This Year’s DC Design House: A 1905 Beauty in Chevy Chase
Wow. Skip and Debbie Singleton of DC Living Real Estate have really outdone themselves in their third year of chairing the DC Design House, which benefits the Children’s National Medical Center. After showcasing stupendous properties in Georgetown the fist two years, they’ve moved out to Chevy Chase — to a veritable chateau (the real kind, not the McMansion kind) across from the tennis courts of the Chevy Chase Club on Bradley Lane.
The Beaux Arts mansion encloses more than 10,000 square feet for our area’s best designers to make over. It includes nine bedrooms and 10 baths. It was the site of Harry S. Truman’s inaugural party, and once served as residence to the ambassadors of Mauritius and Uruguay.
With all the cars there today, it's clear that everyone is already hard at work on the design house. I love the entryway and the decorative pediment above it.
I can’t wait to go to the public Bare Bones Tour on Feb. 27, where you can tour the unadorned interiors and see all the designers’ concept boards in each room for what they will do to transform it. The completed Design House will open for tours from April 10 to May 9.
Can't you imagine standing on this terrace by moonlight, in your ball gown, looking out at the stunning grounds surround this house?
The designers have been named who will decorate about 20 spaces in the house. To date, they are:
Barry Dixon, Drawing Room
Andrew Law, Drawing Room Terrace
Victoria Sanchez, Library
Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey, Entry and Stair Hall
Nestor Santa-Cruz, Reception Room
Frank Babb Randolph, Living Room
Sarah Wessel, Sun Room
Basha White, Dining Room
Clive Christian Kitchens, Butlers Pantry, Kitchen, Porch
Sally Steponkus, Master Bedroom
Celia Welch, Master Dressing Room
Rose DiNapoli, Study
Michael Hampton, Guest Bedroom
Barbara Franceski, Guest Sitting Room
Lisa Adams, Boy’s Bedroom and Bath
Page Palmer, Girl’s Bedroom
Kelley Proxmire, Family/Living Room
Tracy Morris, Artist’s Studio
Cynthia Ferranto, Landscaping
Jennifer Sergent. Native Washingtonian. Former editor at Washington Spaces magazine and HGTV. Currently searching for – and writing about – DC’s design voices. Write to me @
This is right around the corner from my sister’s house – I will definitely plan on making a trip to DC when this showhouse is going on! Four of my favorites are on the roster, and I am sure I will discover some new favorites after seeing the spaces.
I wonder how they will accomodate parking: I hope they run a shuttle from the metro or something. Maybe the country club will lend parking? I see this quickly turning into a nightmare in that neigbhorhood!