Designer Joe Eire refines an elegant DC house with artwork, objects and fabulous finishes
It all the time amazes me what number of layers there are to create a ravishing area that feels heat and alluring,” marvels the proprietor of a tiny house on DC’s 14th Avenue Hall. She’s speaking concerning the mission she and her husband lately accomplished beneath the auspices of JD Eire – the fourth in a 14-year partnership that additionally included the couple’s sprawling McLean dwelling and an house in Dublin.
The DC one-bedroom house makeover is the most recent cease on a journey that started in 2008 when the homeowners purchased a two-bedroom house in the identical constructing with the concept of downsizing (in addition they ended up retaining their McLean home) . When one other unit got here available on the market in 2019, the couple — he is in expertise and he or she’s retired from the telecom trade — jumped proper in. “It was an unbelievable alternative to create a personal suite for out-of-town visitors,” the girl says. “And we like an unbiased surroundings the place we will work or calm down.”
Odd angles and a concrete ceiling punctuated by uncovered pipework created a unusual, industrial-chic vibe, however that is the place the build-quality rental’s attract ended. “I knew I wished to showcase the inside once we purchased the property,” says the girl. “I wanted Joe’s expertise to design the structure and architectural components.”
The 80 sq. meter house opens into a brief corridor with a visitor bed room on the fitting. Straight forward is the dwelling/eating space with the kitchen on one aspect and patio doorways to the bed room and loo on the opposite. “Every part within the unit was touched,” says Eire. “We stripped down the area and redesigned it in a delicate trendy type with industrial aptitude.”
He enlisted Winchester for the job, which included shifting a wall within the visitor bed room to widen the galley kitchen; putting in six-foot-tall pocket doorways instead of the usual doorways; and including a large panel of ornamental frosted glass that lets gentle into the bed room from the primary space. An alcove with a built-in bench reworked the nondescript entry lobby into a captivating lobby that hints at future refined finishes.
Eire embraced the eccentric window wall. Stone-look ceramic tile flooring are laid diagonally and {custom} furnishings follows the identical irregular strains. The attention-catching duct work has been upgraded to a modified, flattened oval form. “We lined the ceilings and trim with high-gloss paint to permit as a lot gentle as attainable to bounce off the unit,” says the designer. The colour palette enhances powder-coated grey aluminum window frames and views of the concrete and brick cityscape.
The prefab kitchen obtained a glamorous makeover with Premier Customized-Constructed cabinetry in a shiny, metallic end; a swirling Fantasy Brown quartzite countertop; and a wall lined with an vintage mirror panel that exhibits a daring, colourful portray. The unique kitchen was open to the dwelling/eating room, however glass wall models now separate the areas and nonetheless let in gentle.
A lush, layered sensibility reigns all through the house. Progressive grass cloth wallcovering in shades of purple and gold adorns each the dwelling space and the bed room, whereas the visitor bed room is roofed with a tactile Arte banana bark wallcovering woven with delicate steel wire. Extravagant patterns pop up on pictorial Pierre Frey wallpaper that makes a lavish assertion within the lavatory and on a playful Hermès sample that attire up the alcove by the entrance door.
Within the bed room, a richly hued tapestry adorns the wall behind a further Poliform mattress; the designer suspended a gilded sunbeam atop the material, creating a blinding visible second. He additionally designed the bedding, which mixes luxurious materials from Misia Paris, Zak+Fox and Jiun Ho to a lavish impact.
Smooth, custom-made furnishings retains the ambiance gentle and trendy. “Virtually the whole lot is artisanal or classic, with some items by native artists and artisans,” Eire notes. Within the eating room, a banquet of his design, upholstered in Holly Hunt velvet, sits in entrance of the window wall; its slender legs information pure gentle beneath the seat. An asymmetrical desk in sandblasted, bleached walnut with a concrete base, additionally designed by Eire, was manufactured by Michael James Furnishings. Within the adjoining sitting space, a {custom} couch surrounds a espresso desk that doubles as artwork; the hexagonal glass floor offers a églomise glass remedy by New York artist Miriam Ellner that shimmers with valuable metals, iridescent flakes of mica and crushed abalone.
Exuberant trendy paintings shares the wall area with a carved wooden panel commissioned by artisan woodworker Caleb Woodard and stylish sconces that set simply the fitting temper.
The homeowners are delighted with their second pied à terre. “It is incredible,” the girl says enthusiastically. “I knew that Joe might elevate area to one thing distinctive. I nonetheless get goosebumps after I stroll by the door.”
