Clean lines and simply conveyed elegance grace the interior and restore the heritage of this historical Alexandria, Virginia home. Once serving as a school and more recently as condos, the 19th-century brick townhouse has finally been re-established as a gracious single family home. With guidance from interior designer David Mitchell, the home not only reclaimed its former glory but is also set for life in the 21st-century. Knowing the scope of this project would encompass much more than interior design and space planning, Mitchell called on architect Thomas Manion, with whom he’d worked before, to help reconsider and modernize the interior architectural plan. “David and I had worked together several times re-making traditional houses, creating more open, light filled, contemporary layouts with traditional details, and that is basically what this project was about. I recommended the builder Harry Braswell, because he is based in Alexandria and has some specialized background in historic preservation.”
Because the home is located in Alexandria’s historic district, preservation was not a nicety—it was a mandate. According to Manion, “Alexandria is an old colonial settlement, and this 19th-century building falls under the jurisdiction of the city’s Historic Preservation Board of Architectural Review. The board is primarily concerned that the exterior of a historical structure maintain or reclaim a historical style. With the exterior of historical homes, there is not much leeway—during a renovation, lost details must be brought back, appropriate colors for mortar and paint must be used, old materials must be matched, and anything that has deteriorated must be repaired.” While much of the exterior simply needed to be repaired and preserved, Manion was able to redesign the front porch, replace the windows with new ones that match the old style, and add a back porch to provide more gracious access to the house from the rear.
But while the home’s exteriors evoke the era when the home was originally built, the interiors only nod to tradition. As Mitchell puts it, “The interior is not nostalgic—we weren’t out to recreate the 19th century.”
To begin the extensive renovations, Mitchell and Manion got to know their client’s interests and desires. According to Mitchell, “My client loves to entertain, to cook, and to collect art.” So while the general goal of the project was to update and open up the centuries-old space, the new layout would have to accommodate a top-notch kitchen and provide an opportunity to showcase art in every room.
“Stylistically, there weren’t very many specific goals,” says Mitchell. “The idea was to develop a classic interior for an updated lifestyle. We relied on using European antiques, mostly Biedermeier or Empire, and because of the way my client lives, I mixed the antiques with reproductions and new upholstered pieces to strike the right balance.”
When Mitchell and Manion began to consider the interior spaces, the exterior dictated much of what could be done. In many homes, creating an open, light-filled space means blowing out walls and adding windows—something that would not meet the Architectural Review Board’s satisfaction. “Fortunately,” says Manion, “the home is located on a corner, and there are two exterior façades with lots of windows that provide great light to the interior.” Alexandria’s Historic Preservation Committee limited the changes that could be made to the outside, affecting what could be done on the inside. “Because this was a historical home, we didn’t have the luxury of moving exterior windows and doors.”
Albeit, the entire interior was essentially gutted. Load-bearing walls were maintained, but the floor plan was significantly modified—moving interior doors, walls, and hallways and expanding some rooms and shrinking others helped the spaces work and still relate to the windows. “At one point,” says Mitchell, “you could stand on the threshold of the front door and see the attic and the basement at the same time. The chimneys and the staircase were the only interior aspects that were not rebuilt.” Along the way, much structural work was performed to stabilize and repair the aged structure, and all the systems, from plumbing and electrical to heating and air conditioning, were redone.
To create the flow and sense of openness his client hoped to achieve, Manion developed a plan that followed axes to lead the eye toward natural light.
The primary axis, of course, is the central hallway, from which the rest of the house unfolds. From the street, guests enter a small foyer that is separated from the center hall by paned glass French doors. In the hallway, striped wallpaper is balanced by a very pale blue ceiling, which, along with the shutter green stair rail, adds a surprise hint of color. A china cabinet at the end of the hall is accented by the oval interior window above, adding architectural interest while allowing natural light from the kitchen into the hall.
Adjacent to the hall, the living room sets the tone for the entire house. “The first thing we bought for the house,” says Mitchell, “was a series of 16 landscape paintings by Wade Hoefer,” which defined the scheme and colors for the living room. Subdued golds, greens, and browns guide Mitchell’s understated palette, providing a subtle backdrop for plush upholstery, fabulous antiques, and beautiful art.
Across the hall, the library offers comfortable seating where Mitchell’s client can relax and read or chat with guests. Mitchell describes the library as “a hallway with bookshelves.” Because it is small, he used white oak with a gray wash to cut down the golden tones and give a lighter feeling to the room. “Something like a dark mahogany would have made the room look even smaller.” To add art to the room, Mitchell had bronze easels fixed to the bookshelves in a way that beautifully displays paintings without preventing access to the books on the shelves.
In the kitchen, incorporating art was difficult but not as much of a challenge as fitting all the accoutrements of a large chef’s kitchen into the smaller space. “Our client had very specific images for what she wanted, but she was also very open to alternative solutions to her ideas,” says Manion. “She was very involved in helping us understand the functionality and look she wanted.”
To accommodate the professional range, dishwashers, sinks, large refrigerator, dining area, and space for meal preparation, Manion and Mitchell settled on an L-shaped plan. And according to Mitchell, the historical requirements that mandate keeping the original window size and placement warranted a creative solution for the cabinetry. Instead of eliminating the base cabinetry where it would block windows, Mitchell left an opening underneath the counter where light can come through.
To bring art into the room, Mitchell and his client went to tile artist Rebecca Cross. “My client had just returned from cooking school in Italy. We found a French document fabric for the window treatments, and Rebecca agreed to do the tiles.” The tile mural would evoke a cooking theme to remind Mitchell’s client of her culinary adventures in Italy and complement the Roman blinds. Once the tile mural was complete, cabinetmakers from Old Town Woodworking made precise measurements and custom designed cabinets to fit the space.
Adjoining the kitchen along the back of the house, the formal dining room offers an elegant setting for entertaining and formal meals. Furnishings include a Biedermeier chest, large reproduction mirror, and large custom table designed by Mitchell. “The host and hostess chairs,” he says, “are different from the side chairs—a great way to create variety and bring more fabric into a dining room.”
Upstairs, according to Manion, the overall number of rooms was reduced to create suites. The master bedroom follows a similar aesthetic program as the rest of the house, but does so in a quieter, more private way. Mitchell describes the room as “a very ethereal space.”
In a bit of an opposition to the master bedroom’s serene elegance, Manion feels that the master bath is perhaps the most interesting space on the 2nd floor. Originally conceived as a fairly typical space, Mitchell worked with the client to think about a creative arrangement through which Manion would combine the existing bath, closet, and sitting room to create one large bathroom. The new design allows room for a large closet, soaking tub, and frameless glass shower. The floor is clad with slabs of marble, and the baseboards are carved marble copies of the wood baseboards in the rest of the house.
By taking cues from architectural antecedents and working within the limitations of the Architectural Review Board, the project was given an external structure that Mitchell, Manion, and their client worked within to lighten up the old home and let it go with the flow. From start to finish, the project took about 18 months, and along the way, a real sense of teamwork developed. According to Manion, “there was more teamwork in this project than many I get involved with.” And like a true team, the interior spaces function as a single entity—there is no star, no showpiece, no ostentation, only sensible use of space, simply adorned comforts, and a pervasive subtle beauty.
Dennis Hockman is the Editor of ChesapeakeHome.
Contacts:
David H. Mitchell Associates: (Interior Design): 202-797-0780
Manion & Coratola: (Architecture): 301-229-7000
Harry Braswell, Inc.: (Construction): harrybraswell.com or 703-836-1776
Additional Contacts:
Chelsea Editions: chelseaeditions.com
George Smith: georgesmith.com, 212-226-4747 or 212-759-7888
Old Town Woodworking: 540-347-3993
Rebecca Cross/Cross McKenzie Ceramic Art: rebeccacross.com/rcross or 202-333-7970
Viking: vikingrange.com or 888-VIKING1
