Classical Baltimore pied-à-terre for sale

One of my many hobbies is tracking real estate (yes they are all architectural!) so when a friend sent me this apartment for sale in the Mt Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore I knew immediately I would have to share it here with you!

My first condo was a studio and I look fondly back on that time as maintenance is so easy.  There is something to be said for 1 room living -all of your favorite things are right there at all times!

This studio apartment has it all: location, charm, and space.  One of the great things about this apartment is the separate gracious entry hall which features much needed shelving and closets but also beautiful moldings and a window seat before a Palladian window.  The door to the bathroom is located to the left of that dresser.

Looking back towards the front door.  I think a curtain pulled back along the door wall would hide the asymmetry and undersized door which doesn't fit the scale of the space.

 Book storage is always needed and these deep shelves would hold a lot of design books!

The moldings are even more impressive in the main living space including a bay window AND a fireplace!

Notice the trimwork making 3 arched 'openings' along the inside wall with the kitchen to the left and the entry hall to the right. While I don't show the bathroom and kitchen they are totally nice spaces and wouldn't need much (the real estate listing includes those photos).

 Antique marble surrounds the firebox with lovely plaster moldings as mantel and overmantel.

 The moldings all appear to be restored and in good shape, not over-painted through the years.

 I even like the yellow wall color so move right in! (If only I had a reason to live in Baltimore)

 Close up of one of the pilasters with fretwork chair rail.

 Imagine the detailed overmantel picked out in more than 1 color....

I have nothing to do with the sale of this unit but if you want to check it out it is located at 8 W Madison Street, unit #25 in Baltimore, Maryland - REDFIN listing HERE.
All images courtesy of the MLS listing and not my own. 

You too can live in high design!

Now is your chance to live in your own lovely apartment in the heart of the elegant Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington. Listed for sale is the pied-a-terre of designer Michael Hampton; Don't worry he's not leaving DC but moving into another home to decorate!

Located on the main first floor of a newly renovated townhouse, the apartment boasts tall ceilings and lots of natural light. Ever since 'You've got mail' I've dreamed of a floor-through apartment like Meg Ryans (see that apartment HERE)!

The large living room has space for a separate dining area (or grand piano as currently set up in the listing photos). These photos are from his website.

Hampton filled the space with his own collection of furnishings and art but I'm sure he would happily decorate the space for you as well!

 The large open kitchen is perfect for entertaining (and plants and herbs love that deep window sill!).

Hampton, pictured here with his dog Spencer, uses the 2nd bedroom as a cozy den but it would make a lovely guestroom as well.

Both bathrooms have been updated with waterworks fixtures and custom shower curtains whose tracks have been cleverly hidden behind custom mouldings.

 The master bedroom is a quiet haven with lovely custom baseketweave wallcovering.

 Off the sunny bedroom is a deck for your morning coffee!

The listing is through Matt McCormick of TTR Sothebys and can be seen HERE.  Hurry this opportunity won't last long!
All photos in this posting are by photographer John Cole

John Russell Pope's Morton house for sale

I recently discovered that the Levi Morton house (1912) by John Russell Pope in my old neighborhood in Washington, DC, was for sale. For about a decade I lived a block away from this stunning mansion at 1500 Rhode Island Avenue, NW and always admired it.

For the past 75 years the National Coatings Association has been the (excellent) caretaker of this historic structure which has housed a former Vice President, a Russian ambassador, and even Alexander Graham Bell.

If you are familiar with a map of Washington, the regular grid of streets is broken by a number of Avenues which meet at traffic circles;  this creates some odd triangular building sites. The Morton house is within one of these odd shaped lots which explains the strange angles in the first floorplan above.

The gracious porte cochere sits on the north side of the property on Rhode Island Avenue. Pope cleverly used the irregular slanted front facade for service spaces, situating larger and more important rooms around the more regular square facades. In 1912 these rooms faced gardens which are now (partially) parking lots.

The odd service wing in the floorplan which included storage and servant apartments either was never built or was torn down at one point for more parking. I always wondered if the stucco part of the building which you see to the left of the photo above was original and apparently it was. It looks different than the elevation drawing earlier in this post and rather like an after thought. It houses the original dining room and butler's pantry.

The  (west) side facade above is the most prominent as it faces Scott Circle and affords beautiful views.

As with many parts of the city the area has changed significantly since 1912 and this mansion is surrounded mostly by large apartment buildings and hotels which you get a sense of in the above photograph or on google streetviews.

This existing house was an extensive renovation to an older red brick Victorian structure dating from 1879 designed by John Fraser, a well-known Philadelphian architect. The interior was completely redone by Pope in a Classical style which included this stunning staircase which includes Levi Morton's monogram.

The original fixtures are all extant and included with the sale offered by Lucia Wadeson of Cresa Corporate Real Estate. I can imagine this becoming rather grand condo's with a significant addition or ideally an embassy (Cuba?).

 Images are not my own: B&W Photographs and drawings from the book "Mastering Tradition" by author James Garrison and color images from this article in the Washington Business Journal.

A Chicago Beauty

As promised yesterday, today we are having a house tour of Mark Coy's previous apartment on Lakeshore drive. Located in a grand old building, the apartment has great bones but needed a LOT of work when he first moved in. Lets see the results!

The living room contains the same aesthetic as his new apartment, but in a traditional environment. Recognize the French armchair? The grass blinds are used here again to great affect.

Another view looking back at the living room. Notice the beautiful black fireplace with unusual overmantel on the left. You see the entry through the arched opening on the left and the dining room through the cased opening on the right. I love that Mark chose a cohesive color scheme to tie all the spaces together. The apartment has a great flow to it and the color unites the rooms.The dining room has beautiful moldings, a window bench and original sconces. I love the white painted trimwork throughout the apartment and dark stained floors! Another seagrass carpet is used here and recognize the fabric on the pillows on the window seat? Tying the rooms together through fabrics and color brings a modern flow to a traditional compartmentalized apartment.I was crazy for this gorgeous chandelier and guess what....it's from the HOME DEPOT! Yes, such style for only $495 plus the added black shades which were used again on the sconces. The high and low real world decorating is used here to full affect: using what he had to work with (sconces), adding a 'low' touch from home depot (the candelier) and hanging it above a Milo Baughman dining table (the 'high' statement piece).The master bedroom continues the same color palette but in a much more soft and subtle environment. It looks like it could be a room at a spa hotel, doesn't it? So relaxing. The bathroom is probably my favorite room in the entire apartment. I instantly recognized the Ann Sacks Bellarita Travertine flooring in a herringbone pattern: I've used it in projects before and hope to use it someday in my own house! I'm all on board with white subway tiles, befitting the apartment's age and the glam sink and ebonized doors make me so happy. No seagrass blinds in here but the wallpaper (continued onto the ceiling I might add) tie in that aspect from the rest of the apartment.
The 2nd bedroom, used as a den, uses the same color palette in a darker tone: A perfect room to curl up with a good book and cup of tea. I love the blocky lamp in the background and again the seagrass shades.

The one room that does not follow rest of the apartment's color scheme is the kitchen. The wood floors were ebonized in here as well and it looks like an original built-in to the right was painted the same white as the trimwork. I love this cheerful paint, who wouldn't smile having their morning tea (or coffee!) in here? I always tend to prefer black over stainless appliances (yes I know i'm in the minority) - I think they tend to blend better into a room and not become the 'star' attraction. They also tie in nicely with the black granite countertops.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of Mark's beautiful old apartment, I know I could happily move in tomorrow! Hopefully he'll share photos of his new space once it's completed!

Demille Estate

Back in April I read about the Cecil B. Demille estate up for sale on The Real Estalker- only $26.25 million asking price for 2.1 acres along with the buildings. A little out of my price range but it's always free to look! I think this is the most beautiful house. Above is the entryway. I love all the plasterwork!I'm sure this isn't the original kitchen as the home was built in 1914 but it really is my dream kitchen. I love the white cabinetry with glass doors and white marble countertop and backsplash. Notice the vintage stove in the alcove. The wood floors connect it to the rest of the house and make the space more homey, breaking up the expanse of white. What a great place to eat breakfast in the morning! I love this library: Space for all my books and magazines! This house also has lots of large expansive windows looking out onto the wooded lot.
The living room -more bookcases and huge open windows! You may recognize the name but not know who Demille was. He was a famous academy-award winning director in Hollywood in the first half of the 20th century.
Born in 1881, Demille started with silent films (obviously) in 1914. By the 1920s he was THE director to turn to in Hollywood! One of the few directors to be famous in his own right, he was practicaly canonized forever in the public's eye in 'Sunset Boulevard' when Gloria Swanson says "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up!". Demille played himself in this movie and in a few other films. He passed away in 1959.
I LOVE this master bathroom (assuming there is a shower around the corner that we can't see). I like the idea of putting an oriental rug in a bathroom and treating it as a real room. The double sink with lamps in front of the windows is charming!
The master bedroom - a fireplace and huge balcony -what more could you want? Is that a towel hanging on the wall? I'm not sure what that is about
What a cute little getaway this poolhouse is! The rear of the home from the pool.
All this and a guest house too! I'd be happy just living here! While the house is beautiful this dining room is semi-tragic. While I like the wood paneling, the carpet is too dreary, the chandelier too small and the furniture looks cheap and underscaled. And that fabric on the chairs - yikes!I also found some vintage photos of the estate from back in Demille's time.

The magic of Hollywood.