When faced with updating an English Tudor built in 1925, some of the Washington area’s top interior designers decided it was in with the old.
Instead of dismantling dated paneling, walls, floors and beams, these designers incorporated these architectural elements into their redesign, adding character and charm to the renovated spaces.
The 12,000-square-foot English Country Tudor is on display and open to the public through May 8 as the D.C. Design House. The house was built for Charles Woodward, founder of the Woodward & Lothrop department stores. It currently is owned by the family of the late George Wasserman, co-founder of the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, and is on the market for $4.9 million.
From the enhanced front portico to a quaint hall bathroom, designers found various ways to update the home’s 80-year-old features.
Rill Architects modified the portico by enhancing the color of the elements, such as trim and brackets, that define Tudor style.
Designer Patrick Sutton brought new life to the living room, the largest room in the house, by focusing on the large wood beams that framed the space. He stripped the beams of layers of paint and exposed their beautiful grain. He wrapped the walls and sloped ceiling with white-on-white damask.
“When you have such an interesting space like that, wallpaper helps the eye go from the bottom to the top,” Sutton said.
To make the ballroom-sized space more inviting, Sutton grouped furniture into several areas. “When dealing with a room this big you want to make sure you break it down into areas. My approach was to think about what different types of places I would want to hang out in.”
Large woven jute rugs provide a casual canvas for elegant upholstery and antiques throughout.
The home’s moose-lodge-like den originally had dark wood paneling and a pub-sized bar that dominated the space.
“When I first walked in and saw the space, I walked right out and thought to myself: ‘Have fun, somebody,’ ” said designer Barbara Franceski. “I had no idea that somebody would be me.”
The first step in transforming the space into a cozy family room, was painting the dated paneling in Farrow & Ball’s Oxford Stone, a light creamy taupe. “You don’t have to rip out paneling,” she added. “I’m all about painting over it and bringing it into the 21st century.”
She kept the dark stained dentil molding near the ceiling, an ornate wooden radiator cover and original Tiffany-like grille work on glass cabinet doors behind the bar. “I didn’t want to strip the house of its 1920s Tudoresque elements,” she said.
Franceski arranged modern furniture in three distinct seating sections, including a conversation area in front of the bar.
“You don’t have to put bar stools up to the bar. If I had done that this whole area would have been wasted space because you need room to pull out the bar stools,” she said.
Instead she coupled a pair of Donghia club chairs in creamy leather and a stainless steel base with two small square ottomans upholstered in an animal print.
In a hall bath, designer Cindy McClure, of Grossmueller’s Design Consultants, transformed a dingy old bath into a jewel of room by simply covering and sprucing up exiting features. She covered old tile on the wall with beaded wood wainscoting, giving the bath a Cape Cod feel. She kept the original blue tile floor, but used a gray-stained grout to give it new life. She updated the existing tub, water closet and toilet with new faucets, reminiscent of those used in 1920s.
Resources
www.patricksutton.com
www.grossmuellers.com
www.barbarafranceski.com
www.rillarchitects.com
