, so he had to scramble to find a substitute: “Burne from Kravet, Color 612 – I’ll never forget it,” Breeden says of the floral linen. Then, Jim Lackford, his paperhanger, was so proud of the job he was doing with the installation of paper on the ceiling that he told Breeden to stop by. When the designer arrived, he admired the application, but told Lackford it was the wrong paper. Because it was April 1, Lackford thought this was an April Fool’s Day joke. He finally realized Breeden wasn’t kidding, removed the paper he’d spent two days installing, and replaced it with The Ranelagh Papers.
At one point, the designer says he could hear his mother’s voice telling him, “It’s time for you to return to church.” Everything worked out in the end when Breeden combined a striped rug from Warp & Weft that beautifully complemented the colors in the floral fabric.
Designers sold many of the furnishings in their rooms, and Breeden was proud of a chocolate brown, silk-embroidered pillow he had propped in the middle of the four-poster. That small pillow sold for $750. To put that in perspective, the lot where the rectory was built sold for $250 in 1809.
Sweet Dreams
Marjory Segal of The Well Furnished Garden & Home designed a room that she says “is for anyone who’s young at heart.” Her eclectic mix included a painting of a lamb by John Matthew Moore and a coronet bed with Brunschwig & Fils fabric on the exterior and Celerie Kemble fabric on the reverse. “I did not do a rug, because it’s springtime and when I was growing up, my Mom used to roll up the Persian carpet and just have bare floors during warm weather,” Segal says.
Hollywood Glamour
Marlene Weiss Alexander integrated furnishings from the new Weiss Alexander Collection for Atrium Furniture in the glamorous 1940s-style guest room she designed. “It’s a bit art moderne; I love that period,” she says. She designed the diamond-quilted satin headboard to stretch across the wall and put nightstands in front of the headboard to make the room feel bigger. And she made the sleek desk mirrored because, “I wanted a little sparkle.” The Holland & Sherry cream linen draperies are embroidered in chocolate brown mohair, the graceful Murano glass chandelier is Donghia, and the Ann Gish bed linens are satin. “It’s kind of a Jean Harlow look,” she says.
City-style Garden
Kathleen Litchfield and Christine Kelley of Petro Design/Build Inc. integrated earth, wind, fire, and water into the small side garden. They carefully pruned an overgrown yew and Japanese maple outside the living room and added three cobalt-blue Janus et Cie chairs, plus a fire feature by Elena Colombo. Chimes dangling in the yew were meant to echo the delightful sounds of children laughing in an adjacent playground.
A Dramatic Statement
Joseph Ireland and Julie Weber of J.D. Ireland Interior Architecture & Design were the first in the United States to install Farrow & Ball’s new Lotus wallpaper. They hung it in the entry and stair halls. The 19th century tapestry-back hall chair and the 18th century chest are from Tone on Tone. The unique lamp is by Rick Singleton, and the Dera Hutchison painting is from L’Enfant Moderne.
