April 4th, 2011 
The 2011 DC design house opens to the public on Saturday, April 9th! For those who may not have heard about it, this year’s house is a 1925 English country tutor estate situated on one acre in the Forest Hills neighborhood in DC. This 12,000 sq. ft. mansion features 20 spaces that top DC-based designers have spent the last month re-designing. Some of the bigger projects include the master bedroom, wood-paneled family room and living room with vaulted ceilings. The house prior to the updates was seriously outdated and many rooms were dark and dreary, makIng it a perfect candidate for the DC Design House.
Scores of designers toured the mansion this winter, measuring rooms, taking pictures and gathering data for designs that will remake this home into the star property it once was. Designers who put in a bid for a space in the home were required to create a presentation board of their design. All selections were made on January 31st, and designers were given the month of March to work their magic. This year’s designers include: Scott Brinitzer and Jeff Potter (outdoor spaces, koi pond and pool area), Iantha Carley (master bedroom and dressing area), Nancy Colbert (library), Cynthia Ferranto (outdoor spaces, front), Barbara Franceski (family room), Samantha Friedman (bedroom), Jason Hodges (bathroom), Liz Levin (foyer), Lauren Liess (bedroom), Gary Lovejoy (sunroom), Allie Mann/Case Design (bathroom), Cindy McClure (bathroom), David Mitchell (bedroom), Erin Paige Pitts (pool room), James Rill/Rill Architects (front exterior portico), Camille Saum (dining room), Whitney Stewart (garden room), Nadia Subaran/Aidan Design (pool kitchen), Patrick Sutton (living room) and Denise Willard (powder room). These top DC designers have transformed the home that was first owned by Charles Woodward of Woodward & Lothrop Department Stores to a whole new level. The present owners are the Wasserman family with the late George Wasserman being one of the founders of the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington.
The house opens this coming Saturday, April 9th and will remain open through May 8, 2011. The DC Design House benefits Children’s National Medical Center, a non-profit hospital that treats all patients regardless of their families’ ability to pay. The house is located at 3134 Ellicott St., NW, Washington, DC, and is currently on the market for $4.9 million. For more information about tickets and hours, visit the DC Design House website.
If you stop by the house on weekends, I will be there in our space, number 19, the powder room. I am usually there from 12-2 on Saturdays and Sundays, and either Alex, Sarah or Beth will be there the other times. Hope to see you there!
Went to the pre-opening party Friday night. The house is fabulous and the designers did an amazing job of updating and enlivening a structure with great bones that needed lightening up. Each room has a personality of it’s own but they all come together to create a lovely, eclectic home. The grounds are to-die-for! I want that beautiful pond and water nymph…