TRADITION WITH A TWIST
Washington DC
I’ve lived in NJ, VA, NYC, NJ, MD (in that order). During that time I’ve had clients who’ve lead or trailed their partners to some of these same states. This makes for a broad area of projects to work on and lots of mileage on the AHR designs mobile.
PROJECT
This project took me to DC while living in NJ but it was totally worth it. There is a “Washingtonian Style” that is traditional and timeless and buttoned up in a perfectly non-partisan way. My take on DC style is to infuse a nice dose of the unexpected into the home while still keeping it buttoned up- in a perfectly non-partisan way of course.
What I loved about these clients and this project was their commitment to purchasing really fabulous things even if they were a bit over budget- knowing that they will cherish them for a lifetime. We Ikea hacked the dresser for their son’s room but went over the top with some of the pillow fabrics in the living room. They purchased art the price of a used car but then we recovered a sofa from the husband’s first apt to offset the expense and keep us in budget.
The husband works from home and often has clients come to the space. We thought long and hard about what we wanted to convey in that space. Benjamin Moore High gloss downpour blue walls and trim for sure were the answer to that quandary. I’m pretty sure we were the first people to use this stark antelope cut broadloom….just sayin’
I love the collected feel we created with the kid’s rooms. The now –“tweens” room has one of my all-time favorite (Hygge and West) wallpapers. I’ve since used this room and board canopy bed in numerous projects. (designer secret- shhhh). The littlest girl’s room was anchored with a coverlet the wife stuffed in her suitcase from a diplomatic trip with her previous boss (a longtime house majority whip) from India. We talked the hubby into recreating some fun Damien Hirst –like art (in Ikea frames) to punch up the walls.
“Alexa is the best of the best. She listens to what you want and makes it better. She helped us design a few rooms in our new home in 2014. Now we are undertaking a major renovation and she is an integral part of the process, partnering with our architect. We wouldn’t have done it without her!”