CAPITAL GAINS

IN WASHINGTON, D.C’S EMBASSY ROW NEIGHBORHOOD, A GEORGIAN MASTERPIECE WELCOMES AESTHETIC IMPROVEMENTS THAT CARRY HISTORY FORWARD

- KRISSA ROSSBUND

The United States relies on three branches of government to guide its progression. The redo of a stately home in the Embassy Row neighborhood of Washington, D.C., was also the result of three authoritative powers. Architect Ankie Barnes of the D.C. firm Barnes Vanze set the stationary function and frills of the foundation. Designers Paul Sherrill and Jose Solís Betancourt layered in the softer sides of beauty. And the clients signed the project into the history books with their stamp of approval.

"This is the house of a young couple with children," Sherrill says. "It was important to them that the changes made to the home respected its classic nature but in a manner that was current and updated."

To do that, the existing layout and decorative scheme were amended on several occasions. The first was a structural change that bumped out the back of the house to expand the primary suite and the living room directly below it. In the living room, small windows were replaced with panes that stretch floor to ceiling, usher in natural light, and entertain with the visual treat of the gardens in the backyard.

Foyer The foyer is treated like a gallery space. Art pieces include a Roman sculpture, ballerinas that appear to move as one passes by, and an illuminated loop sculpture in a niche. Exterior The Georgian home, built in 1930, was once owned by philanthropist Paul Mellon. Living room In an addition to the living room, French chairs, curved sofas, and a sculptural cocktail table star, while an arched built-in blends into the walls. Office The office was furnished with modern forms in a warm palette. Previous pages In the dining room, two sphinxes rest on pedestals in front of silk-covered walls.