At Home with Bess and Tyler Abell

Ever since my mother worked in the press office for Lady Bird Johnson, she’s been good friends with Bess Abell, the Johnsons’ social secretary, and her husband, Tyler. So I’ve known them my entire life, and it’s hard to find a more delightful couple.

I found myself at their home in Potomac recently, which sits on a cliff overlooking the Potomac River, and the view just takes your breath away.

You’re probably thinking that the Abells’ house is some ginormous mansion that is in keeping with the enormity of this view. But this is what I love the most — it’s SO not. Their house has been in Tyler’s family since the 1930′s, when his stepfather, the famous Washington Merry Go Round columnist Drew Pearson, built it as a country house.

The front door, through which you can see the view out back.

The side wing -- a different color than the main section of the house.

The rear side -- I love all the potted plants that surround the house.

I spent the morning with Tyler last month as he told me stories about growing up and coming out to this house on the weekends. During World War II, Pearson built a farm and started raising dairy cows to help the war effort. Tyler remembers milking the cows.

Eventually, a retired DC transit trolley car would be moved to the property for children to play in, and when a horseback riding rink was built, the Abells used fill dirt from the excavation for the Russian embassy downtown.

The farm buildings are still on the property, where they are at the center of the Merry-Go-Round Farm community, which Tyler developed as a destination for distinctive architecture in Potomac, much of which has turned into a McMansion wasteland.

He let me take pictures of his living room — one of the most comfortable, beautiful, lived-in spaces I’ve been in.

Here's where we sat, and where I had two cats snuggling up to me as we talked, and where his golden retriever occasionally wandered by for a pat.

A closeup of the coffee table -- and all the supplies you need for studying nature outside those huge windows.

Looking toward the front door. You can just see Cleo, the golden retriever, near the door. What I love so much about this room is the great mix-up of color and pattern and design -- such a personal space, with objects amassed over time through the couples' many travels.

The painting and sconces -- along with the plants from outside on the mantel, make a beautiful vignette.

I ADORE this sideboard, along with the paintings and objects surrounding it.

What a great staircase display.

A sweet portrait at the bottom of the stairs.

The chair in the foreground has the Merry-Go-Round Farm logo in the center.

Not a great picture, but the white rafters, pale blue ceiling, and the chandelier are so much a part of this room.

I’ll leave you with a picture that sits on a window ledge in the Abells’ kitchen, as a family photo would in any of our own homes, but this family photo is a bit different:

Left to right: Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, President Lyndon Johnson, and Drew Pearson