An Enchanting Estate

Written by Trish Donnally Photography by Kenneth M. Wyner

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Imagine having 264 acres of farmland, more than a mile of it bordering the Potomac, and trying to figure out how to site your house to best take advantage of the river views. In 2003, with cows grazing in the pastures and eagles soaring overhead, the architects of Custom Design Concepts Architecture + Interiors (CDC), the general contractors of Ellis & Leary Custom Builders LLC, and the owners of this glorious property came up with a creative way to envision the anticipated views.

“One day, the owners rented a mobile power lift in order to verify the river views. The site was still just a grassy hill with no construction disturbance in sight. The owners went up in the lift while members of the contractors’ team and ours held tape measures and surveyor’s stakes to help establish the room locations and building floor heights. In this way, the owners were able to get a very accurate preview of what the potential views were. This information was the single biggest driver in the development of the design,” says Architect Mark Sullenberger. He collaborated with lead Architect Joany Janicki and Architect Richard Radcliffe on the design of the house.

Richard Ellis and Kevin Leary of Ellis & Leary Custom Builders LLC built the house from the ground up – and down. They excavated 22 feet below ground for the regulation-size racquetball court, but more on that later. This state-of-the-art house has everything – magnificent views, a quintessential old-world library, an exquisite conservatory, a superb home theater, and did we mention the fabulous bowling alley?

Interior Designer Phyllis Whaley, owner of Leopard Interiors Ltd., says the owners had one consistent request. “They were most concerned that it be welcoming. That was never compromised.”

Old World Craftsmanship

“It’s a family home and it reflects their tastes and needs,” Whaley says. The grand two-story foyer with its black and white marble floor and dark walnut wainscoting sets the stage for the rest of the residence.

Miriam Dillon, senior designer at CDC, designed handsome millwork throughout much of the house. She took cues from the owners’ favorite architectural firm, McKim, Mead & White, the turn-of-the-century New York architects known for elegant English Manor houses.

A bass violin and Steinway piano grace the foyer. “We have sing-alongs around the piano with different people playing,” Whaley says.

To the left of the foyer, the dining room can seat up to 32, depending on how the tables are arranged. The dining room floor has more than 12,000 pieces of wood in a parquet pattern. “It’s rift- and quarter-sawn, which is the most durable cut,” says Sprigg Lynn of Universal Floors Inc., whose company laid wood floors throughout the home, using FSC-certified wood.

To the right of the foyer, the living room, with its warm, golden bird’s-eye maple paneling, almost glows – especially at sunset, when light comes streaming in.

A Room With a View

“The Longview Room,” as the owners call their family room, was sited to look out over the Potomac. An awe-inspiring room with hickory beams with gold-leaf stenciling, dark-red Venetian plaster walls, hand-scraped walnut herringbone floors, and a massive fireplace, it’s also a game room with a game table, boxes of backgammon, and a chess set. A 55-inch TV is concealed behind a built-in panel to the right of the mantel.

Triple-hung windows, inspired by windows at the White House and Monticello, can be raised so guests can meander out to the verandas and take in the views.

The 13-by-9-foot cast-concrete fireplace with cloverleaf designs that reflect the Irish heritage of the lady of the house commands the center of the room. “We tried to follow the vocabulary of an English Tudor house. In older homes, they were using those fireplaces for function and heat, so we wanted to make sure it was oversized. We tried to be in proportion to the room,” Sullenberger says.

The large chaise longue and the rachet-armed sofas come from Green Front Furniture in Farmville, VA, which was the source for about half of the furniture in the house.

Mind-Bending Beauty

The stunning two-story circular library was inspired by the Linderman Library at Lehigh University, the homeowners’ alma mater. The first level, with its cozy seating by the fireplace, window seats with cushions, and table and chairs from the original Linderman Library, leads the eye upward to the mesmerizing domed ceiling, hand-painted by John Kiernan of Blue Line Studios. Lynn of Universal Floors created a magnificent inlaid wood design for the entryway floor, inspired by Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam on the Vault of the Sistine Chapel.

‘Most Fun Basement on the Planet’

“The owner drove the basement. He said, ‘I want this to be the most fun basement on the planet,’ ” Sullenberger says. Mission accomplished. This basement is awesome – an enormous playground for children of all ages. For starters, it includes a regulation-size two-lane bowling alley. “Richard Ellis built this house around the bowling center,” says Brent Dyer, director of operations for US Bowling Corporation, the largest family-owned bowling equipment provider in the world. “We gave him all the pre-installation requirements and delivered the pinsetters months and months before the home was finished. You can’t bring these [machines] down a set of stairs.”

Sullenberger concurs. He says designing the bowling alley was one of the most unique challenges CDC encountered. “This feature was definitely a part of the client’s program from the start; however, it is the first one we have incorporated into a home. Once we learned that we would need in excess of 100 feet of uninterrupted space, we realized that the placement of the alley was important and would clearly affect the plan of the house.” They managed to incorporate the bowling alley without letting it overpower the basement, because there’s so much more.

Consider the regulation-size racquetball court that’s used daily. The SwimEx Inc. indoor pool, exercise room, massage room, his and her steam showers, and custom-built locker room comprise a private spa. Plus, a recreation room features an inviting two-sided fireplace.

The Ultimate Underground Theater

Theo Kalomirakis, aka “Father of the Home Theater,” designed a theater in the lower level with state-of-the-art equipment including a curved 10-foot-wide screen. The owners wanted an art deco theme. “They felt that the theater should be an excursion, meant to evoke a totally different kind of excitement. They wanted theirs to feel like it was on a cruise ship,” Kalomirakis says. He established this effect in the entryway with wavy lines on a terrazzo floor and a nailhead design on the acoustically sealed leather door to the theater. He further achieved this effect with waves etched into glass panels on the ceiling. “In the old days, ceilings were probably the most important part of the room in theater palaces. You first focused on the ceiling, then your eye would drift down to the stage.” In this case, Kalomirakis’ coffered and glass ceiling caps the handsome theater that comfortably seats 16.

“But I just designed the theater. Tom Wells [of Integrated Media Systems] worked out all of the technology,” he says. Indeed, Wells integrated the Kaleidescape system, which has the ability to store movies so anyone throughout the house can access them on any screen. “The movie collection can be shared. We installed five different simultaneous streams of movies or music throughout the house,” Wells says.

“We don’t go out to movies anymore,” the homeowner says. In fact, he adds, “It’s very peaceful. You have to drag us away from here.”