Michael Hampton and the DC Design House 2015

This year's DC Design House (2015) may not be located in DC but is still a very sophisticated and Washingtonian home.

Designed by Harrison Design architects, the house resembles a typical Virginian farmhouse which has been added onto over the generations. The multiple volumes help to mask the large size of the structure.

 I loved the logical and light-filled floorplan. Who doesn't love a floorplan?

The only criticism I could have are perhaps the lack of program in the basement. Large open rooms bleed endlessly into each other with no real purpose.  We had the idea of replacing the garage bump out on the first floor into the basement (which works with the grading) in the series of vague rooms on the left hand side of the plan below. This would also have the benefit of drawing more light into the back stairhall. But I digress......

The best room in the house is done by my friend, designer Michael Hampton. Don't just take my biased word for it, Architectural Digest  prominently included it in their line up and most media coverage has featured the below image by photographer Angie Seckinger as their lead photo.

Michael was able to work with the builder of the house (Artisan Builds of Mclean) and develop many of the details of the house which may be one of the reasons the fit-out and detailing found in the house is so well done. Any talented professional designer (unlike decorator, which is a very different thing but not a negative connotation ) will add this level of finesse to any project.

Above you can see the room as Michael first found it; see his blog post HERE on the development of the space. Michael designed a beautiful oak paneling to line the library, incorporating a built-in window seat and bookshelves.

The large chinoiserie painting above the sofa from John Rosselli was the basis of the room; soft greens with red accents.

The crazy beautiful sofa is also from John Rosselli and features a delightful faux bois fabric by Jed Johnson.

There are other rooms in the house worth noting, unusual as some showhouses feature one gaudy room after another - this showhouse is a comparative model of restraint!

I loved the master bedroom by Christopher Patrick. Christopher has a real talent for mixing the best of modern design and antiques to make a room stylish and lived in. These are the types of rooms in which people want to spend time! The Benjamin Moore wallcolor was especially great and I plan on copying it soon in my own bedroom. Notice too that much of the artwork are architectural watercolors by Michael Hampton!

Lastly, the kitchen was a beautiful space which brought to mind a Virginia farmhouse with a sophisticated twist designed by Lobkovich kitchen design.  Notice the leg details on the island -beautiful! I think they'll be getting a lot of calls from people for work on their own kitchens.

There is still time to visit the DC Design House, open until May 10, 2015 in McLean Virginia.  Don't miss seeing it all for yourself!
All photos unless noted by Angie Seckinger.

Nesting in my apartment

I've had a lot of changes in my apartment recently which is strange because aren't we meant to nest in preparation for winter and not spring? Regardless I thought I'd share some of these upgrades as they're really quite exciting for me!

A few months ago I purchased this antique armchair from an estate sale which had last been upholstered in the early 1960s.  While the fabric was nice in its own way (an embroidered silk) it was not quite to my taste and rather dirty.

Upon the recommendation of my friend Michele from the blog My Notting Hill I checked out Haute Fabrics in Ballston, Virginia (a DC suburb). There I found this lovely hand printed linen with a subtle paisley fabric that I just loved. I also found Urban Castle Interior Solutions who proved to be an excellent upholsterer after my last one had sadly retired. I worried it would perhaps be a little bland but I have such a random assortment of things that I love in this room that I thought the neutral tones would tie everything together.

At the same time I purchased this lovely Safavieh rug which really anchors the space. This is my living room in a 1 bedroom apartment so I really LIVE in here!

Now I have a comfy chair in which to read and relax which anchors this corner of the room- just what I always wanted! Now I just have to start looking for the perfect sofa to replace my underscaled loveseat (so no comments about that!).
I received no compensation for this post -just sharing some excellent resources! Picture quality is lacking because these were taken with my phone.

Classic style doesn't date

 As you well know I'm a firm believer that classic style doesn't date.  An example of this is a room by talented designers Tom Fox and Joe Nahem from the 1980s when they decorated the dining room of the Castles on the Sound showhouse (featured in the book Interior Visions).

Working with the great bones of the space, mahogany paneling and a stone fireplace surround, they re-envisioned the formal dining room for everyday use TODAY (or at least 1980s today). Beautiful classic furniture, art, and objects create a space that anyone would be happy using in 1980 or 2014. How many times have you redecorated your own living or dining room since 1980 and at what cost? Do we need any more reason to shun the overtly trendy and revel in classic style

Recent work: Dramatic before and after

Reading and writing blog posts everyday I can sometimes forget to mention I'm more than a blogger: I also work in the design industry!  I thought I would share the design process with you on a recent project, a renovated master suite (above is a finished teaser of the bath).

Lets get the ugly stuff out of the way first. My friend had a vintage 1920s house in the lovely Cleveland Park neighborhood of DC (you may remember a built-in I completed for him in the family room HERE). Old houses are great, I think we can all agree there, but old bathrooms are NOT so great - just look at it above!

Above the partial floorplan shows the original layout of the area I worked on which had great potential but didn't work for the client. A small, worn hall bath serviced the master bedroom as well as a small bedroom which my friend used as a dressing room as closet space was inadequate. The front half of the plan not shown on the left had the formerly renovated master suite which had been turned into another hall bathroom, separate laundry room, and a large bedroom facing the street.

Previously one came up the staircase and was confronted with the L shaped hallway seen here (remember, this is the BEFORE!).

Lots of square footage was wasted on the hallway in the tight plan and I had to come up with a way to best utilize the space.

The criteria was for a gracious master bedroom suite complete with en-suite bathroom, separate generous dressing room with loads of storage, and a separate sitting room.

The bones were all there but how best to reconfigure the space while respecting the vintage charm of the house?  Another piece of the puzzle was leaving the exterior of the house untouched as it lies within a historic district where exterior changes are hard to get approved.

I decided to claim the 2nd hall closet and a fair amount of the hallway itself to enlarge the bathroom and provide all of the amenities one expects today in a house of this caliber.  Above you see the 'demo' plan and how I was going to accomplish this.

The plan worked out nicely. Instead of coming up into a vast L shaped hallway, a more compact hall was created with a flush wall great for art at the head of the stairway. The master suite is now entered through a private vestibule which separates the bedroom from a dressing room.  The opening between the dressing room and sunny sitting room was filled in to allow for more storage in the closet and a built-in bookcase in the sitting room.

The bathroom walls were completely removed to both insulate the exterior walls as well as reclaim any space we could find which previously housed ductwork and pipes which could easily be moved out of the way. Our contractor was a great help here!  I decided to panel the walls with wide beadboard which added a vintage charm to the bath of the 1920s time period while also providing a 'warm' environment.

A separate soaking tub and large shower were added as well as an additional sink thanks to the space gained from the hallway.  Now lets see how it turned out!

The hallway is still a generous size and makes sense for the house. Two bedrooms are left on this floor with a 3rd on the floor above. In the photo above you are looking into the new vestibule (painted the same purple as the bedroom) lit by an antique sconce found at my favorite lighting source just down the street in Cleveland Park, Artisan lighting.

Another antique frosted glass ceiling fixture was found at Artisan Lamp for the bedroom, on  a dimmer switch for ambiance of course! You can see through the former closet door into the newly enlarged master bathroom.

Looking the other direction one can see into the sunroom sitting area.  The natural linen curtains lining the wall hide an off-center window as well as provide a focal point for the bed.

The small bedroom became a proper dressing room with ample storage. Double hanging rods fill one entire wall while a large dresser sits opposite.  The antique lamp on the dresser is also from Artisan - you can tell I love to shop there! The closet of this former bedroom was lined with cedar to become storage for sweaters and other off-season items.

The sitting room received a fresh coat of sage green paint as well as a major clean-up. An odd closet was ripped out of the corner as well as an unnecessary non-working but extremely HEAVY radiator.

However the piece de resistance is surely the newly created master bathroom. Wide 6" painted wood paneling was installed rather than drywall or tile as it created a warm, vintage feeling environment.  Foam insulation was blown into all of the walls for sound isolation as well as temperature control.  The window received a cafe height plantation shutter for privacy and a new marble sill perfect for additional storage. Antique neoclassical sconces were found at Artisan which really become the jewelry of the space.

As the brass and black enameled sconces are really focal points I didn't feel the other finishes needed to match and they were all spec'd in a polished nickel finish sourced from the Waterworks studio line ( a wonderful lower priced line which still has the great quality and heft of other Waterworks fixtures). The tile also came from Waterworks. I used a large format dark stone-like porcelain tile for the floor and the coordinating 2x2 tile for the shower floor. The shower walls were lined with a miniature subway tile and a long niche was created for soaps and shampoo. I love the industrial exposed surface-mounted shower fixtures from Waterworks! In-floor radiant heating was installed which can be controlled with the thermostat by the door for warm feet in the cold winter.

You can renovate your own bathroom into your DREAM space - be bold! Use Plumbtile to make all of your selections online and for easy ordering. From traditional to modern they have all of your bathroom needs as well as kitchen and lighting!

The same Italian Crema marble from the Restoration Hardware Gramercy vanity was used for the window sill, shower curb & surround, as well as to line the shower niche. I know you're wondering why I selected an open vanity as opposed to one with storage but I was worried the bathroom would feel tight when it lost that visual space below the sinks. Large medicine cabinets provide tons of storage. The freestanding bathtub from Victoria & Albert was clean lined while still having the appearance of an old Victorian soaker tub (seen best in my drawing earlier in this post).   I'm very pleased with the entire renovation and more importantly so was my friend!  What do you think?
Special thanks to my fantastic photographer friend Bill Bramble who provided the before and after pictures!

Darryl Carter: inside look

This past weekend I finally had the chance to tour Darryl Carter's new store and studio here in DC that everyone has been raving over.

 The discrete facade in an up and coming neighborhood, Shaw, belies the large amazing space within. Only a small "Darryl Carter" logo in red on the front windows alerts the visitor that they are in fact in the right place!

One can see why Darryl chose the space for his shop: the beautiful industrial spaces are old, worn, and interesting; the perfect contrast to his quirky but beautiful antiques and custom designed pieces.

 This imposing antique lion greets you as you enter.

The first floor features a lot of smaller items by local artisans such as pottery, dishes, glassware, and art pieces. I loved this old stone urn!

The second floor is large and covers his furnishings, antiques, and a lot of other unusual finds.  Copies of his amazing book are to be found scattered throughout the shop.

 At the rear of the 2nd floor, fabric samples are housed in orderly fashion in industrial metal baskets.

 Stunning intaglios by yet another artist line the stairwell.

Everywhere you look are fascinating objects: both found and antique. This chinoiserie dressing mirror picks up the shelving on the wall opposite.

I always associate this type of striped menswear upholstery with Darryl but this was the only example I could find in the shop!

 Taxidermy is to be found throughout the shop as well as cowhide and zebra skin rugs.

Most of the lighting comes from Darryl's collection for the Urban Electric Company. I especially loved these sconces lighting the stairways.

The Attic space is the most beautiful and gets amazing light through old skylights and dormer windows. Darryl originally intended this to be his personal office but the store got larger than anticipated!

 Imagine taking your phone calls on this comfortable daybed everyday.

I was amazed at the breadth of items that is carried by the store - everything including the kitchen sink!

Behind the shop is a private courtyard, perfect for parties. The lines of this old mattress make for an interesting art installation.

Located in the former garage is the design studio where his staff works and client meetings are held. I loved these metal and glass doors.

The wood paneled space is painted Darryl's favorite color by Benjamin Moore, Bonifant White, which visually expands the space. Even the staplers and tape dispensers on the desks were white! The color is from his line at Benjamin Moore where you can get his look for your own home.

Anchoring the work space is a closet with amazing antique hardware. Antique door hardware is to be found throughout the shop on all of the doors - no detail overlooked - don't miss it!

Darryl's shop is located at 1320 9th St. NW, in Shaw, across the street from the convention center. I encourage you all to visit!
Photos taken with my underwhelming iphone - visit the shop to see everything in greater detail!