A 1925 Tudor with a beamed ballroom and outdoor dance floor is dressed up for a party again. The fourth annual DC Design House, which has become the blue-chip showcase for local interior designers, opens for business in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Northwest Washington.
Entry & Stair Hall
Liz Levin Interiors
A hand-knotted ikat rug takes center stage in Liz Levin’s modern and elegant entry space.
Living Room
Patrick Sutton Associates
Patrick Sutton’s living room shows off the Design House’s 1920s Tudor architecture. Sutton’s goal was to bring a human scale to an otherwise grand room. He created numerous seating areas where family members could chat, read a book or work on a laptop.
Pool Room
Erin Paige Pitts Interiors
Erin Paige Pitts used a neutral palette and a pair of swings to create a porch-like retreat indoors.
Pool Kitchen
Aidan Design
Nadia Subaran made the most of limited space in the pool kitchen. She chose sleek Italian lighting, soapstone counters and a small walnut butcher-block table. The walls are painted with Dove Tale by Farrow & Ball.
Garden Room
Whitney Stewart Interior Design
One of the charming accessories in Washington designer Whitney Stewart's Garden Room is the birdcage light fixture which Stewart had wired, embellished with twigs and hung in the center of the room.
Sun Room
Gary Lovejoy Associates, Inc.
To add interest in the sunroom, Gary Lovejoy used such textures as leather, metal, stone and cowhide.
Koi Pond
Scott Brinitzer Design Associates
The Koi pond by landscape designer Scott Brinitzer was just one part of the lavish $50,000 makeover of the one acre property his firm pulled off in record time.
Library
Design Partners, LLC
Nancy M. Colbert of Design Partners in McLean lightened the look of the library with a decorative paint finish in Farrow & Ball's Skimming Stone, a taupey-gray.
Dining Room
Camille Saum Interior Design, LLC
Camille Saum furnished this romantic dining room with dramatic French-style chairs covered in yellow patent leather. In a designer twist, she upholstered the backs in floral linen. The round-skirted table is topped with an antiqued mirror.
Secret Garden Bath
J. Hodges & Associates, LLC
For the Secret Garden bath, which adjoins the teen bedroom, DC designer Jason Hodges covered the existing floor tile with a woven tile rug with a trellis pattern and updated the fixtures for a glamorous effect.
Teenager’s Room
Samantha Friedman Interior Designs, LLC
Samantha Friedman added a whimsical reading nook in her room, which she called the “Secret Garden.” Vibrant orange fabric and a splurge-worthy bed set the tone for this sophisticated and modern teen space.
Cerulean Sanctuary
Grossmueller's Design Consultants, Inc.
Using the original dark blue floor tiles as color inspiration, designer Cindy McClure of Grossmueller's Design in Washington, added a custom stained-glass mosaic tile to frame the tub.
Hideaway
Lauren Liess Interiors
For her first show house room, Herndon designer and blogger Lauren Liess chose a neutral palette, furniture pieces and fabrics of her own design and a mix of antique and vintage finds.
One for the Guys
David Mitchell Interior Design
A collection of 36 antique bird prints in simple black frames provides the backdrop to the gentleman’s bedroom by David Mitchell.
Master Bedroom & Dressing Room
Iantha Carly Interiors
Iantha Carley used a classic David Hicks print in green as the starting point for her master bedroom. She splurged on the Niermann Weeks sconces that flank the bed.
Master Bath
Case Design/Remodeling
Allie Mann of Case Design/Remodeling of Falls Church used marble and dark cherry cabinetry to modernize the master bath.
Powder Room
Décor by Denise
Denise Willard of Vienna's Decor by Denise used dramatic Venetian plaster treatment to update the look of the room.
Family Room
Barbara Franceski LLC
Barbara Franceski of Alexandria furnished the family room with multiple seating areas and lots of textures, including: leather, steel, wood, alpaca and crystal.
Exterior Front Portico
Rill Architects, PC
Rill Architects, PC gleaned inspiration for their romantic makeover of the portico space from the Tudor style of the house.
If you go
The DC Design House is at 3134 Ellicott St. NW. It will be open April 9 through May 8. Hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $20. Find more information at www.dcdesignhouse.com.
GRAPHIC: Wilson Andrews and Marie Elizabeth Oliver. PHOTOS: Lydia Cutter, John McDonnell and Sherry Moeller. The Washington Post - April 6, 2011.
